Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 000, 000–000 (0000)

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(MN LATEX style file v2.2)

The 6dF Galaxy Survey: Final Redshift Release (DR3) andSouthern Large-Scale Structures
D. Heath Jones1, Mike A. Read2 , Will Saunders1, Matthew Colless1, Tom Jarrett3,
Quentin A. Parker1,4, Anthony P. Fairall5,15, Thomas Mauch6 , Elaine M. Sadler7
Fred G. Watson1, Donna Burton1, Lachlan A. Campbell1,8, Paul Cass1 , Scott M.
Croom7, John Dawe1,15, Kristin Fiegert1, Leela Frankcombe8, Malcolm Hartley1,
John Huchra9, Dionne James1, Emma Kirby8, Ofer Lahav10, John Lucey11, Gary A.
Mamon12,13, Lesa Moore7, Bruce A. Peterson8, Sayuri Prior8, Dominique Proust13,
Ken Russell1, Vicky Safouris8, Ken-ichi Wakamatsu14, Eduard Westra8, and Mary
Williams8
1 Anglo-Australian Observatory, P.O. Box 296, Epping, NSW 1710, Australia (heath@aao.gov.au)
2 Institute for Astronomy, Royal Observatory, Blackford Hill, Edinburgh, EH9 3HJ, United Kingdom
3 Infrared Processing and Analysis Center, California Institute of Technology, Mail Code 100-22, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
4 Department of Physics, Macquarie University, Sydney 2109, Australia
5 Department of Astronomy, University of Cape Town, Private Bag, Rondebosch 7700, South Africa
6 Astrophysics, Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Keble Road, Oxford, OX1 3RH, UK
7 School of Physics, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
8 Research School of Astronomy & Astrophysics, The Australian National University, Weston Creek, ACT 2611, Australia
9 Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden St MS20, Cambridge, MA 02138-1516, USA
10 Department of Physics and Astronomy, University College London, Gower St, London WC1E 6BT, UK
11 Department of Physics, University of Durham, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE, United Kingdom
12 Institut d’Astrophysique de Paris (CNRS UMR 7095), 98 bis Bd Arago, F-75014 Paris, France
13 GEPI (CNRS UMR 8111), Observatoire de Paris, F-92195 Meudon, France
14 Faculty of Engineering, Gifu University, Gifu 501–1193, Japan
15 deceased.

Accepted —. Received —; in original form —.

ABSTRACTWe report the final redshift release of the 6dF Galaxy Survey, a combined
redshift and peculiar velocity survey over the southern sky (|b| > 10◦ ). Its
136 304 spectra have yielded 110 256 new extragalactic redshifts and a new catalogue of 125 071 galaxies making near-complete samples with (K, H, J, rF , bJ ) 6(12.65, 12.95, 13.75, 15.60, 16.75). The median redshift of the survey is 0.053. Survey
data, including images, spectra, photometry and redshifts, are available through an
online database. We describe changes to the information in the database since earlierinterim data releases. Future releases will include velocity dispersions, distances andpeculiar velocities for the brightest early-type galaxies, comprising about 10% of thesample. Here we provide redshift maps of the southern local universe with z 6 0.1,
showing nearby large-scale structures in hitherto unseen detail. A number of regions
known previously to have a paucity of galaxies are confirmed as significantly underdense regions. The URL of the 6dFGS database is http://www-wfau.roe.ac.uk/6dFGS.
Key words: surveys — galaxies: clustering — galaxies: distances and redshifts —cosmology: observations — cosmology: large scale structure of universe

1

INTRODUCTION

The advent of wide-field multiplexing spectrographs over the
past decade has produced huge advances in our knowledge
c 0000 RAS

of the structure and content of the low-redshift universe.
Surveys such as the 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey (2dFGRS;
Colless et al. 2001) and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS;

Jones et al.

2

Table 1. Comparison of recent wide-area low-redshift galaxy surveys

6dFGS
Magnitude limits

Sky coverage (sr)Fraction of sky
Extragalactic sample, NMedian redshift, z 1

2dFGRS

SDSS-DR7K 6 12.65 bJ 6 19.45 r 6 17.77
H 6 12.95(Petrosian)J 6 13.75
rF 6 15.60
bJ 6 16.75
5.2
0.5
2.86
41%
4%
23%
125 071
221 414644 951
0.053
0.11
0.1

2

Volume V in [0.5z 1 ,2

1.5z 1 ]( h−3 Mpc3 )2.1 × 107

1.7 × 107

7.6 × 107

4 × 10−3
6.7

9 × 10−3
2.0

6 × 10−3
3.0

4.8
(1)

2.8
(2)

3.9
(3)

2

Sampling density at z 1 ,2( h3 Mpc−3 )ρ̄ = 2N
3V
Fibre aperture (′′ )Fibre aperture at z 1( h−1 kpc)
Reference(s)2Taking h = H0 /100 km s−1 Mpc−1 , ΩM0 = 0.3, and ΩΛ0 = 0.7.
References: (1) this paper; (2) Colless et al. (2001), Cole et al.
(2005); (3) Abazajian et al. (2009), www.sdss.org/dr7,(PetroMag r < 17.77, type = 3, zStatus > 2, and objects withstellar morphology and z > 0.001).

