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VII/23 Absorption Lines in QSO Spectra (Ellis+ 1978)
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A Catalogue of Absorption Lines in QSO Spectra
Ellis R.S., Phillipps S.
<Mon. Not. Roy. Astr. Soc. 183, 271 (1978)>
=1978MNRAS.183..271E
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ADC_Keywords: QSOs ; Spectroscopy
Description:
The catalog is a collection of spectral data for 128 quasi-stellar
objects (QSO). The data have been assembled from the catalogs of de
Veny et al. (1971), Smith-Haenni (1977), and Burbidge et al.
(1977). To ensure every observation is recorded and to search for
new or omitted results, the entire literature up to 1977 September
was scanned. The catalog distributed by the ADC is an updated
version of the original catalog published as microfiche in Ellis and
Phillipps (1978). The catalog includes object names, positions and
identifications, V, B-V, U-B, emission redshifts, observation
references, analyses, and line lists.
The lists of observed spectral lines come from many observers and
instruments. References to observations and to analyses are included
for each QSO, as are alternate names for the QSO, coordinates, and
magnitude. Each observed line has a reference to the observer, and
most have the possible line identifications and redshifts listed as
well. See the original paper for a discussion of the purpose behind
the compilation of the catalog, in particular, for a discussion of
its use as a base of raw spectral data that is not tied to any
particular redshift system.
File Summary:
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FileName Lrecl Records Explanations
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ReadMe 80 . This file
id.dat 80 128 Identification of each object
coord.dat 80 128 Coordinates
mag.dat 50 128 Magnitudes
lines.dat 76 3347 line data
note.dat 80 177 notes
obs.dat 80 929 note of observations and analyses
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Byte-by-byte Description of file: id.dat
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Bytes Format Units Label Explanations
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1- 3 I3 --- ID Object running number
5- 76 A72 --- Ident *Object identifiers
77- 80 I4 --- LineRec *Number of line data records
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Note on Ident:
Ellis and Phillipps adopted the coordinate notation of Burbidge, Crowne,
and Smith (1977; BCS) as their primary identifier (bytes 5-14). Alternate
names are listed in rough order of occurrence in the literature (bytes
15-76).
Note on LineRec:
The total number of line data records for this QSO.
Byte-by-byte Description of file: coord.dat
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Bytes Format Units Label Explanations
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1- 3 I3 --- ID Object running number
4- 6 A3 --- RAtag Right Ascension tag, "RA="
7- 8 I2 h RAh RA hours (B1950)
9- 11 I3 min RAm RA minutes
12- 17 F6.2 s RAs RA seconds
18- 21 A4 --- Dectag Declination tag, "DEC="
22 A1 --- DE- Dec sign
23- 24 I2 deg DEd Dec degrees (B1950)
25- 27 I3 arcmin DEm Dec arc minutes
28- 33 F6.2 arcsec DEs Dec arc seconds
34- 36 A3 --- IDtag *ID reference tag
37- 80 A44 --- IDref *ID reference
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Note on IDtag:
The character string "FC:" if the ID reference has a finding chart; or
the character string "ID:" if the ID reference gives only an
identification.
Note on IDref:
Reference to the identification of the QSO.
Byte-by-byte Description of file: mag.dat
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Bytes Format Units Label Explanations
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1- 3 I3 --- ID Object running number
6- 7 A2 --- Magtag Magnitude tag, "V="
8- 12 F5.2 mag Vmag *Visual magnitude
13 A1 --- Varflag *Variability flag
16- 19 A4 --- B-Vtag B-V color tag, "B-V="
20- 24 F5.2 mag B-V *B-V color
26- 29 A4 --- U-Btab U-B color tag, "U-B="
30- 34 F5.2 mag U-B *U-B color
36- 39 A4 --- Ztag Emission redshift tag, "ZEM="
40- 45 F6.4 --- Z *Emission redshift
46 A1 --- q_Z *Redshift quality flag
47 A1 --- Lflag Left parenthesis
48- 49 I2 --- Nline *? Number of emission lines
50 A1 --- Rflag Right parenthesis
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Note on Vmag, B-V, U-B:
The visual magnitude and colors come almost exclusively from BCS and
range from pure estimates to accurate photometry. If no data are
available, the character string "-0." appears in this field and in the
color fields.
Note on Varflag:
An asterisk, "*", indicates variability;
a question mark, "?", indicates doubt about the magnitude.
