High-Redshift Quasars Found in Sloan Digital Sky Survey Commissioning Data. VI. Sloan Digital Sky Survey Spectrograph Observations

Abstract

We present data for over 100 high-redshift quasars found in ?700 deg2 by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), using automated selection algorithms applied to SDSS imaging data and with spectroscopic confirmation obtained during routine spectroscopic observations by the Sloan 2.5 m telescope. The SDSS spectra cover the wavelength range 3900?9200 ? at a spectral resolution of 1800 and have been obtained for 116 quasars with redshifts greater than 3.94; 92 of these objects were previously uncataloged, significantly increasing the current tally of published z > 4 quasars. The paper also reports observations of seven additional new z > 4 quasars; all were selected from the SDSS imaging survey and spectroscopically confirmed with observations by the Apache Point Observatory's 3.5 m telescope or the Hobby-Eberly Telescope. The i' magnitudes of the quasars range from 18.03 to 20.68. Of the 99 new objects reported in this paper, 13 appear to be broad absorption line quasars. Five quasars, including one object at a redshift of 5.11, have 20 cm peak flux densities greater than 1 mJy. Two of the quasars, both at z ? 4.5, have very weak emission lines; one of these objects is a radio source. Nineteen of the newly discovered objects have redshifts above 4.6, and the maximum redshift is z = 5.41; among objects reported to date, the latter is the third highest redshift AGN and is penultimate in redshift among luminous quasars.