York et al. 2000; Abazajian et al. 2009) have characterised
the luminosity and clustering properties of galaxies in unprecedented detail and measured with unprecedented precision the amount and spatial distribution of dark matter.
They also place tight constraints on Λ-Cold Dark Mattermodels of the universe (e.g. Spergel et al. 2007) when combined with the results of supernovae distance measurements(Schmidt et al. 1998; Riess et al. 1998; Perlmutter et al.
1999) and the cosmic microwave background (Bennett et al.
2003). Within this context, the focus has shifted towards an
improved understanding of galaxy mass assembly and structure formation generally (e.g. Baugh 2006). A combined redshift and peculiar velocity survey, with dynamical measuresof galaxy masses and large-scale motions, offers even better constraints on parameters of cosmological interest thana survey of redshifts alone (Burkey & Taylor 2004; Zaroubi& Branchini 2005).
The 6dF Galaxy Survey1 (6dFGS; Jones et al. 2004,
2005) is a near-infrared-selected redshift and peculiar velocity survey that is complete to total extrapolated magnitude
limits (K, H, J) = (12.65, 12.95, 13.75)2 over 83 percent of
the southern sky. The near-infrared total JHK magnitudes
are taken from the Two Micron All-Sky Survey (2MASS)
Extended Source Catalog (XSC; Jarrett et al. 2000), whilebJ rF photometry comes from SuperCOSMOS (Hambly et al.
2001a,b), following its recalibration for the 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey (Cole et al. 2005).

Near-infrared (NIR) selection of the primary galaxy
samples is advantageous because it closely tracks the older
stellar populations that dominate the stellar mass in galaxies. Furthermore, extinction (both internal and Galactic) is greatly lessened and stellar mass-to-light ratios are
more tightly defined (Bell & de Jong 2001). Two secondary optically-selected samples are complete to (rF , bJ ) =(15.60, 16.75)2 . A number of smaller samples, selected fromvarious catalogues and wavelengths, fill out the target allocations. The peculiar velocity survey uses velocity dispersions
and photometric scale-lengths to derive dynamical masses
and Fundamental Plane distances and peculiar velocities fora subset of more than 10 000 bright, early-type galaxies.
The 6dFGS magnitude limits are ∼ 1.5 mag brighter
than the magnitudes at which incompleteness starts to affectthe 2MASS XSC (K . 14). Examination of the bivariate
distribution of surface brightness and galaxy luminosity forthe entire 6dFGS sample (Jones et al., in prep) shows sample selection to be robust against surface brightness selection
effects (see e.g. Bell et al. 2003; McIntosh et al. 2006). The
limiting isophote at which 6dFGS magnitudes were measured (µK = 20 mag arcsec−2 ) is brighter than the values atwhich 2MASS was found to be incomplete by these authors.
The 6dFGS has thus far been used in studies of largescale structure (e.g. Fleenor et al. 2005, 2006; Boué et al.
2008; Radburn-Smith et al. 2006; Proust et al. 2006), luminosity and stellar mass functions (Jones et al. 2006, Joneset al., in prep), the influence of local density and velocity
distributions (Erdogdu et al. 2006a,b), among others. The
Early and First Data Releases (see below) alone yielded new
redshifts for 277 ACO clusters (z . 0.1) without previous
redshifts (Andernach et al. 2005), and the full data haveyielded more than 400. Examples of the full 3-d space structure of the 6dFGS can be seen in Fluke, Barnes & Jones(2008). The 6dFGS has also been used to study special interest samples selected for their luminosity at x-ray and radio
wavelengths (Sadler et al. 2007; Mauduit & Mamon 2007;
Mauch & Sadler 2007). Future surveys with next generation
radio telescopes such as ASKAP and the SKA (e.g. Blake
et al. 2004; van Driel 2005; Rawlings 2006) will also benefit from the legacy of 6dFGS, as they probe comparable
volumes in HI with the benefit of prior redshift information
across most of the southern sky.
This paper describes the final data release of 6dFGS
redshifts. Earlier incremental data releases in 2002 December, 2004 March and 2005 May have made the first 90k redshifts publicly available through an online database. In Sec. 2
we give an overview of the 6dF Galaxy Survey including thecharacteristics and scope of the data set. Section 3 describes
the final instalment as well as its access through our online
database. Details of changes and additions superceding earlier releases are also given. In Sec. 4 we present redshift mapsof the southern sky in both equatorial and Galactic coordinate projections, and discuss major large-scale structures.
Concluding remarks are made in Sec. 5.

2
1

6dFGS home: http://www.aao.gov.au/6dFGS
These limits differ slightly from those reported in Jones et al.
(2004) and Jones et al. (2005) due to subsequent revision of the
input magnitudes by 2MASS and SuperCOSMOS; see Sec. 2.

