The VIMOS Ultra Deep Survey first data release: Spectra and spectroscopic redshifts of 698 objects up to z_spec ~ 6 in CANDELS^⋆,⋆⋆

¹ Aix Marseille Univ., CNRS, LAM, Laboratoire d’Astrophysique de Marseille, Marseille, France
² Geneva Observatory, University of Geneva, ch. des Maillettes 51, 1290 Versoix, Switzerland
³ Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie – IRAP, CNRS, Université de Toulouse, UPS-OMP, 14 avenue E. Belin, 31400 Toulouse, France
⁴ INAF–Osservatorio Astronomico di Bologna, via Ranzani 1, 40127 Bologna, Italy
⁵ Instituto de Fisica y Astronomía, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Valparaíso, Gran Bretaña 1111, Playa Ancha, Valparaíso, Chile
⁶ INAF–IASF Milano, via Bassini 15, 20133 Milano, Italy
⁷ INAF–Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma, via di Frascati 33, 00040 Monte Porzio Catone, Italy
⁸ University of Bologna, Department of Physics and Astronomy (DIFA), V.le Berti Pichat, 6/2 – 40127 Bologna, Italy
⁹ Astronomy Department, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, USA
¹⁰ Department of Astronomy, University of Geneva ch. d’Écogia 16, 1290 Versoix, Switzerland
¹¹ INAF–IASF Bologna, via Gobetti 101, 40129 Bologna, Italy
¹² Infrared Processing and Analysis Center, California Institute for Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
¹³ Institut d’Astrophysique de Paris, UMR 7095 CNRS, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, 98bis boulevard Arago, 75014 Paris, France
¹⁴ SUPA, Institute for Astronomy, University of Edinburgh, Royal Observatory, Edinburgh, EH9 3HJ, UK
¹⁵ Space Telescope Science Institute, 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
¹⁶ Centro de Estudios de Física del Cosmos de Aragón, 44001 Teruel, Spain
¹⁷ Max-Planck-Institut für Extraterrestrische Physik, Postfach 1312, 85741 Garching bei München, Germany
¹⁸ Cahill Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics, California Institute for Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
¹⁹ Research Center for Space and Cosmic Evolution, Ehime University, Bunkyo-cho 2-5, 790-8577 Matsuyama, Japan
²⁰ National Centre for Nuclear Research, Astrophysics Division, Hoza 69, 00-681 Warszawa, Poland

^⋆⋆⋆ Corresponding author: L. A. M. Tasca, e-mail: lidia.tasca@lam.fr

Received: 15 December 2015
Accepted: 26 May 2016

Abstract

This paper describes the first data release (DR1) of the VIMOS Ultra Deep Survey (VUDS). The VUDS-DR1 is the release of all low-resolution spectroscopic data obtained in 276.9 arcmin² of the CANDELS-COSMOS and CANDELS-ECDFS survey areas, including accurate spectroscopic redshifts z_spec and individual spectra obtained with VIMOS on the ESO-VLT. A total of 698 objects have a measured redshift, with 677 galaxies, two type-I AGN, and a small number of 19 contaminating stars. The targets of the spectroscopic survey are selected primarily on the basis of their photometric redshifts to ensure a broad population coverage. About 500 galaxies have z_spec > 2, 48of which have z_spec > 4; the highest reliable redshifts reach beyond z_spec = 6. This data set approximately doubles the number of galaxies with spectroscopic redshifts at z > 3 in these fields. We discuss the general properties of the VUDS–DR1 sample in terms of the spectroscopic redshift distribution, the distribution of Lyman-α equivalent widths, and physical properties including stellar masses M_⋆ and star formation rates derived from spectral energy distribution fitting with the knowledge of z_spec. We highlight the properties of the most massive star-forming galaxies, noting the wide range in spectral properties, with Lyman-α in emission or in absorption, and in imaging properties with compact, multi-component, or pair morphologies. We present the catalogue database and data products. All VUDS-DR1 data are publicly available and can be retrieved from a dedicated query-based database. Future VUDS data releases will follow this VUDS-DR1 to give access to the spectra and associated measurement of ~8000 objects in the full ~1 square degree of the VUDS survey.