The DESI survey validation: results from visual inspection of bright galaxies, luminous red galaxies, and emission line galaxies

Ting-Wen Lan; R. Tojeiro; E. Armengaud; J. Xavier Prochaska; T. M. Davis; David M. Alexander; A. Raichoor; Rongpu Zhou; Christophe Yeche; C. Balland; S. BenZvi; A. Berti; R. Canning; A. Carr; H. Chittenden; S. Cole; M.-C. Cousinou; K. Dawson; Biprateep Dey; K. Douglass; A. Edge; S. Escoffier; A. Glanville; S. Gontcho A Gontcho; J. Guy; C. Hahn; C. Howlett; Ho Seong Hwang; L. Jiang; A. Kovacs; M. Mezcua; S. Moore; S. Nadathur; M. Oh; D. Parkinson; A. Rocher; A. J. Ross; V. Ruhlmann-Kleider; C. G. Sabiu; K. Said; C. Saulder; D. Sierra-Porta; B. Weiner; J. Yu; P. Zarrouk; Y. Zhang; H. Zou; S. Ahlen; S. Bailey; D. Brooks; A. P. Cooper; A. de la Macorra; A. Dey; G. Dhungana; P. Doel; S. Eftekharzadeh; K. Fanning; A. Font-Ribera; L. Garrison; E. Gaztanaga; R. Kehoe; T. Kisner; A. Kremin; M. Landriau; L. Le Guillou; Michael E. Levi; C. Magneville; Aaron M. Meisner; R. Miquel; J. Moustakas; Adam D. Myers; Jeffrey A. Newman; J. D. Nie; N. Palanque-Delabrouille; W. J. Percival; C. Poppett; F. Prada; M. Schubnell; Gregory Tarle; B. A. Weaver; K. Zhang; Zhimin Zhou

doi:10.3847/1538-4357/aca5fa

The DESI survey validation: results from visual inspection of bright galaxies, luminous red galaxies, and emission line galaxies

Ting-Wen Lan^*, R. Tojeiro, E. Armengaud, J. Xavier Prochaska, T. M. Davis, David M. Alexander, A. Raichoor, Rongpu Zhou, Christophe Yeche, C. Balland, S. BenZvi, A. Berti, R. Canning, A. Carr, H. Chittenden, S. Cole, M.-C. Cousinou, K. Dawson, Biprateep Dey, K. DouglassA. Edge, S. Escoffier, A. Glanville, S. Gontcho A Gontcho, J. Guy, C. Hahn, C. Howlett, Ho Seong Hwang, L. Jiang, A. Kovacs, M. Mezcua, S. Moore, S. Nadathur, M. Oh, D. Parkinson, A. Rocher, A. J. Ross, V. Ruhlmann-Kleider, C. G. Sabiu, K. Said, C. Saulder, D. Sierra-Porta, B. Weiner, J. Yu, P. Zarrouk, Y. Zhang, H. Zou, S. Ahlen, S. Bailey, D. Brooks, A. P. Cooper, A. de la Macorra, A. Dey, G. Dhungana, P. Doel, S. Eftekharzadeh, K. Fanning, A. Font-Ribera, L. Garrison, E. Gaztanaga, R. Kehoe, T. Kisner, A. Kremin, M. Landriau, L. Le Guillou, Michael E. Levi, C. Magneville, Aaron M. Meisner, R. Miquel, J. Moustakas, Adam D. Myers, Jeffrey A. Newman, J. D. Nie, N. Palanque-Delabrouille, W. J. Percival, C. Poppett, F. Prada, M. Schubnell, Gregory Tarle, B. A. Weaver, K. Zhang, Zhimin Zhou

^*Corresponding author for this work

School of Physics and Astronomy

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) Survey has obtained a set of spectroscopic measurements of galaxies for validating the final survey design and target selections. To assist these tasks, we visually inspect (VI) DESI spectra of approximately 2,500 bright galaxies, 3,500 luminous red galaxies, and 10,000 emission line galaxies, to obtain robust redshift identifications. We then utilize the VI redshift information to characterize the performance of the DESI operation. Based on the VI catalogs, our results show that the final survey design yields samples of bright galaxies, luminous red galaxies, and emission line galaxies with purity greater than 99%. Moreover, we demonstrate that the precision of the redshift measurements is approximately 10 km/s for bright galaxies and emission line galaxies and approximately 40 km/s for luminous red galaxies. The average redshift accuracy is within 10 km/s for the three types of galaxies. The VI process also helps to improve the quality of the DESI data by identifying spurious spectral features introduced by the pipeline. Finally, we show examples of unexpected real astronomical objects, such as Lyman α emitters and strong lensing candidates, identified by VI. These results demonstrate the importance and utility of visually inspecting data from incoming and upcoming surveys, especially during their early operation phases.

