THE FMOS-COSMOS SURVEY OF STAR-FORMING GALAXIES AT z ∼ 1.6. III. SURVEY DESIGN, PERFORMANCE, AND SAMPLE CHARACTERISTICS
- Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (WPI), The University of Tokyo Institutes for Advanced Study, The University of Tokyo, Kashiwa, 277-8583 (Japan)
- Division of Particle and Astrophysical Science, Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University, Nagoya, 464-8602 (Japan)
- Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii, 2680 Woodlawn Drive, Honolulu, HI, 96822 (United States)
- National Optical Astronomy Observatory, 950 N. Cherry Ave., Tucson, AZ, 85719 (United States)
- Subaru Telescope, 650 North A’ohoku Place, Hilo, Hawaii, 96720 (United States)
- Instituto Nazionale de Astrofisica, Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova, vicolo dell’Osservatorio 5, I-35122, Padova, Italy, EU (Italy)
- Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Universita di Padova, vicolo Osservatorio, 3, I-35122, Padova (Italy)
- Laboratoire AIM, CEA/DSM-CNRS-Universite Paris Diderot, Irfu/Service d’Astrophysique, CEA Saclay (France)
- Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Ehime University, 2-5 Bunkyo-cho, Matsuyama 790-8577 (Japan)
- Institute of Astronomy, ETH Zürich, CH-8093, Zürich (Switzerland)
- Spitzer Science Center, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States)
We present a spectroscopic survey of galaxies in the COSMOS field using the Fiber Multi-object Spectrograph (FMOS), a near-infrared instrument on the Subaru Telescope. Our survey is specifically designed to detect the Hα emission line that falls within the H-band (1.6–1.8 μm) spectroscopic window from star-forming galaxies with 1.4 < z < 1.7 and M{sub stellar} ≳ 10{sup 10} M{sub ⊙}. With the high multiplex capability of FMOS, it is now feasible to construct samples of over 1000 galaxies having spectroscopic redshifts at epochs that were previously challenging. The high-resolution mode (R ∼ 2600) effectively separates Hα and [N ii]λ6585, thus enabling studies of the gas-phase metallicity and photoionization state of the interstellar medium. The primary aim of our program is to establish how star formation depends on stellar mass and environment, both recognized as drivers of galaxy evolution at lower redshifts. In addition to the main galaxy sample, our target selection places priority on those detected in the far-infrared by Herschel/PACS to assess the level of obscured star formation and investigate, in detail, outliers from the star formation rate (SFR)—stellar mass relation. Galaxies with Hα detections are followed up with FMOS observations at shorter wavelengths using the J-long (1.11–1.35 μm) grating to detect Hβ and [O iii]λ5008 which provides an assessment of the extinction required to measure SFRs not hampered by dust, and an indication of embedded active galactic nuclei. With 460 redshifts measured from 1153 spectra, we assess the performance of the instrument with respect to achieving our goals, discuss inherent biases in the sample, and detail the emission-line properties. Our higher-level data products, including catalogs and spectra, are available to the community.
- OSTI ID:
- 22520135
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal, Supplement Series, Vol. 220, Issue 1; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0067-0049
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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