OVERVIEW OF THE SDSS-IV MaNGA SURVEY: MAPPING NEARBY GALAXIES AT APACHE POINT OBSERVATORY

We present an overview of a new integral field spectroscopic survey called MaNGA (Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory), one of three core programs in the fourth-generation Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-IV) that began on 2014 July 1. MaNGA will investigate the internal kinematic stru...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	The Astrophysical journal 2015-01, Vol.798 (1), p.1-24
Main Authors:	Bundy, Kevin, Bershady, Matthew A, Law, David R, Yan, Renbin, Drory, Niv, MacDonald, Nicholas, Wake, David A, CHERINKA, BRIAN, Sanchez-Gallego, Jose R, Weijmans, Anne-Marie
Format:	Article
Language:	eng
Subjects:	APPROXIMATIONS ASTROPHYSICS ASTROPHYSICS, COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY Constituents EMISSION SPECTROSCOPY Fibers GALAXIES Integrals LUMINOSITY MAPPING MASS POTENTIALS PROBES Prototypes RED SHIFT SIGNAL-TO-NOISE RATIO Spectrographs STAR EVOLUTION STARS Stellar mass VISIBLE RADIATION
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Summary:	We present an overview of a new integral field spectroscopic survey called MaNGA (Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory), one of three core programs in the fourth-generation Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-IV) that began on 2014 July 1. MaNGA will investigate the internal kinematic structure and composition of gas and stars in an unprecedented sample of 10,000 nearby galaxies. We summarize essential characteristics of the instrument and survey design in the context of MaNGA's key science goals and present prototype observations to demonstrate MaNGA's scientific potential. MaNGA employs dithered observations with 17 fiber-bundle integral field units that vary in diameter from 12'' (19 fibers) to 32'' (127 fibers). Two dual-channel spectrographs provide simultaneous wavelength coverage over 3600-10300 [Angstrom] at R ~ 2000. With a typical integration time of 3 hr, MaNGA reaches a target r-band signal-to-noise ratio of 4-8 ([Angstrom] super(-1) per 2'' fiber) at 23 AB mag arcsec super(-2), which is typical for the outskirts of MaNGA galaxies. Targets are selected with M[low *] [> ~] 10 super(9) M sub([middot in circle]) using SDSS-I redshifts and i-band luminosity to achieve uniform radial coverage in terms of the effective radius, an approximately flat distribution in stellar mass, and a sample spanning a wide range of environments. Analysis of our prototype observations demonstrates MaNGA's ability to probe gas ionization, shed light on recent star formation and quenching, enable dynamical modeling, decompose constituent components, and map the composition of stellar populations. MaNGA's spatially resolved spectra will enable an unprecedented study of the astrophysics of nearby galaxies in the coming 6 yr.
ISSN:	1538-4357 0004-637X 1538-4357