2

2.1

SURVEY OVERVIEW
Background

The primary references for detailed information about the
6dFGS are Jones et al. (2004) and this paper. The former
c 0000 RAS, MNRAS 000, 000–000

6dFGS: Final Redshift Release (DR3) and Large-Scale Structures

3

Figure 1. (a) Density of 6dFGS target sources (per square degree) on the sky; key supercluster over-densities are labelled. (b) Full
6dFGS field coverage (filled discs) and unobserved target fields (open circles). (c) Redshift completeness for K 6 12.65. All panels show
equal-area Aitoff projections.

describes target selection and field allocations, the 6dF instrument, and data reduction and redshifting methodology.
It also characterises the First Data Release (DR1; 46k redshifts) and the online database. Jones et al. (2005) describes
the Second Data Release (DR2; 83k redshifts) and discusses
a number of small changes to the data. Earlier papers describe the 6dF instrument (Parker, Watson, & Miziarski
1998; Watson et al. 2000) and the field placement algorithm used to optimise target coverage (Campbell, Saunders, & Colless 2004). Database users are encouraged toconsult these and other papers on the 6dFGS Publications
web page3 . This paper marks the final public data release of
6dFGS redshift data.
The observations for this survey were carried out using the Six Degree Field (6dF) fibre-fed multi-object spec3

http://www.aao.gov.au/6dFGS/Publications

c 0000 RAS, MNRAS 000, 000–000

trograph at the UK Schmidt Telescope (UKST) over 2001
May to 2006 January (Jones et al. 2004). Target fields covered the ∼ 17 000 deg2 of southern sky more than 10◦ fromthe Galactic Plane4 , approximately ten times the area ofthe 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey (2dFGRS; Colless et al.
2001) and more than twice the spectroscopic areal coverageof the Sloan Digital Sky Survey seventh data release (SDSS
DR7; Abazajian et al. 2009). Table 1 shows a comparisonof the 6dFGS to these two major surveys. In terms of secure redshifts, 6dFGS has around half the number of 2dFGRS and one-sixth those of SDSS DR7 (r < 17.77). The
co-moving volume covered of 6dFGS is about the same as
2dFGRS at their respective median redshifts, and around
4 The b and r surveys of 6dFGS are limited to |b| > 20◦ in
JForder to mitigate the effect of higher Galactic extinction in the
optical at lower latitudes.

4Jones et al.

30 percent that of SDSS DR7. In terms of fibre aperturesize, the larger apertures of 6dFGS (6.7′′ ) give a projected
diameter of 4.8 h−1 kpc at the median redshift of the survey, covering 40 percent more projected area than SDSS at
its median redshift, and more than three times the area of
2dFGRS. By any measure, the scale of 6dFGS is readily
comparable to those of SDSS and 2dFGRS, and like thosesurveys, its legacy is a permanent public database, which is
unique in its scope, depth and southern aspect.
Figure 1 shows the sky distribution of 6dFGS targets
and fields. Of the 1 526 fields observed, 1 447 contributed
data to the final survey. The remaining 5 percent were rejected for reasons of quality control. Of the 1 447, aroundhalf have completeness greater than 90 percent, and morethan two thirds have completeness greater than 85 percent.
Although most sky regions are effectively covered twice,around 50 fields near the LMC and the South Pole were notobserved by the conclusion of the survey. Sky redshift completeness (Fig. 1c) is generally high (85 percent or greater)
but diminishes in regions with insufficient coverage or affected by poor conditions. In terms of survey limiting magnitude, mlim , completeness is greater than 85 percent form < (mlim − 0.75) in fields with completeness 90 percent or
higher, and for m < (mlim − 2) in fields with completenessesof 70 to 80 percent.

2.2

Redshift Distribution

The median redshift for 6dFGS is z1/2 = 0.053, roughly halfthat of SDSS and 2dFGRS, and twice that of the 2MASSRedshift Survey (2MRS; Erdogdu et al. 2006a). Figure 2
shows the number distribution of 6dFGS redshifts for boththe full sample, N (z), (panel b; 125 071 sources) as well as
the K-selected primary targets, NK (z), (panel c; 93 361).
Both samples show the skewed distributions typical for
magnitude-limited surveys, which is accentuated in Fig. 2(b)by the inclusion of Additional Target samples that stretch
the overall distribution to higher redshifts. This is also reflected in their interquartile ranges: [0.034, 0.074] for the fullsample, compared to the slightly narrower [0.034, 0.070] for
the K-selected sample. The localised peaks in N (z) andNK (z) are due to individual large-scale structures, clearlyseen in Fig. 2(a) when redshifts are spread across RA. The
gaps in (a) centred on R.A. 8 hr and 17 hr correspond to theunsurveyed regions around the Galactic Plane.
The limit of the K-selected sample (K 6 12.65) encompasses galaxies with luminosities MK 6 −23.24 at themedian redshift (z1/2 = 0.053), around 0.6 mag fainter thanM ∗ , the characteristic turn-over point in the K-band luminosity function from the same sample (Jones et al. 2006,
Jones et al, in prep.). Integrating this luminosity function
over the volume covered by 6dFGS in each redshift shell ∆zyields the expected number-redshift distribution NLF (z). As
the K-band luminosity function contains completeness corrections that the raw NK (z) distribution does not, the ratioR∞
NK (z) dz
R 0∞= 0.9245(1)
NLF (z) dz
0is slightly less than unity. The blue dashed curve representing NLF (z) in Fig. 2(c) has been scaled by this amount,and the ratio of the two distributions NK (z) / NLF (z) gives