Original language	English
Article number	68
Number of pages	18
Journal	Astrophysical Journal
Volume	943
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/aca5fa
Publication status	Published - 25 Jan 2023

Keywords

Catalogs
Surveys
Cosmology: observations
Galaxies: general

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Lan_2023_ApJ_DESI-survey-validation_CC
Copyright © 2023. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society. Original content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI.
Final published version, 3.67 MBLicence: CC BY

http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2022arXiv220808516L

Cite this

Lan, T.-W., Tojeiro, R., Armengaud, E., Prochaska, J. X., Davis, T. M., Alexander, D. M., Raichoor, A., Zhou, R., Yeche, C., Balland, C., BenZvi, S., Berti, A., Canning, R., Carr, A., Chittenden, H., Cole, S., Cousinou, M.-C., Dawson, K., Dey, B., ... Zhou, Z. (2023). The DESI survey validation: results from visual inspection of bright galaxies, luminous red galaxies, and emission line galaxies. Astrophysical Journal, 943(1), Article 68. https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/aca5fa

@article{942ce86294f8411db223538ef1b74e62,

title = "The DESI survey validation: results from visual inspection of bright galaxies, luminous red galaxies, and emission line galaxies",

abstract = "The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) Survey has obtained a set of spectroscopic measurements of galaxies for validating the final survey design and target selections. To assist these tasks, we visually inspect (VI) DESI spectra of approximately 2,500 bright galaxies, 3,500 luminous red galaxies, and 10,000 emission line galaxies, to obtain robust redshift identifications. We then utilize the VI redshift information to characterize the performance of the DESI operation. Based on the VI catalogs, our results show that the final survey design yields samples of bright galaxies, luminous red galaxies, and emission line galaxies with purity greater than 99\%. Moreover, we demonstrate that the precision of the redshift measurements is approximately 10 km/s for bright galaxies and emission line galaxies and approximately 40 km/s for luminous red galaxies. The average redshift accuracy is within 10 km/s for the three types of galaxies. The VI process also helps to improve the quality of the DESI data by identifying spurious spectral features introduced by the pipeline. Finally, we show examples of unexpected real astronomical objects, such as Lyman α emitters and strong lensing candidates, identified by VI. These results demonstrate the importance and utility of visually inspecting data from incoming and upcoming surveys, especially during their early operation phases.",

keywords = "Catalogs, Surveys, Cosmology: observations, Galaxies: general",

author = "Ting-Wen Lan and R. Tojeiro and E. Armengaud and Prochaska, \{J. Xavier\} and Davis, \{T. M.\} and Alexander, \{David M.\} and A. Raichoor and Rongpu Zhou and Christophe Yeche and C. Balland and S. BenZvi and A. Berti and R. Canning and A. Carr and H. Chittenden and S. Cole and M.-C. Cousinou and K. Dawson and Biprateep Dey and K. Douglass and A. Edge and S. Escoffier and A. Glanville and Gontcho, \{S. Gontcho A\} and J. Guy and C. Hahn and C. Howlett and Hwang, \{Ho Seong\} and L. Jiang and A. Kovacs and M. Mezcua and S. Moore and S. Nadathur and M. Oh and D. Parkinson and A. Rocher and Ross, \{A. J.\} and V. Ruhlmann-Kleider and Sabiu, \{C. G.\} and K. Said and C. Saulder and D. Sierra-Porta and B. Weiner and J. Yu and P. Zarrouk and Y. Zhang and H. Zou and S. Ahlen and S. Bailey and D. Brooks and Cooper, \{A. P.\} and \{de la Macorra\}, A. and A. Dey and G. Dhungana and P. Doel and S. Eftekharzadeh and K. Fanning and A. Font-Ribera and L. Garrison and E. Gaztanaga and R. Kehoe and T. Kisner and A. Kremin and M. Landriau and \{Le Guillou\}, L. and Levi, \{Michael E.\} and C. Magneville and Meisner, \{Aaron M.\} and R. Miquel and J. Moustakas and Myers, \{Adam D.\} and Newman, \{Jeffrey A.\} and Nie, \{J. D.\} and N. Palanque-Delabrouille and Percival, \{W. J.\} and C. Poppett and F. Prada and M. Schubnell and Gregory Tarle and Weaver, \{B. A.\} and K. Zhang and Zhimin Zhou",

