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Ryan Sanders

Publications and source records attributed to Ryan Sanders.

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CLASSY II: A technical Overview of the COS Legacy Archive Spectroscopic SurveY

The COS Legacy Archive Spectroscopic SurveY (CLASSY) is designed to provide the community with a spectral atlas of 45 nearby star-forming galaxies which were chosen to cover similar properties as those seen at high-z (z>6). The prime high level science product of CLASSY is accurately coadded UV spectra, ranging from ~1000-2000A, derived from a combination of archival and new data obtained with HST's Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS). This paper details the multi-stage technical processes of creating this prime data product, and the methodologies involved in extracting, reducing, aligning, and coadding far-ultraviolet (FUV) and near-ultraviolet (NUV) spectra. We provide guidelines on how to successfully utilize COS observations of extended sources, despite COS being optimized for point sources, and best-practice recommendations for the coaddition of UV spectra in general. Moreover, we discuss the effects of our reduction and coaddition techniques in the scientific application of the CLASSY data. In particular, we find that accurately accounting for flux calibration offsets can affect the derived properties of the stellar populations, while customized extractions of NUV spectra for extended sources are essential for correctly diagnosing the metallicity of galaxies via CIII] nebular emission. Despite changes in spectral resolution of up to ~25% between individual datasets (due to changes in the COS line spread function), no adverse affects were observed on the difference in velocity width and outflow velocities of isolated absorption lines when measured in the final combined data products, owing in-part to our signal-to-noise regime of S/N<20.

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The MOSDEF-LRIS Survey: Connection between Galactic-scale Outflows and the Properties of $z$~2 star-forming Galaxies

We investigate the conditions that facilitate galactic-scale outflows using a sample of 155 typical star-forming galaxies at $z$~2 drawn from the MOSFIRE Deep Evolution Field (MOSDEF) survey. The sample includes deep rest-frame UV spectroscopy from the Keck Low-Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (LRIS), which provides spectral coverage of several low-ionisation interstellar (LIS) metal absorption lines and Ly$α$ emission. Outflow velocities are calculated from the centroids of the LIS absorption and/or Ly$α$ emission, as well as the highest-velocity component of the outflow from the blue wings of the LIS absorption lines. Outflow velocities are found to be marginally correlated or independent of galaxy properties, such as star-formation rate (SFR) and star-formation rate surface density ($Σ_{\rm SFR}$). Outflow velocity scales with SFR as a power-law with index 0.24, which suggests that the outflows may be primarily driven by mechanical energy generated by supernovae explosions, as opposed to radiation pressure acting on dusty material. On the other hand, outflow velocity and $Σ_{\rm SFR}$ are not significantly correlated, which may be due to the limited dynamic range of $Σ_{\rm SFR}$ probed by our sample. The relationship between outflow velocity and $Σ_{\rm SFR}$ normalised by stellar mass ($Σ_{\rm sSFR}$), as a proxy for gravitational potential, suggests that strong outflows (e.g., > 200 km s$^{-1}$) appear ubiquitous above a threshold of log($Σ_{\rm sSFR}/\rm{yr}^{-1}\ \rm{kpc}^{-2}$) ~ -11.3, and that above this threshold, outflow velocity uncouples from $Σ_{\rm sSFR}$. These results highlight the need for higher resolution spectroscopic data and spatially resolved imaging to test the driving mechanisms of outflows predicted by theory.

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The COS Legacy Archive Spectroscopy SurveY (CLASSY) Treasury Atlas