Figure 2. Distribution of all 6dFGS redshifts in terms of (a) rightascension and (b) number. Panel (c) shows the same as (b) but
limited to the primary K-selected sample. The dashed blue line is
the redshift distribution calculated from the K-band luminosity
function of the same sample (Jones et al., in prep). The solid redline is an empirical fit to the blue curve.

the normalisation due to overall incompleteness. Any redshift differences between the curve and the data are due tomagnitude-dependent incompleteness, which in turn imparts
redshift differences in selection. Furthermore, a Schechter
function is not a perfect fit to the luminosity function acrossall luminosities. The reader is referred to the 6dFGS luminosity function papers (Jones et al. 2006, Jones et al. in
prep.) for a more detailed discussion of survey selection functions.
The curve NLF (z) (uncorrected for incompleteness) is
well-fit by the empirical function
Nfit (z) = A z γ exp[−(z/zp )γ ](2)

with values γ = 1.6154 ± 0.0001, zp = 0.0446 ± 0.0001,
and A = 622978 ± 10 (Fig. 2c; red solid line, also scaled by
0.9245). This 3-parameter function is a simpler variant of the
4-parameter fits used by Erdogdu et al. (2006a) and Colless
et al. (2001) for the 2MRS and 2dFGRS samples, respectively, but fits the 6dFGS K-band sample well. In this case,the value of zp locates the peak in the distribution, which isslightly lower than the median of the data, and corresponds
to a limiting absolute magnitude of MK = −22.97 (∼ 1 mag
c 0000 RAS, MNRAS 000, 000–000

6dFGS: Final Redshift Release (DR3) and Large-Scale Structures
Table 2. Breakdown of 6dFGS and literature redshifts.

6dFGS by Q value:
Q = 1, unusable data
5 787 ( 4.6 pc)
Q = 2, unlikely redshifts
5 592 ( 4.4 pc)
Q = 3, reliable redshifts
8 173 ( 6.4 pc)
Q = 4, high quality redshifts 102 083 (80.5 pc)
Q = 6, Galactic sources
5 119 ( 4.0 pc)
Total
126 754 (100 pc)
Literature redshifts:
SDSS
2dFGRS
ZCAT
Total

563 ( 3.8 pc)
5 210 (35.2 pc)
9 042 (61.0 pc)
14 815 (100 pc)

References: SDSS: Abazajian et al. (2009), 2dFGRS: Colless
et al. (2001), ZCAT: Huchra et al. (1992)

fainter than M ∗ ). Even so, the remarkable consistency between the K-band luminosity function distribution (NLF (z))
and that of the data (NK (z)) underscores the homogeneityof the primary sample.

2.3

Sample Composition

The original target catalogue for 6dFGS contained 179 262
sources, one third of which originated from outside thenear-infrared selected catalogues. Around 8 percent of thesesources had existing redshifts from ZCAT (9 042; Huchra
et al. 1992), the 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey (5 210; Colless
et al. 2001), or the Sloan Digital Sky Survey DR7 (563;
Abazajian et al. 2009). 6dFGS spectra were obtained in
136 304 source observations and yielded 126 754 unique redshifts of varying quality.
6dFGS redshift quality, Q, was classified on a scale of 1
to 6 through visual assessment of every redshift, with Q = 1
assigned to unusable measurements, Q = 2 to possible but
unlikely redshifts, Q = 3 for reliable redshifts and Q = 4 forhigh-quality redshifts. Stars and other confirmed Galactic
sources are assigned Q = 6 (there is no Q = 5). Some legitimate QSO redshifts classified earlier in the survey carryQ = 2 because no QSO-specific templates were employed
to classify QSO redshifts until mid-way through the survey. Unlike SDSS, no lower velocity limit has been used todiscriminate between Galactic and extragalactic sources; assignment of Q = 6 is on the basis of spectral appearance aswell as recession velocity. Cases of overlap between galaxies and foreground stars evident from imaging data werere-examined, and are discussed in Sec. 3. Table 2 gives thebreakdown of these numbers across individual 6dFGS subsamples.
Only Q = 3, 4 redshifts should be used in any galaxy
analysis. (The distinction between Q = 3 and Q = 4 is lessimportant than that between Q = 2 and Q = 3, since theformer represent a successful redshift in either case.) Galaxies with repeat observations have all spectra retained in the
database, and the final catalogued redshift is a weighted
mean of the measurements with Q = 3, 4, excluding redshift
c 0000 RAS, MNRAS 000, 000–000

5Table 3. Final numbers of spectra and redshifts in the 6dFGS
samples.

