A Deep Wide-Field, Optical, and Near-Infrared Catalog of a Large Area around the Hubble Deep Field North

TLDR

A deep multicolor imaging survey covering 0.2 deg² around the HDF‑N was conducted in U–z′ and HK′ bands, with data reduced for precise photometry and astrometry to support photometric redshifts and spectroscopic follow‑up. The survey produced a catalog of 48,858 5σ‑detected objects, with number counts and color–magnitude diagrams matching prior work, and revealed that z>5.5 Lyman‑break selections are more contaminated by low‑redshift interlopers than previously thought. The surveyed region is referred to as the Hawaii HDF‑N.

Abstract

We have conducted a deep multicolor imaging survey of 0.2 deg2 centered on the Hubble Deep Field North (HDF-N). We shall refer to this region as the Hawaii HDF-N. Deep data were collected in U, B, V, R, I, and z' bands over the central 0.2 deg2 and in HK' over a smaller region covering the Chandra Deep Field North. The data were reduced to have accurate relative photometry and astrometry across the entire field to facilitate photometric redshifts and spectroscopic follow-up. We have compiled a catalog of 48,858 objects in the central 0.2 deg2 detected at 5 σ significance in a 3'' aperture in either R or z' band. Number counts and color-magnitude diagrams are presented and shown to be consistent with previous observations. Using color selection we have measured the density of objects at 3 < z < 7. Our multicolor data indicates that samples selected at z > 5.5 using the Lyman break technique suffer from more contamination by low-redshift objects than suggested by previous studies.