Far-ultraviolet (FUV; ~1200-2000 angstroms) spectra are fundamental to our understanding of star-forming galaxies, providing a unique window on massive stellar populations, chemical evolution, feedback processes, and reionization. The launch of JWST will soon usher in a new era, pushing the UV spectroscopic frontier to higher redshifts than ever before, however, its success hinges on a comprehensive understanding of the massive star populations and gas conditions that power the observed UV spectral features. This requires a level of detail that is only possible with a combination of ample wavelength coverage, signal-to-noise, spectral-resolution, and sample diversity that has not yet been achieved by any FUV spectral database. We present the COS Legacy Spectroscopic SurveY (CLASSY) treasury and its first high level science product, the CLASSY atlas. CLASSY builds on the HST archive to construct the first high-quality (S/N_1500 >~ 5/resel), high-resolution (R~15,000) FUV spectral database of 45 nearby (0.002 < z < 0.182) star-forming galaxies. The CLASSY atlas, available to the public via the CLASSY website, is the result of optimally extracting and coadding 170 archival+new spectra from 312 orbits of HST observations. The CLASSY sample covers a broad range of properties including stellar mass (6.2 < logM_star(M_sol) < 10.1), star formation rate (-2.0 < log SFR (M_sol/yr) < +1.6), direct gas-phase metallicity (7.0 < 12+log(O/H) < 8.8), ionization (0.5 < O_32 < 38.0), reddening (0.02 < E(B-V < 0.67), and nebular density (10 < n_e (cm^-3) < 1120). CLASSY is biased to UV-bright star-forming galaxies, resulting in a sample that is consistent with z~0 mass-metallicity relationship, but is offset to higher SFRs by roughly 2 dex, similar to z >~2 galaxies. This unique set of properties makes the CLASSY atlas the benchmark training set for star-forming galaxies across cosmic time.

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IR SED and Dust Masses of Sub-solar Metallicity Galaxies at z~2.3

We present results from ALMA 1.2mm continuum observations of a sample of 27 star-forming galaxies at z=2.1-2.5 from the MOSFIRE Deep Evolution Field (MOSDEF) survey. These galaxies have gas-phase metallicity and star-formation rate measurements from Hb, [OIII], Ha, and [NII]. Using stacks of Spitzer, Herschel, and ALMA photometry (rest-frame ~ 8-400$μ$m), we examine the IR SED of high-redshift subsolar metallicity (~0.5 $Z_{\odot}$) LIRGs. We find that the data agree well with an average SED template of higher luminosity local low-metallicity dwarf galaxies (reduced $χ^2$ of 1.8). When compared with the commonly used templates for solar-metallicity local galaxies or high-redshift LIRGs and ULIRGs, even in the most favorable case (with reduced $χ^2$ of 2.8), the templates are rejected at >98% confidence level. The broader and hotter IR SED of both the local dwarfs and high-redshift subsolar metallicity galaxies may result from different grain properties, a clumpy dust geometry, or a harder/more intense ionizing radiation field that heats the dust to higher temperatures. The obscured SFR indicated by the FIR emission of the subsolar metallicity galaxies is only ~ 60% of the total SFR, which is considerably lower than that of the local LIRGs with ~ 96-97% obscured fractions. Due to the evolving IR SED shape, the local LIRG templates fit to mid-IR data can overestimate the Rayleigh-Jeans tail measurements at z~2 by a factor of 2-20, and these templates underestimate IR luminosities if fit to the observed ALMA fluxes by >0.4dex. At a given stellar mass or metallicity, dust masses at z~2.3 are an order of magnitude higher than those at z~0. Given the predicted molecular gas mass fractions, the observed z~2.3 dust-to-stellar mass ratios suggest lower dust-to-molecular gas masses than in local galaxies at the same metallicity.

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Kinematics of the Circumgalactic Medium of a $z = 0.77$ Galaxy from MgII Tomography

Galaxy evolution is thought to be driven in large part by the flow of gas between galaxies and the circumgalactic medium (CGM), a halo of metal-enriched gas extending out to $\gtrsim100$ kpc from each galaxy. Studying the spatial structure of the CGM holds promise for understanding these gas flow mechanisms; however, the common method using background quasar sightlines provides minimal spatial information. Recent works have shown the utility of extended background sources such as giant gravitationally lensed arcs. Using background lensed arcs from the CSWA 38 lens system, we continuously probed, at a resolution element of about 15 kpc$^2$, the spatial and kinematic distribution of MgII absorption in a star-forming galaxy at $z=0.77$ (stellar mass $\approx 10^{9.7}$ M$_\odot$, star formation rate $\approx 10$ M$_\odot$ yr$^{-1}$) at impact parameters $D \simeq 5-30$ kpc. Our results present an anisotropic, optically thick medium whose absorption strength decreases with increasing impact parameter, in agreement with the statistics towards quasars and other gravitational arcs. Furthermore, we find generally low line-of-sight velocities in comparison to the relatively high velocity dispersion in the MgII gas (with typical $σ\approx 50$ km s$^{-1}$). While the galaxy itself exhibits a clear outflow (with MgII velocities up to $\sim 500$ km s$^{-1}$) in the down-the-barrel spectrum, the outflow component is sub-dominant and only weakly detected at larger impact parameters probed by the background arcs. Our results provide evidence of mainly dispersion-supported, metal-enriched gas recycling through the CGM.