note = "Funding: TWL was supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST 111-2112-M-002-015-MY3), the Ministry of Education, Taiwan (MOE Yushan Young Scholar grant NTU-110VV007), National Taiwan University research grants (NTU CC-111L894806, NTU- 111L7318), and NSF grant AST-1911140. DMA acknowledges the Science Technology and Facilities Council (STFC) for support through grant code ST/T000244/1. This research is supported by the Director, Office of Science, Office of High Energy Physics of the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract No. DE–AC02–05CH11231, and by the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center, a DOE Office of Science User Facility under the same contract; additional support for DESI is provided by the U.S. National Science Foundation, Division of Astronomical Sciences under Contract No. AST-0950945 to the NSF{\textquoteright}s National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory; the Science and Technologies Facilities Council of the United Kingdom; the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation; the Heising-Simons Foundation; the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA); the National Council of Science and Technology of Mexico (CONACYT); the Ministry of Science and Innovation of Spain (MICINN), and by the DESI Member Institutions: https://www.desi.lbl.gov/ collaborating-institutions.",

year = "2023",

month = jan,

day = "25",

doi = "10.3847/1538-4357/aca5fa",

language = "English",

volume = "943",

journal = "Astrophysical Journal",

issn = "0004-637X",

publisher = "American Astronomical Society",

number = "1",

}

Lan, T-W, Tojeiro, R, Armengaud, E, Prochaska, JX, Davis, TM, Alexander, DM, Raichoor, A, Zhou, R, Yeche, C, Balland, C, BenZvi, S, Berti, A, Canning, R, Carr, A, Chittenden, H, Cole, S, Cousinou, M-C, Dawson, K, Dey, B, Douglass, K, Edge, A, Escoffier, S, Glanville, A, Gontcho, SGA, Guy, J, Hahn, C, Howlett, C, Hwang, HS, Jiang, L, Kovacs, A, Mezcua, M, Moore, S, Nadathur, S, Oh, M, Parkinson, D, Rocher, A, Ross, AJ, Ruhlmann-Kleider, V, Sabiu, CG, Said, K, Saulder, C, Sierra-Porta, D, Weiner, B, Yu, J, Zarrouk, P, Zhang, Y, Zou, H, Ahlen, S, Bailey, S, Brooks, D, Cooper, AP, de la Macorra, A, Dey, A, Dhungana, G, Doel, P, Eftekharzadeh, S, Fanning, K, Font-Ribera, A, Garrison, L, Gaztanaga, E, Kehoe, R, Kisner, T, Kremin, A, Landriau, M, Le Guillou, L, Levi, ME, Magneville, C, Meisner, AM, Miquel, R, Moustakas, J, Myers, AD, Newman, JA, Nie, JD, Palanque-Delabrouille, N, Percival, WJ, Poppett, C, Prada, F, Schubnell, M, Tarle, G, Weaver, BA, Zhang, K & Zhou, Z 2023, 'The DESI survey validation: results from visual inspection of bright galaxies, luminous red galaxies, and emission line galaxies', Astrophysical Journal, vol. 943, no. 1, 68. https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/aca5fa

TY - JOUR

T1 - The DESI survey validation

T2 - results from visual inspection of bright galaxies, luminous red galaxies, and emission line galaxies

AU - Lan, Ting-Wen

AU - Tojeiro, R.

AU - Armengaud, E.

AU - Prochaska, J. Xavier

AU - Davis, T. M.

AU - Alexander, David M.

AU - Raichoor, A.

AU - Zhou, Rongpu

AU - Yeche, Christophe

AU - Balland, C.

AU - BenZvi, S.

AU - Berti, A.

AU - Canning, R.

AU - Carr, A.

AU - Chittenden, H.

AU - Cole, S.

AU - Cousinou, M.-C.

AU - Dawson, K.

AU - Dey, Biprateep

AU - Douglass, K.

AU - Edge, A.

AU - Escoffier, S.

AU - Glanville, A.

AU - Gontcho, S. Gontcho A

AU - Guy, J.

AU - Hahn, C.

AU - Howlett, C.

AU - Hwang, Ho Seong

AU - Jiang, L.

AU - Kovacs, A.

AU - Mezcua, M.

AU - Moore, S.

AU - Nadathur, S.

AU - Oh, M.

AU - Parkinson, D.

AU - Rocher, A.

AU - Ross, A. J.

AU - Ruhlmann-Kleider, V.

AU - Sabiu, C. G.

AU - Said, K.

AU - Saulder, C.

AU - Sierra-Porta, D.

AU - Weiner, B.

AU - Yu, J.

AU - Zarrouk, P.

AU - Zhang, Y.

AU - Zou, H.

AU - Ahlen, S.

AU - Bailey, S.

AU - Brooks, D.

AU - Cooper, A. P.

AU - de la Macorra, A.

AU - Dey, A.

AU - Dhungana, G.

AU - Doel, P.

