The VANDELS ESO public spectroscopic survey. Final data release of 2087 spectra and spectroscopic measurements

Abstract

VANDELS is an ESO Public Spectroscopic Survey designed to build a sample of high-signal-to-noise ratio, medium-resolution spectra of galaxies at redshifts between 1 and 6.5. Here we present the final Public Data Release of the VANDELS Survey, comprising 2087 redshift measurements. We provide a detailed description of sample selection, observations, and data reduction procedures. The final catalogue reaches a target selection completeness of 40% at i<SUB>AB</SUB> = 25. The high signal-to-noise ratio of the spectra (above 7 in 80% of the spectra) and the dispersion of 2.5 Å allowed us to measure redshifts with high precision, the redshift measurement success rate reaching almost 100%. Together with the redshift catalogue and the reduced spectra, we also provide optical mid-infrared photometry and physical parameters derived through fitting the spectral energy distribution. The observed galaxy sample comprises both passive and star forming galaxies covering a stellar mass range of 8.3 < Log(M<SUB>*</SUB>/M<SUB>⊙</SUB>) < 11.7. <P />This paper, which presents the final data release of the final high-redshift VIMOS survey, is dedicated to the memory of Olivier Le Fèvre, PI of the VIMOS instrument, world renowned expert of extragalactic spectroscopy and a pioneer in spectroscopy of the distant Universe. <P />All catalogues and spectra are accessible through the survey database (<A href="http://vandels.inaf.it">http://vandels.inaf.it</A>) where all information can be queried interactively, and via the ESO Archive (<A href="https://www.eso.org/qi/">https://www.eso.org/qi/</A>).