ID Survey sample
1
3
4
5
6
7
8
78
90
109
113
116
119
125
126
129
130
> 999

6dFGS
spectra

Good
z

Lit.
z

Total
z

2MASS Ks 6 12.75
97 02083 9959 340
93 3352MASS H 6 12.95
2 021
1 742
255
1 997
2MASS J 6 13.75
1 284
1 096
175
1 271
DENIS J 6 14.00
629
488
115
603
DENIS I 6 14.85
504
234
109
343
SuperCOS rF < 15.6
5 773
5 025
1 221
6 246
SuperCOS bJ < 16.75
6 516
5 885
1 236
7 121
Dur./UKST extension
271
207
30
237
Shapley supercluster
630
494
40
534
Horologium sample
469
384
41
425
ROSAT all-sky survey
1 961
1 126
190
1 316
2MASS Red AGN
1 141
438
140
578
HIPASS (> 4σ)
439
354
116
470
SUMSS/NVSS radio
2 978
1 351
272
1 623
IRAS FSC (> 6σ)
5 994
4 208
1 239
5 447
Hamburg-ESO QSOs
2 006
624
123
747
NRAO-VLA QSOs
2 673
293
41
334
unassigned targets†
3 995
2312
132
2 444
Total
136 304 110 256 14 815 125 071† Objects removed from the initial target list (due to changes in
the 2MASS source catalogue after 6dFGS was underway).
ID = 999 or 9999 in these cases.
Columns:(1) ID: Programme ID (PROGID in the database; see Sec. 3).
(2) Survey sample: first sample (in order of PROGID) in which
object is found.
(3) 6dFGS spectra: number of spectra obtained for this sample.
Note that some objects were observed more than once. The
numbers include spectra of all qualities and Galactic sources.
(4) Good z: number of robust extragalactic 6dFGS redshifts,(those with Q = 3 or 4). Reflects contents of database.
(5) Lit. z: additional literature extragalactic redshifts (ignoring
repeats and overlaps).
(6) Total z: total number of extragalactic redshifts for objects
in this sample.

blunders. Descriptions of the redshift quality scheme in its
previous forms can be found in Sec. 2.1 of Jones et al. (2005)
and Sec. 4.4 of Jones et al. (2004).
Unreliable (Q = 2) or unusable (Q = 1) galaxy redshifts
together comprise around 8 percent of the redshift sample.
Galactic sources (Q = 6) represent another 4 percent. The
remaining 110 256 sources with Q = 3, 4 are the robust extragalactic 6dFGS redshifts that should be used (alongside
the 14 815 literature redshifts) in any analysis or other application. Tables 2 and 3 give the breakdown of these numbers
across various 6dFGS sub-samples.
2.4

Redshift uncertainties and blunder rates

Redshift uncertainties and blunder rates were estimatedfrom the sample of 6dFGS galaxies with repeat redshift measurements. There were 8 028 such redshift pairs, 43 percentof which were first-year (pre-2002.5) data. Most repeat measurements were made because of a low-quality initial measurement, or because of a change in the field tiling strat-

6

Jones et al.
Table 4. Redshift uncertainties and blunder rates from both internal and external comparisons of 6dFGS.

Figure 3. (Top panel:) Repeat 6dF redshift measurements for asample of 6dFGS galaxies obtained with the VPH gratings overthe period 2002.5 to 2006 (4570 galaxies). Redshift blunders (circled) are those for which | ∆cz | > 330 km s−1 . (Inset panel:) Distribution of the | ∆cz | diffferences for the individual redshift quality Q = 3 (dotted line) and Q = 4 (solid line) samples, normalised
to the total sample size in each case. (Bottom panel:) Distribution of redshift difference as a function of redshift, with a running±2σ boundary (solid lines).

egy after the first year of observations. We define a blunder as a redshift mismatch of more than 330 km s−1 (5σ)
between a pair of redshift measurements that we would expect to agree. The blunder rate on individual 6dFGS redshifts is 1.6 percent, the same as reported for the First Data
Release (Jones et al. 2004). In late 2002, a new transmissive Volume-Phase Holographic (VPH) gratings (580V and
425R) replaced the existing reflection gratings (600V and
316R), resulting in improved throughput, uniformity, anddata quality. Excluding first-year repeats reduces the individual blunder rate to 1.2 percent. While the first-year data
represent nearly half of all repeat measurements, they represent less than a fifth of the overall survey. Table 4 summarises the blunder rates and other statistics for both thefull and post-first-year data.
Figure 3 shows repeat redshift measurements for 6dFGS
observations with the VPH gratings, representative of thegreat majority of survey spectra (around 80 percent: 4 570
sources spanning 2002.5 to 2006). Blunder measurements(106 of them) have been circled, and the scatter in redshift
offset, ∆cz, as a function of redshift is also shown. Not surprisingly, redshifts becoming increasingly difficult to secure
as one moves to higher values. The inset in Figure 3 displays
the distribution in | ∆cz | for measurement pairs grouped bytheir redshift quality Q = 3 or 4 classifications. There are
3 611 pairs in the non-blunder sample with both measurements of quality Q = 4, with scatter implying a redshift uncertainty in an individual Q = 4 measurement of ∆cz(4) =46 km s−1 . Likewise, the scatter in the much smaller Q = 3