Note on Z:
Other published values for the redshift are given in the notes.
Note on q_Z:
A question mark, "?", denotes uncertainty in the redshift other than
that due to a low number of observed lines. Generally, the uncertainty
is due to a wide spread from line to line.
Note on Nline:
Number of permitted emission lines with the quoted emission redshift.
This number is enclosed by parentheses in bytes 43 and 46.
Byte-by-byte Description of file: lines.dat
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Bytes Format Units Label Explanations
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1- 3 I3 --- ID Object running number
5 A1 --- Lstflag *Last line flag
6- 12 F7.2 0.1nm ObsWave *? Observed wavelength
13- 14 A2 --- Gsymbol *Group symbols
15- 16 I2 --- RefNum *? Observer reference number
17- 25 A9 --- S-EW *Strength or equivalent width
26- 31 A6 --- Ion *Identified ion
32- 38 F7.2 0.1nm RestWave ? Ion rest wavelength
39- 46 F8.5 --- Z *? Actual redshift
47- 76 A30 --- SysNum *System numbers
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Note on Lstflag:
The character "+" if this is the last spectral line for which data are
given, otherwise blank. There may be one or more continuation records,
however, before the next group begins; see the description of observed
wavelength below.
Note on ObsWave:
The observed wavelength, in angstroms, given to the quoted accuracy. If
this field is blank, the identified ion, ion rest wavelength, actual
redshift, and system numbers are a continuation of the previous record.
Note on Gsymbol:
Various characters such as "#", "%", "&", etc. used by Ellis and
Phillipps to associate "different wavelengths reported by different
observers that clearly relate to a single spectral line. According
to Ellis' and Phillipps' opinion all wavelengths sharing the same
symbol belong to one line.
Note on RefNum:
The observer reference number as given in the observation group or the
analysis group.
Note on S-EW:
Strength or equivalent width.
The relative strength of the line is given on an increasing scale of 1
to 5 (0 means the strength was not given). A "+5" indicates unusually
strong lines, "-1" indicates unusually weak lines, and a preceding "="
indicates joint strength lines. Relative widths and equivalent widths to
the nearest angstrom (in the observer's frame) are given when available.
The following notation is used to qualify the strengths:
B - blend
T - trough
W - equivalent width in angstroms
? - questionable
E - emission
- - shortward in wavelength
+ - longward in wavelength
For example, BE- says the absorption line is blended into the blue side
of an emission line.
In some cases, the observer ref. # field overflows into this field,
indicating that more than one observer has reported the observed
wavelength. A comma, ",", will appear in byte 17 when this happens, and
byte 18 will have the reference number of the second observer.
Note on Ion:
The element and level of ionization identified with the observed
wavelength.
Note on Z:
When high-precision results are given, the redshifts were calculated
using vacuum wavelengths.
Note on SysNum:
These numbers refer back to the system numbers described below. See
the description of the analyses and system records for obs.dat.
Byte-by-byte Description of file: note.dat
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Bytes Format Units Label Explanations
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1- 3 I3 --- ID Object running number
4- 80 A77 --- note General notes for each object
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Remarks:
The Catalogue of Absorption Lines in QSO Spectra was sent to the
Astronomical Data Center (ADC), NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, by the
Centre de Donnees Stellaires (CDS), in July 1980. This version consisted
of two files: the original file used to produce the microfiche for Ellis
and Phillipps (1978), and an updated version in the same format. Only
the updated file is being distributed by the ADC; it is, therefore, the
one described in this document.
Some checking and reformatting were done by the ADC, although no data
values were altered. (However, some bibliographical information was
corrected.) Fortran programs were written to separate the "groups" of
records for each QSO, and the groups were proofread and checked for
format consistency. Errors and format problems were corrected with a
text editor. Other programs were written to check the formats more
closely. The index file was produced by ADC personnel.
The original reformatted Catalogue of Absorption Lines in QSO Spectra
thus consisted of two files: the catalog file itself (data.dat) and an
index file (index.dat). The catalog file had multiple records for each
object, and the records were not identically formatted. The index file
had a single record for each object, and the records were identically
formatted. The records for each object are assembled into the following
groups: names, coordinates, magnitudes, observations/analyses, line data
and notes. The formats for each group are different, and two groups --
the analyses and notes -- may not even be present at all.