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The Mass-Metallicity Relation at z=8: Direct-Method Metallicity Constraints and Near-Future Prospects

Physical properties of galaxies at z>7 are of interest for understanding both the early phases of star formation and the process of cosmic reionization. Chemical abundance measurements offer valuable information on the integrated star formation history, and hence ionizing photon production, as well as the rapid gas accretion expected at such high redshifts. We use reported measurements of [O III] 88$μ$m emission and star formation rate to estimate gas-phase oxygen abundances in five galaxies at z=7.1-9.1 using the direct T_e method. We find typical abundances 12+log(O/H) = 7.9 ($\sim$0.2 times the solar value) and an evolution of 0.9$\pm$0.5 dex in oxygen abundance at fixed stellar mass from z$\simeq$8 to 0. These results are compatible with theoretical predictions, albeit with large (conservative) uncertainties in both mass and metallicity. We assess both statistical and systematic uncertainties to identify promising means of improvement with the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) and the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). In particular we highlight [O III] 52$μ$m as a valuable feature for robust metallicity measurements. Precision of 0.1-0.2 dex in T_e-based O/H abundance can be reasonably achieved for galaxies at z$\approx$5-8 by combining [O III] 52$μ$m with rest-frame optical strong lines. It will also be possible to probe gas mixing and mergers via resolved T_e-based abundances on kpc scales. With ALMA and JWST, direct metallicity measurements will thus be remarkably accessible in the reionization epoch.

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The MOSDEF Survey: An Improved Voronoi Binning Technique on Spatially Resolved Stellar Populations at z~2

We use a sample of 350 star-forming galaxies at $1.25<z<2.66$ from the MOSFIRE Deep Evolution Field survey to demonstrate an improved Voronoi binning technique that we use to study the properties of resolved stellar populations in $z\sim2$ galaxies. Stellar population and dust maps are constructed from the high-resolution CANDELS/3D-HST multi-band imaging. Rather than constructing the layout of resolved elements (i.e., Voronoi bins) from the S/N distribution of the $H_{160}$-band alone, we introduce a modified Voronoi binning method that additionally incorporates the S/N distribution of several resolved filters. The SED-derived resolved E(B-V)$_{\text{stars}}$, stellar population ages, SFRs, and stellar masses that are inferred from the Voronoi bins constructed from multiple filters are generally consistent with the properties inferred from the integrated photometry within the uncertainties, with the exception of the inferred E(B-V)$_{\text{stars}}$ from our $z\sim1.5$ sample due to their UV slopes being unconstrained by the resolved photometry. The results from our multi-filter Voronoi binning technique are compared to those derived from a "traditional" single-filter Voronoi binning approach. We find that single-filter binning produces inferred E(B-V)$_{\text{stars}}$ that are systematically redder by 0.02 mag on average, but could differ by up to 0.20 mag, and could be attributed to poorly constrained resolved photometry covering the UV slope. Overall, we advocate that our methodology produces more reliable SED-derived parameters due to the best-fit resolved SEDs being better constrained at all resolved wavelengths--particularly those covering the UV slope.