6dFGS (full sample):
Total repeat measurements (Q > 3):
RMS scatter of all redshift measurement pairs†
Q = 4 redshift uncertainty (6051 sources)
Q = 3 redshift uncertainty (104 sources)

8028
66 km s−1
45 km s−1
67 km s−1

Number of blunders‡ (Q > 3):
6dFGS pair-wise blunder rate:
6dFGS single-measurement blunder rate:

260
3.2%
1.6%

6dFGS (VPH grating only, 2002.5 – 2006):
Total repeat measurements (Q > 3):
RMS scatter of all redshift measurement pairs†
Q = 4 redshift uncertainty (3611 sources)
Q = 3 redshift uncertainty (33 sources)

4570
67 km s−1
46 km s−1
55 km s−1

Number of blunders‡ (Q > 3):
6dFGS pair-wise blunder rate:
6dFGS single-measurement blunder rate:

106
2.3%
1.2%

6dFGS (VPH only) vs. SDSS DR7:
Number of comparison sources (Q > 3):
Number of blunders† (Q > 3):
Pair-wise blunder rate:
Implied blunder rate for SDSS:

2459
95
3.9%
2.7%

† Clipping the most extreme 10% of outliers (5% either side).
‡ A blunder is defined as having ∆cz > 330 km s−1 (5σ).

sample (33 pairs) suggests ∆cz(3) = 55 km s−1 . If we include
the pre-2002.5 non-VPH data, the implied redshift uncertainties are unchanged for Q = 4 and increase slightly inthe case of Q = 3 (∆cz(3) = 67 km s−1 ). Note that theseredshift uncertainties are less than those estimated in Joneset al. (2004) from the First Data Release, demonstrating
the improved integrity of the 6dFGS data since the early
releases.
An external comparison of 6dFGS redshifts to thoseoverlapping the Seventh Data Release (DR7) of the Sloan
Digital Sky Survey (SDSS; Abazajian et al. 2009) was also
made and is shown in Fig. 4. Although the full SDSS DR7contains over a million classified extragalactic spectra, almost all are too northerly to overlap significantly with thesouthern 6dFGS or are too faint. However, the 2 459 sourcesin common to both catalogues provide a valuable test of redshift success rates. The pair-wise blunder fraction in this caseis 3.9 percent. Splitting this with the 6dFGS blunder rateof 1.2 percent implies an SDSS blunder rate of 2.7 percent,although the 6dFGS blunder rate at the fainter SDSS magnitudes is likely to be somewhat higher than the 1.2 percent
measured overall.
c 0000 RAS, MNRAS 000, 000–000

6dFGS: Final Redshift Release (DR3) and Large-Scale Structures

Figure 4. Redshift comparison of 6dFGS (VPH grating) with
SDSS Data Release 7 (Abazajian et al. 2009).

3

NEW DATA RELEASE

3.1

Online database

The 6dFGS Online Database is hosted at the Wide Field
Astronomy Unit of the Institute for Astronomy5 at the University of Edinburgh. Data are grouped into 15 inter-linked
tables consisting of the master target list, all input catalogues, and their photometry. Users can obtain FITS and
JPEG files of 6dFGS spectra as well as 2MASS and SuperCOSMOS postage stamp images in JHK and bJ rF whereavailable, and a plethora of tabulated values for observational quantities and derived photometric and spectroscopic
properties. The database can be queried in either its native Structured Query Language (SQL) or via an HTML
web-form interface. More complete descriptions are given
elsewhere (Jones et al. 2004, 2005), although several new
aspects of the database are discussed below. Figure 5 shows
two examples of the way data are presented in the database.
Table 5 shows the full parameter listing for the 6dFGS
database. Individual database parameters are grouped into
lists of related data called tables. Parameter definitions
are given in documentation on the database web site. The
TARGET table contains the original target list for 6dFGS,
and so contains both observed and unobserved objects. Individual entries in this table are celestial sources, and the
TARGETID parameters are their unique integer identifiers.
Note that the original target list cannot be used to estimate completeness, due to magnitude revisions in both the
2MASS XSC and SuperCOSMOS magnitudes subsequent
to its compilation. Item (iv) below discusses this important
issue in more detail.
The SPECTRA table holds the redshift and other spectroscopic data obtained by the 6dF instrument through the5

