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| SDSS-III BOSS | |
|---|---|
| Name | SDSS-III BOSS |
| Caption | Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey instrumentation and sky coverage |
| Country | United States |
| Institution | Sloan Digital Sky Survey Observatory |
| Project | Sloan Digital Sky Survey III |
| Period | 2008–2014 |
| Wavelength | optical |
| Telescope | Apache Point Observatory 2.5 m |
| Detectors | multi‑object fiber spectrographs |
| Data | spectroscopic redshifts, spectra |
SDSS-III BOSS was the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey conducted as part of Sloan Digital Sky Survey's third phase, operating from 2008 to 2014. The survey mapped large volumes of the Universe by obtaining spectra of millions of galaxies, quasars, and stars to measure the Baryon acoustic oscillations standard ruler and probe Dark energy. BOSS produced precise three‑dimensional maps that informed cosmological constraints used alongside results from missions like Planck and surveys such as 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey and DESI.
BOSS was executed under the umbrella of Sloan Digital Sky Survey III and led by institutions including the Apache Point Observatory, Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, and the University of Chicago. It targeted both low‑redshift luminous red galaxies and high‑redshift Lyman‑alpha forest quasars across the Sloan Digital Sky Survey legacy footprint in the Northern Hemisphere and parts of the Southern Hemisphere. The collaboration included astronomers affiliated with Princeton University, Johns Hopkins University, University of California, Berkeley, Yale University, and the Max Planck Society, coordinating with teams that had participated in projects like the Two Micron All-Sky Survey and WISE.
Primary objectives focused on measuring the scale of Baryon acoustic oscillations using baryon acoustic features in the clustering of galaxies and the Lyman-alpha forest to constrain models of Dark energy and the expansion history of the Universe. Secondary goals included characterizing the matter power spectrum, constraining the neutrino mass scale, testing models of inflation and general relativity on cosmological scales, and providing spectroscopic targets for follow-up by observatories such as Hubble Space Telescope, Keck Observatory, Very Large Telescope, and Atacama Large Millimeter Array. The survey aimed to improve on predecessors like the Sloan Digital Sky Survey I and SDSS-II and to inform successors including eBOSS and DESI.
BOSS utilized the Apache Point Observatory 2.5‑meter telescope equipped with upgraded fiber spectrographs and 1000‑fiber plates to increase throughput relative to earlier SDSS instruments developed by teams at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. The spectrographs covered blue and red channels with detectors similar to devices used at National Optical Astronomy Observatory facilities and benefited from calibration strategies pioneered in projects like Hipparcos and Gaia. The survey design incorporated target selection algorithms tested against imaging from Sloan Digital Sky Survey imaging and cross‑matched with catalogs from Galaxy Evolution Explorer and UKIDSS to optimize selection of luminous red galaxy samples and candidate high‑redshift quasars. The observational strategy balanced depth and area to sample cosmic volumes comparable to predictions from Lambda-CDM simulations run on supercomputers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
Observations were conducted at Apache Point Observatory under the management of the Astrophysical Research Consortium following schedules coordinated with weather and moon phase constraints used by observatories such as Palomar Observatory and Kitt Peak National Observatory. Fiber assignment used plate drilling and robotic plugging techniques developed in earlier SDSS phases and in coordination with engineering groups at University of Washington and University of Arizona. Data reduction pipelines were maintained by teams including researchers from Carnegie Mellon University and Rutgers University leveraging software practices from NASA missions and the European Southern Observatory. Processing included wavelength calibration, sky subtraction, redshift fitting, and quality assessment with comparisons to spectral libraries compiled by Caltech and Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. Data products were integrated into databases compatible with tools used by the International Virtual Observatory Alliance and cross‑referenced with catalogs from 2MASS and FIRST.
BOSS produced the most precise BAO distance measurements at redshifts z~0.3 and z~0.57 from galaxy samples and extended BAO constraints to z~2.3 via the Lyman-alpha forest in quasar spectra, results that were combined with cosmic microwave background measurements from Planck to tighten constraints on Dark energy models and the Hubble constant. The survey yielded improved limits on the sum of neutrino masses, constrained deviations from General relativity on large scales, and informed inflationary parameter estimates in analyses alongside data from WMAP and ACT. BOSS spectra enabled discoveries in galaxy evolution, including stellar population studies linked with work by Sloan Digital Sky Survey MaNGA teams, quasar physics investigations that connected with findings from Sloan Digital Sky Survey I/II and VLA observations, and the calibration of photometric redshift methods used by surveys like DES and Pan-STARRS.
BOSS data releases were distributed through the SDSS public data releases, integrated with archival services used by the NASA/IPAC and Centre de Données astronomiques de Strasbourg, and supported by educational outreach initiatives similar to those of Hubble Space Telescope and Kepler. The survey’s catalogs and spectra underpin ongoing cosmological analyses by collaborations including eBOSS, DESI, and international consortia tied to the European Southern Observatory and the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan. BOSS legacy impacts instrumentation design at facilities such as Subaru Telescope and algorithm development in projects like the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope and inform policy discussions in advisory bodies like the National Science Foundation and the National Academies of Sciences. The BOSS dataset remains a cornerstone resource for testing theoretical models from research groups at Cambridge University, Princeton University, Columbia University, and Stanford University.
Category:Astronomical surveys