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The MOSDEF Survey: the Variation of the Dust Attenuation Curve with Metallicity

We derive the UV-optical stellar dust attenuation curve of galaxies at z=1.4-2.6 as a function of gas-phase metallicity. We use a sample of 218 star-forming galaxies, excluding those with very young or heavily obscured star formation, from the MOSFIRE Deep Evolution Field (MOSDEF) survey with H$α$, H$β$, and [NII]$λ6585$ spectroscopic measurements. We constrain the shape of the attenuation curve by comparing the average flux densities of galaxies sorted into bins of dust obscuration using Balmer decrements, i.e., H$α$-to-H$β$ luminosities. The average attenuation curve for the high-metallicity sample (12+log(O/H)>8.5, corresponding to $M_*\gtrsim10^{10.4}\,M_{\odot}$) has a shallow slope, identical to that of the Calzetti local starburst curve, and a significant UV 2175A extinction bump that is $\sim 0.5\times$ the strength of the Milky Way bump. On the other hand, the average attenuation curve of the low-metallicity sample (12+log(O/H) $\sim 8.2-8.5$) has a steeper slope similar to that of the SMC curve, only consistent with the Calzetti slope at the $3σ$ level. The UV bump is not detected in the low-metallicity curve, indicating the relative lack of the small dust grains causing the bump at low metallicities. Furthermore, we find that on average the nebular reddening (E(B-V)) is a factor of 2 times larger than that of the stellar continuum for galaxies with low metallicities, while the nebular and stellar reddening are similar for galaxies with higher metallicities. The latter is likely due to a high surface density of dusty clouds embedding the star forming regions but also reddening the continuum in the high-metallicity galaxies.

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The MOSDEF Survey: Broad Emission Lines at z=1.4-3.8

We present results from the MOSFIRE Deep Evolution Field (MOSDEF) survey on broad flux from the nebular emission lines H$α$, [NII], [OIII], H$β$, and [SII]. The sample consists of 127 star-forming galaxies at $1.37 < z < 2.61$ and 84 galaxies at $2.95 < z < 3.80$. We decompose the emission lines using narrow ($\text{FWHM} < 275 \ \text{km s}^{-1}$) and broad ($\text{FWHM} > 300 \ \text{km s}^{-1}$) Gaussian components for individual galaxies and stacks. Broad emission is detected at $>3σ$ in $<10$% of galaxies and the broad flux accounts for 10-70% of the total flux. We find a slight increase in broad to narrow flux ratio with mass but note that we cannot reliably detect broad emission with $\text{FWHM} < 275 \ \text{km s}^{-1}$, which may be significant at low masses. Notably, there is a correlation between higher signal-to-noise (S/N) spectra and a broad component detection indicating a S/N dependence in our ability to detect broad flux. When placed on the N2-BPT diagram ([OIII]/H$β$ vs. [NII]/H$α$) the broad components of the stacks are shifted towards higher [OIII]/H$β$ and [NII]/$α$ ratios compared to the narrow component. We compare the location of the broad components to shock models and find that the broad component could be due to shocks, but we do not rule out other possibilities such as the presence of an AGN. We estimate the mass loading factor (mass outflow rate/star formation rate) assuming the broad component is a photoionized outflow and find that the mass loading factor increases as a function of mass which agrees with previous studies. We show that adding emission from shocked gas to $z\sim0$ SDSS spectra shifts galaxies towards the location of $z\sim2$ galaxies on several emission line diagnostic diagrams.

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The MOSDEF survey: the prevalence and properties of galaxy-wide AGN-driven outflows at $z\sim 2$

Using observations from the first two years of the MOSFIRE Deep Evolution Field (MOSDEF) survey, we study 13 AGN-driven outflows detected from a sample of 67 X-ray, IR and/or optically-selected AGN at $z \sim 2$. The AGN have bolometric luminosities of $\sim10^{44}-10^{46} ~\mathrm{erg~s^{-1}}$, including both quasars and moderate-luminosity AGN. We detect blueshifted, ionized gas outflows in the H$β$ , [OIII], H$α$ ~and/or [NII] emission lines of $19\%$ of the AGN, while only 1.8\% of the MOSDEF galaxies have similarly-detected outflows. The outflow velocities span $\sim$300 to 1000 km s$^{-1}$. Eight of the 13 outflows are spatially extended on similar scales as the host galaxies, with spatial extents of 2.5 to 11.0 kpc. Outflows are detected uniformly across the star-forming main sequence, showing little trend with the host galaxy SFR. Line ratio diagnostics indicate that the outflowing gas is photoionized by the AGN. We do not find evidence for positive AGN feedback, in either our small MOSDEF sample or a much larger SDSS sample, using the BPT diagram. Given that a galaxy with an AGN is ten times more likely to have a detected outflow, the outflowing gas is photoionzed by the AGN, and estimates of the mass and energy outflow rates indicate that stellar feedback is insufficient to drive at least some of these outflows, they are very likely to be AGN-driven. The outflows have mass-loading factors of the order of unity, suggesting that they help regulate star formation in their host galaxies, though they may be insufficient to fully quench it.