http://www-wfau.roe.ac.uk/6dFGS

c 0000 RAS, MNRAS 000, 000–000

7course of the 6dFGS. Many new parameters have been introduced to this table for this release (indicated in Table 5
by the † symbol). Individual entries in this table are spectroscopic observations, meaning that there can be multiple entries for a given object. The SPECID parameter is the uniqueinteger identifier for 6dFGS observations.
Most 6dFGS spectra consist of two halves, observed separately through different gratings, and subsequently spliced
together: a V portion (λλ3900–5600Å) and an R portion(λλ5400–7500Å).6 (Data taken prior to October 2002 useddifferent gratings, spanning 4000–5600Å and 5500–8400Å.)
Various parameters in SPECTRA belonging to the individual
V or R observations carry a V or R suffix, and are listed inTable 5 for V (with slanted font to indicated that there is amatching set of R parameters).
The TWOMASS and SUPERCOS tables hold relevant 2MASS
XSC and SuperCOSMOS photometric and spatial information. Likewise, the remaining eleven tables contain related observables from the input lists contributing additional 6dFGS targets to TARGET. While some of the parameter names have been duplicated between tables (e.g. MAG 1,
MAG 2) their meaning changes from one table to the next, as
indicated in Table 5.
Database tables can be queried individually or in pairs.
Alternatively, positional cross-matching (R.A. and Dec.) canbe done between database sources and those in a usersupplied list uploaded to the site. Search results can be
returned as HTML-formatted tables, with each entry linking to individual GIF frames showing the 6dFGS spectrum
alongside its bJ rF JHK postage stamp images, as shown in
Fig. 5. Individual object FITS files of the same data can also
be accessed in this way. Long database returns can also be
emailed to the user as an ASCII comma-separated variable(CSV) text file. Alternatively, the FITS files of all objects
found through a search can be emailed to the user as a single
tar file under a TAR saveset option.
Additional downloads in the form of ASCII files are alsoavailable from the database web site. These include a master catalogue compilation of all redshifts (from both 6dFGS
and the literature), as well as a comma-separated file of thespectral observations. The latter contains an entry for every
6dFGS observation held by the database (including repeats),
regardless of redshift quality. The master catalogue attempts
to assign the best available redshift to those sources determined to be extragalactic. In the case of repeats, a combined
6dFGS redshift is obtained by error-weighting (1/(∆ cz)2 )those Q = 3, 4 redshifts within 5σ (330 km s−1 ) of an initial Q = 3, 4 median, thereby excluding blunders. Where
literature redshifts exist and are consistent with the 6dFGS
redshift, the latter is used in the catalogue. In cases of disagreement (> 5σ difference), the 6dFGS redshift is taken
and the mismatch is flagged. Literature redshifts are use,
where they exist, for objects that 6dFGS failed to secure.
The master catalogue includes the TARGETID for each object
and the SPECID references for each 6dFGS observation contributing to the final redshift, to facilitate cross-referencing
with the 6dFGS database. Completeness maps (calculated
from the revised target lists, after 2MASS and SuperCOS
magnitude changes) will be made available at a future date.

6

V and R here are not related to standard V or R passbands.

8

Jones et al.

Figure 5. Example spectroscopic and photometric frames from the 6dFGS online database for (a) a nearby bright galaxy at z = 0.057(Q = 4)from the K-selected sample (PROGID = 1), and (b) a candidate double QSO at z = 2.524 (Q = 2) from the Hamburg-ESO QSO
sample (PROGID = 129). 2MASS and UKST frames are only available for sources selected as part of the original 6dFGS primary samples,
where available in one or more of KHJrF bJ .

Table 6 lists a subset of the more commonly-useddatabase parameters, along with detailed descriptions. New
parameters for this final release are indicated. Users should
pay particular attention to the important differences between parameters which have similar-sounding names but
which are significantly different in purpose. Examples
to note are: (i) Z, Z ORIGIN, Z HELIO, Z INITIAL, andZ HELIO INITIAL, (ii) QUALITY and Q FINAL, (iii) (JTOT,
HTOT, KTOT), (J, H, K), and (MAG1, MAG2) (from the TWOMASS
table), and, (iv) (BMAG, RMAG), (BMAGSEL, RMAGSEL) and(BMAG, RMAG) (from the SUPERCOS table). Table 6 details thedifferences between them.

3.2

Changes made for the final redshift release

All of the changes previously implemented for DR2 (Joneset al. 2005) have been retained, with some modifications. In
particular, some fields rejected from earlier data releases ontechnical grounds have been fixed and included in the final
release. The final data span observations from 2001 May to2006 January inclusive. New changes are as follows:(i) Revised 2MASS Names: Between the creation of
the initial 6dFGS target list in 2001 and the final 2MASS
XSC data release in 2004, the 2MASS source designations
changed in the last two digits in both the R.A. and Dec.
components of the source name. The original 2MASS names(previously held in the 6dFGS database TWOMASS table under
the attribute CATNAME) have been retained but re-badged
under a new attribute PREVCATNAME. The revised 2MASS
names are stored in CATNAME and are consistent with the final
data release of the 2MASS XSC. Original 6dFGS sourcesthat were subsequently omitted from the final 2MASS data
release have CATNAME = ‘ ’.

