2002/09/03 by E. M. Monier, Eric M. Monier, Julia D. Kennefick +11 · 1 citation
Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomy and Astrophysical Research #Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena #Space Technology and Applications #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1086/344076
27 pages, 8 figures; Accepted for publication in the Astronomical Journal
arxiv created 2002/09/03 · openalex publication_date 2002/10/24 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2019/06/27 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/31
The BTC40 Survey for high-redshift quasars is a multicolor search using images obtained with the Big Throughput Camera (BTC) on the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) 4 m telescope in V , I , and z filters to search for quasars at redshifts of 4.8 < z < 6. The survey covers 40 deg 2 in B , V , and I , and 36 deg 2 in z . Limiting magnitudes (3 σ) reach to V = 24.6, I = 22.9, and z = 22.9. We used the V - I versus I - z two-color diagram to select high-redshift quasar candidates from the objects classified as point sources in the imaging data. Follow-up spectroscopy with the Anglo-Australian Telescope and CTIO 4 m telescopes of candidates having I ≤ 21.5 has yielded two quasars with redshifts of z = 4.6 and z = 4.8, as well as four emission-line galaxies with z ≈ 0.6. Fainter candidates have been identified down to I = 22 for future spectroscopy on 8 m class telescopes.