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The MOSDEF Survey: Metallicity Dependence of the PAH Emission at High Redshift and Implications for 24 micron-inferred IR Luminosities and Star Formation Rates at z~2

We present results on the variation of 7.7 micron Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon (PAH) emission in galaxies spanning a wide range in metallicity at z ~ 2. For this analysis, we use rest-frame optical spectra of 476 galaxies at 1.37 < z < 2.61 from the MOSFIRE Deep Evolution Field (MOSDEF) survey to infer metallicities and ionization states. Spitzer/MIPS 24 micron and Herschel/PACS 100 and 160 micron observations are used to derive rest-frame 7.7 micron luminosities (L(7.7)) and total IR luminosities (L(IR)), respectively. We find significant trends between the ratio of L(7.7) to L(IR) (and to dust-corrected SFR) and both metallicity and [OIII]/[OII] (O32) emission-line ratio. The latter is an empirical proxy for the ionization parameter. These trends indicate a paucity of PAH emission in low metallicity environments with harder and more intense radiation fields. Additionally, L(7.7)/L(IR) is significantly lower in the youngest quartile of our sample (ages of 500 Myr) compared to older galaxies, which may be a result of the delayed production of PAHs by AGB stars. The relative strength of L(7.7) to L(IR) is also lower by a factor of ~ 2 for galaxies with masses $M_* < 10^{10}M_{\odot}$, compared to the more massive ones. We demonstrate that commonly-used conversions of L(7.7) (or 24 micron flux density; f(24)) to L(IR) underestimate the IR luminosity by more than a factor of 2 at $M_*$ ~ $10^{9.6-10.0} M_{\odot}$. We adopt a mass-dependent conversion of L(7.7) to L(IR) with L(7.7)/L(IR)= 0.09 and 0.22 for $M_* < 10^{10}$ and $> 10^{10} M_{\odot}$, respectively. Based on the new scaling, the SFR-$M_*$ relation has a shallower slope than previously derived. Our results also suggest a higher IR luminosity density at z ~ 2 than previously measured, corresponding to a ~ 30% increase in the SFR density.

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The MOSDEF Survey: The strong agreement between H-alpha and UV-to-FIR star formation rates for z~2 star-forming galaxies

We present the first direct comparison between Balmer line and panchromatic SED-based SFRs for z~2 galaxies. For this comparison we used 17 star-forming galaxies selected from the MOSFIRE Deep Evolution Field (MOSDEF) survey, with $3σ$ detections for H$α$ and at least two IR bands (Spitzer/MIPS 24$μ$m and Herschel/PACS 100 and 160$μ$m, and in some cases Herschel/SPIRE 250, 350, and 500$μ$m). The galaxies have total IR (8-1000$μ$m) luminosities of $\sim10^{11.4}-10^{12.4}\,\textrm{L}_\odot$ and star-formation rates (SFRs) of $\sim30-250\,\textrm{M}_\odot\,\mathrm{yr^{-1}}$. We fit the UV-to-far-IR SEDs with flexible stellar population synthesis (FSPS) models - which include both stellar and dust emission - and compare the inferred SFRs with the SFR(H$α$,H$β$) values corrected for dust attenuation using Balmer decrements. The two SFRs agree with a scatter of 0.17 dex. Our results imply that the Balmer decrement accurately predicts the obscuration of the nebular lines and can be used to robustly calculate SFRs for star-forming galaxies at z~2 with SFRs up to $\sim200\,\textrm{M}_\odot\,\mathrm{yr^{-1}}$. We also use our data to assess SFR indicators based on modeling the UV-to-mid-IR SEDs or by adding SFR(UV) and SFR(IR), for which the latter is based on the mid-IR only or on the full IR SED. All these SFRs show a poorer agreement with SFR(H$α$,H$β$) and in some cases large systematic biases are observed. Finally, we show that the SFR and dust attenuation derived from the UV-to-near-IR SED alone are unbiased when assuming a delayed exponentially declining star-formation history.

