The Large Early Galaxy Astrophysics Census (LEGA-C) Data Release 3: 3000 High-Quality Spectra of $K_s$-selected galaxies at $z>0.6$

Abstract

We present the third and final data release of the Large Early Galaxy Astrophysics Census (LEGA-C), an ESO/VLT public spectroscopic survey targeting $0.6<z<1.0$, Ks-selected galaxies. The data release contains 3528 spectra with measured stellar velocity dispersions and stellar population properties, a 25-fold increase in sample size compared to previous work. This $K_s$-selected sample probes the galaxy population down to $\sim 0.3L^{\ast }$, for all colors and morphological types. Along with the spectra we publish a value-added catalog with stellar and ionized gas velocity dispersions, stellar absorption line indices, emission line fluxes and equivalent widths, complemented with structural parameters measured from HST/ACS imaging. With its combination of high precision and large sample size, LEGA-C provides a new benchmark for galaxy evolution studies.

Accepted for publication in ApJS. Data available at http://archive.eso.org/cms/eso-archive-news/Third-and-final-release-of-the-Large-Early-Galaxy-Census-LEGA-C-Spectroscopic-Public-Survey-published.html or https://users.ugent.be/\string~avdrwel/research.html\#legac