TARGET SELECTION FOR THE APACHE POINT OBSERVATORY GALACTIC EVOLUTION EXPERIMENT (APOGEE)

Journal Article · Tue Oct 01 00:00:00 EDT 2013 · Astronomical Journal (New York, N.Y. Online)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-6256/146/4/81· OSTI ID:22136524

Zasowski, G.; Johnson, Jennifer A.; Andrews, B.; Epstein, C. ^[1]; Frinchaboy, P. M.; Jackson, K. ^[2]; Majewski, S. R.; Chojnowski, S. D.; Skrutskie, M. F.; Beaton, R. L. ^[3]; Nidever, D. L. ^[4]; Pinto, H. J. Rocha; Girardi, L. ^[5]; Cudworth, K. M. ^[6]; Munn, J. ^[7]; Blake, C. H. ^[8]; Covey, K. ^[9]; Deshpande, R.; Fleming, S. W. ^[10]; others, and

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1. Department of Astronomy, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210 (United States)
2. Department of Physics and Astronomy, Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, TX 76129 (United States)
3. Department of Astronomy, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904 (United States)
4. Department of Astronomy, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 (United States)
5. Laboratorio Interinstitucional de e-Astronomia-LIneA, Rio de Janeiro, RJ 20921-400 (Brazil)
6. Yerkes Observatory, University of Chicago, Williams Bay, WI 53191 (United States)
7. US Naval Observatory, Flagstaff Station, Flagstaff, AZ 86001 (United States)
8. Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544 (United States)
9. Lowell Observatory, Flagstaff, AZ 86001 (United States)
10. Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802 (United States)

The Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE) is a high-resolution infrared spectroscopic survey spanning all Galactic environments (i.e., bulge, disk, and halo), with the principal goal of constraining dynamical and chemical evolution models of the Milky Way. APOGEE takes advantage of the reduced effects of extinction at infrared wavelengths to observe the inner Galaxy and bulge at an unprecedented level of detail. The survey's broad spatial and wavelength coverage enables users of APOGEE data to address numerous Galactic structure and stellar populations issues. In this paper we describe the APOGEE targeting scheme and document its various target classes to provide the necessary background and reference information to analyze samples of APOGEE data with awareness of the imposed selection criteria and resulting sample properties. APOGEE's primary sample consists of {approx}10{sup 5} red giant stars, selected to minimize observational biases in age and metallicity. We present the methodology and considerations that drive the selection of this sample and evaluate the accuracy, efficiency, and caveats of the selection and sampling algorithms. We also describe additional target classes that contribute to the APOGEE sample, including numerous ancillary science programs, and we outline the targeting data that will be included in the public data releases.

• OSTI ID: 22136524
• Journal Information: Astronomical Journal (New York, N.Y. Online), Vol. 146, Issue 4; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 1538-3881
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTROPHYSICS
COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY
ACCURACY
ALGORITHMS
EFFICIENCY
GALACTIC EVOLUTION
INFRARED SURVEYS
MILKY WAY
RED GIANT STARS
RESOLUTION
SAMPLING
SPECTROSCOPY