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The MOSDEF Survey: Dissecting the star-formation rate vs. stellar mass relation using H$α$ and H$β$ emission lines at z ~ 2

We present results on the star-formation rate (SFR) versus stellar mass ($M_*$) relation (i.e., the "main sequence") among star-forming galaxies at 1.37$\leq$$z$$\leq$2.61 using the MOSFIRE Deep Evolution Field (MOSDEF) survey. Based on a sample of 261 galaxies with H$α$ and H$β$ spectroscopy, we have estimated robust dust-corrected instantaneous SFRs over a large range in $M_*$ ($\sim10^{9.5}-10^{11.5}M_\odot$). We find a correlation between log(SFR(H$α$)) and log($M_*$) with a slope of 0.65$\pm$0.08 (0.58$\pm$0.10) at 1.4<z<2.6 (2.1<z<2.6). We find that different assumptions for the dust correction, such as using the color-excess of the stellar continuum to correct the nebular lines, sample selection biases against red star-forming galaxies, and not accounting for Balmer absorption can yield steeper slopes of the log(SFR)-log($M_*$) relation. Our sample is immune from these biases as it is rest-frame optically selected, H$α$ and H$β$ are corrected for Balmer absorption, and the H$α$ luminosity is dust-corrected using the nebular color-excess computed from the Balmer decrement. The scatter of the log(SFR(H$α$))-log($M_*$) relation, after accounting for the measurement uncertainties, is 0.31 dex at 2.1<z<2.6, which is 0.05 dex larger than the scatter in log(SFR(UV))-log($M_*$). Based on comparisons to a simulated SFR-$M_*$ relation with some intrinsic scatter, we argue that in the absence of direct measurements of galaxy-to-galaxy variations in the attenuation/extinction curves and the IMF, one cannot use the difference in the scatter of the SFR(H$α$)- and SFR(UV)-$M_*$ relations to constrain the stochasticity of star formation in high-redshift galaxies.

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The MOSFIRE Deep Evolution Field (MOSDEF) Survey: Rest-Frame Optical Spectroscopy for ~1500 H-Selected Galaxies at 1.37 < z < 3.8

In this paper we present the MOSFIRE Deep Evolution Field (MOSDEF) survey. The MOSDEF survey aims to obtain moderate-resolution (R=3000-3650) rest-frame optical spectra (~3700-7000 Angstrom) for ~1500 galaxies at 1.37<z<3.80 in three well-studied CANDELS fields: AEGIS, COSMOS, and GOODS-N. Targets are selected in three redshift intervals: 1.37<z<1.70, 2.09<z<2.61, and 2.95<z<3.80, down to fixed H_AB (F160W) magnitudes of 24.0, 24.5 and 25.0, respectively, using the photometric and spectroscopic catalogs from the 3D-HST survey. We target both strong nebular emission lines (e.g., [OII], Hbeta, [OIII], 5008, Halpha, [NII], and [SII]) and stellar continuum and absorption features (e.g., Balmer lines, Ca-II H and K, Mgb, 4000 Angstrom break). Here we present an overview of our survey, the observational strategy, the data reduction and analysis, and the sample characteristics based on spectra obtained during the first 24 nights. To date, we have completed 21 masks, obtaining spectra for 591 galaxies. For ~80% of the targets we derive a robust redshift from either emission or absorption lines. In addition, we confirm 55 additional galaxies, which were serendipitously detected. The MOSDEF galaxy sample includes unobscured star-forming, dusty star-forming, and quiescent galaxies and spans a wide range in stellar mass (~10^9-10^11.5 Msol) and star formation rate (~10^0-10^3 Msol/yr). The spectroscopically confirmed sample is roughly representative of an H-band limited galaxy sample at these redshifts. With its large sample size, broad diversity in galaxy properties, and wealth of available ancillary data, MOSDEF will transform our understanding of the stellar, gaseous, metal, dust, and black hole content of galaxies during the time when the universe was most active.

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