A quasar sample for the Lyα forest studies from the Data Release 10 of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey

Abstract

We present a new sample of the z ≥ 2 quasar spectra. It contains 102 643 spectra which were visually selected from the SDSS DR10, and includes also a subsample of 65 976 spectra for the composite spectra compilation. This sample will be used for the Lyα forest studies, and can be used for other studies, including those of the quasar spectral properties and the spatial distribution of quasars at z > 2. The compiled composite spectra will be used for the determination of the intrinsic spectrum in the Lyα forest studies. Those objects which were not included into the main sample and rejected during the visual examination, are 11 192 quasars with the broad absorption lines, 6 804 spectra with the damped Lyα systems, 1 248 and 493 spectra with the absorption in the Lyα and Lyβ lines, respectively. The "non-quasar" objects, including 191 candidates for blazars and 30 galaxies with starburst, as well as 617 quasar spectra with wrong redshift, 417 incomplete spectra and 1 497 spectra with low S/N ratio, were also excluded.