AU - Eftekharzadeh, S.

AU - Fanning, K.

AU - Font-Ribera, A.

AU - Garrison, L.

AU - Gaztanaga, E.

AU - Kehoe, R.

AU - Kisner, T.

AU - Kremin, A.

AU - Landriau, M.

AU - Le Guillou, L.

AU - Levi, Michael E.

AU - Magneville, C.

AU - Meisner, Aaron M.

AU - Miquel, R.

AU - Moustakas, J.

AU - Myers, Adam D.

AU - Newman, Jeffrey A.

AU - Nie, J. D.

AU - Palanque-Delabrouille, N.

AU - Percival, W. J.

AU - Poppett, C.

AU - Prada, F.

AU - Schubnell, M.

AU - Tarle, Gregory

AU - Weaver, B. A.

AU - Zhang, K.

AU - Zhou, Zhimin

N1 - Funding: TWL was supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST 111-2112-M-002-015-MY3), the Ministry of Education, Taiwan (MOE Yushan Young Scholar grant NTU-110VV007), National Taiwan University research grants (NTU CC-111L894806, NTU- 111L7318), and NSF grant AST-1911140. DMA acknowledges the Science Technology and Facilities Council (STFC) for support through grant code ST/T000244/1. This research is supported by the Director, Office of Science, Office of High Energy Physics of the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract No. DE–AC02–05CH11231, and by the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center, a DOE Office of Science User Facility under the same contract; additional support for DESI is provided by the U.S. National Science Foundation, Division of Astronomical Sciences under Contract No. AST-0950945 to the NSF’s National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory; the Science and Technologies Facilities Council of the United Kingdom; the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation; the Heising-Simons Foundation; the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA); the National Council of Science and Technology of Mexico (CONACYT); the Ministry of Science and Innovation of Spain (MICINN), and by the DESI Member Institutions: https://www.desi.lbl.gov/ collaborating-institutions.

PY - 2023/1/25

Y1 - 2023/1/25

N2 - The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) Survey has obtained a set of spectroscopic measurements of galaxies for validating the final survey design and target selections. To assist these tasks, we visually inspect (VI) DESI spectra of approximately 2,500 bright galaxies, 3,500 luminous red galaxies, and 10,000 emission line galaxies, to obtain robust redshift identifications. We then utilize the VI redshift information to characterize the performance of the DESI operation. Based on the VI catalogs, our results show that the final survey design yields samples of bright galaxies, luminous red galaxies, and emission line galaxies with purity greater than 99%. Moreover, we demonstrate that the precision of the redshift measurements is approximately 10 km/s for bright galaxies and emission line galaxies and approximately 40 km/s for luminous red galaxies. The average redshift accuracy is within 10 km/s for the three types of galaxies. The VI process also helps to improve the quality of the DESI data by identifying spurious spectral features introduced by the pipeline. Finally, we show examples of unexpected real astronomical objects, such as Lyman α emitters and strong lensing candidates, identified by VI. These results demonstrate the importance and utility of visually inspecting data from incoming and upcoming surveys, especially during their early operation phases.

AB - The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) Survey has obtained a set of spectroscopic measurements of galaxies for validating the final survey design and target selections. To assist these tasks, we visually inspect (VI) DESI spectra of approximately 2,500 bright galaxies, 3,500 luminous red galaxies, and 10,000 emission line galaxies, to obtain robust redshift identifications. We then utilize the VI redshift information to characterize the performance of the DESI operation. Based on the VI catalogs, our results show that the final survey design yields samples of bright galaxies, luminous red galaxies, and emission line galaxies with purity greater than 99%. Moreover, we demonstrate that the precision of the redshift measurements is approximately 10 km/s for bright galaxies and emission line galaxies and approximately 40 km/s for luminous red galaxies. The average redshift accuracy is within 10 km/s for the three types of galaxies. The VI process also helps to improve the quality of the DESI data by identifying spurious spectral features introduced by the pipeline. Finally, we show examples of unexpected real astronomical objects, such as Lyman α emitters and strong lensing candidates, identified by VI. These results demonstrate the importance and utility of visually inspecting data from incoming and upcoming surveys, especially during their early operation phases.

KW - Catalogs

KW - Surveys

KW - Cosmology: observations

KW - Galaxies: general

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85147168873

U2 - 10.3847/1538-4357/aca5fa

DO - 10.3847/1538-4357/aca5fa

M3 - Article

SN - 0004-637X

VL - 943

JO - Astrophysical Journal

JF - Astrophysical Journal

IS - 1

M1 - 68

ER -

The DESI survey validation: results from visual inspection of bright galaxies, luminous red galaxies, and emission line galaxies

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