Because of the complications in the non-identical and multiple formats
of the records of each object, specifically in those of the groups
of observations, analyses, and systems (i.e., in obs.dat, see below), we
have to separate out obs.dat from the original catalog file and put the
identically formatted groups in our new ADC catalog files, id.dat, mag.dat,
lines.dat, and note.dat, respectively.
Brief Description of obs.dat:
As explained above, we don't have a unique byte-by-byte description
for obs.dat. However, the researcher should be able to obtain
complete information based upon the object running number.
For some QSO objects, there may be either no observational data or no
analysis and system group records. The general formats for the groups
of observations, analyses, and systems are given as follows.
Bytes Format Units Label Explanations
1-3 I3 --- ID Object running number
7-18 A12 --- Obstag Observations tag, "OBSERVATIONS"
1-3 I3 --- ID Object running number
7-8 A2 --- RefNum Reference number
10-45 A36 --- Ref Complete Reference for the observed lines
47-56 A10 0.1nm Wave Wavelength region covered by the observations
58-64 A5 --- Restag Resolution tag, "RESN" or "RADIO"
63-68 F6.2 0.1nm Res Resolution in the units of the cited paper
69-72 A4 --- Disptag Dispersion tag, "DISP"
73-79 F7.2 0.1nm/mm Disp Dispersion in the units of the cited paper
80 A1 --- q_Disp Dispersion quality, "?" means uncertained
value
1-3 I3 --- ID Object running number
7-14 A8 --- Anatag Analyses tag, "ANALYSES"
The records in the analysis group fall into two categories: analysis
records and system records. Ellis and Phillips define a redshift system
as "a collection of two or more lines ... having approximately the same"
absorption redshift. An analysis is an article reporting one or more
systems. Each object may have a number of analysis records.
Each analysis is represented by one analysis record followed
by a set of 1 to 45 system records. Occasionally, the system records are
followed by one or more records containing notes. The note record can be
identified by a sharp or pound sign (#) in byte 7. The remaining
bytes contain the text of the note. The analysis record gives a
reference to the paper and information on the number of absorption lines
and systems. The system records give more specific data about each
system.
For the reference, if the reference number is the same as that of a
record in the observation group, the reference has only the author and
year of publication; otherwise, a full reference is given.
1-3 I3 --- ID Object running number
7-8 A2 --- RefNum Reference number
10-45 A36 --- Ref Reference
46-49 I4 --- Numline Number of absorption lines (from the paper)
51-54 A4 --- Linetag Lines tag, "LINES"
56-59 I4 --- Nident Number of identifications (from the paper)
61-65 A5 --- Identtag Identifications tag, "IDENT"
66-68 I3 --- NumSys Number of redshift systems (from the paper)
70-76 A7 --- Systag Systems tag, "SYSTEMS" or "SYSTEM "
1-3 I3 --- ID Object running number
7 A1 --- Notetag Note flag, "#" means a note about the analysis
26-30 A5 --- SysNum System number, e.g., 3.02 refers to the
second system in analysis paper 3
31-38 F8.5 --- Avg-Z The mean absorption redshift of the system
to the accuracy quoted
39-41 I3 --- Nline Number of lines making up the redshift system
43-47 A4 --- Linetag Lines tag, "LINES"
50-54 F5.2 0.1nm WaveErr Mean wavelength error for the observer's frame
of reference
55 A1 --- Wavetag Wavelength tag, "A", only in the 1st system
record of each analysis
59 A1 --- Lparen Left parenthesis
60 I1 --- R-Est Reality estimate
61 A1 --- Rparen Right parenthesis
The reality estimate is a relative estimate of the reality of the system
on the following scale:
3 = certain
2 = probable
1 = possible
0 = not given
The reality estimate is enclosed by left and right parentheses in bytes
59 and 61, respectively.
Acknowledgements:
The original ADC documentation by Lee E. Brotzman (1986) was used to
create this ReadMe file.
References:
Burbidge, G. R., Crowne, A. H., Smith, H. E. 1977, Astrophys. J. Suppl.,
33, 113.
Ellis, R., Phillipps, S. 1978, Mon. Not. R. Astr. Soc., 183, 271.
Ellis, R. 1978, Mon. Not. R. Astr. Soc., 185, 613.
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(End) C.-H. Joseph Lyu [Hughes STX/NASA] 10-May-1996