Mock 2dF and SDSS galaxy redshift surveys

Abstract

We present a comprehensive set of mock 2dF and SDSS galaxy redshift surveys constructed from a set of large, high-resolution cosmological N-body simulations. The radial selection functions and geometrical limits of the catalogues mimic those of the genuine surveys. The catalogues span a wide range of cosmologies, including both open and flat universes. In all the models the galaxy distributions are biased so as approximately to reproduce the observed galaxy correlation function on scales of 1-10 h−1 Mpc. In some cases models with a variety of different biasing prescriptions are included. All the mock catalogues are publicly available at http://star-www.dur.ac.uk/& tilde; cole/mocks/main.html. We expect these catalogues to be a valuable aid in the development of the new algorithms and statistics that will be used to analyse the 2dF and SDSS surveys when they are completed in the next few years. Mock catalogues of the PSCz survey of IRAS galaxies are also available at the same World Wide Web location.