(ii) Revised 2MASS Photometry: The JHK total
magnitudes used to select 6dFGS sources were also revised
by 2MASS between 2001 and 2004. These new values areheld in the newly-created JTOT, HTOT, KTOT. The revisions
amount to less than 0.03 mag, except in the case of correctedblunders. The old magnitudes used for target selection continue to be held in J, H and KEXT K, the latter being derived
from surface brightness-corrected 2MASS extrapolated magnitudes (see Jones et al. (2004) for a full discussion).
(iii) Revised SuperCOSMOS Photometry: As discussed in Jones et al. (2005) for DR2, the SuperCOSMOS
magnitudes were also revised between 2001 and 2004. As was
the case for DR2, BMAG and RMAG are the revised bJ rF magnitudes, which should be used for science purposes. However, some of the values in BMAG and RMAG have changed
because of an improvement in the algorithm we have used
to match 6dFGS objects with new SuperCOSMOS magnitudes. This has removed much more of the deblending discussed in Sec. 2.3 of Jones et al. (2005). The historical bJ rF
magnitudes held in BMAGSEL, RMAGSEL (in the TARGET table)
and MAG 1, MAG 2 (in the SUPERCOS table) retain their DR2
definitions and values.
(iv) Redshift Completeness: The 2MASS and SuperCOSMOS magnitude revisions have imparted a small but
non-negligible scatter between the old and new versions ofbJ rF JHK, particularly bJ rF K. They have a non-negligible
impact on estimates of 6dFGS redshift completeness at the
faint end (faintest ∼ 0.5 mag) of each distribution. In thisregime, the new magnitudes cause increasing numbers oforiginal 6dFGS targets to lie beyond the cut-off and increasing numbers of sources that were not original targets to fallinside the cut-off. Consequently, new target lists were compiled using the revised magnitudes, the completeness estimates were recalculated, and the results are presented along
c 0000 RAS, MNRAS 000, 000–000

6dFGS: Final Redshift Release (DR3) and Large-Scale Structures

9

Table 5. Full parameter listing for all tables in the 6dFGS database.

Table name Description

PROGID Parameters

TARGETthe master target list−

SPECTRA

redshifts and observational data−

TWOMASSJHK 2MASS input catalogues

1 (K),
3 (H),
4 (J)SUPERCOS

bJ rF SuperCOSMOS input catalogues

FSC

IRAS Faint Source Catalogue sources

8 (bJ ),
7 (rF )126

RASS

ROSAT All-Sky Survey candidate AGN

113

HIPASS

sources from the HIPASS HI survey

119

DURUKST

Durham/UKST galaxy survey extension

78

SHAPLEY

Shapley supercluster galaxies

90

DENISIDENIS survey galaxies, I < 14.85

6

DENISJDENIS survey galaxies, J < 13.85

5

AGN2MASS

2MASS red AGN survey candidates

116

HES

Hamburg/ESO survey candidate QSOs

129

NVSS

candidate QSOs from NVSS

130

SUMSS

bright radio sources from SUMSS125

TARGETID, TARGETNAME, HTMID, RA, DEC, CX, CY, CZ, GL, GB,
A V, PROGID, BMAG, RMAG, SG, ZCATVEL, ZCATERR, ZCATREF,
BMAGSEL, RMAGSEL, TEMPLATECODE†, FRAMENAME
SPECID, TARGETID, TARGETNAME, OBSRA, OBSDEC, MATCH DR,HTMID, CX, CY, CZ, Z ORIGIN, Z, Z HELIO, QUALITY, ABEMMA,NMBEST, NGOOD, Z EMI, Q Z EMI, KBESTR, R CRCOR, Z ABS,Q Z ABS, Q FINAL, IALTER, Z COMM, ZEMIBESTERR, ZABSBESTERR,ZFINALERR, TITLE V, CENRA V, GRATSLOT V, CENDEC V,
APPRA V, APPDEC V, ACTMJD V, CONMJD V, PROGID V,
LABEL V, OBSID V, RUN V, EXP V, NCOMB V, GRATID V,
GRATSET V, GRATBLAZ V, SOURCE V, FOCUS V, TFOCUS V,
GAIN V, NOISE V, CCD V, UTDATE V, UTSTRT V,
MJDOBS V, NAME V, THPUT V, RA V, DEC V, X V, Y V,
XERR V, YERR V, THETA V, FIBRE V, PIVOT V, RECMAG V,
PID V, FRAMENAME, AXISSTART V, AXISEND V, MATCHSPECID,Z INITIAL†, Z HELIO INITIAL†, Z UPDATE FLAG†, Z UPDATE COMM†,SLIT VANE CORR†, QUALITY INITIAL, XTALKFLAG†, XTALKSCORE†,XTALKVELOFF†, XTALKCOMM†, QUALITY UPDATE COMM, DEPRECATED†REVTEMPLATE†, REVCOMMENT†, Z COMM INITAL†
OBJID, CATNAME, TARGETNAME, TARGETID, RA, DEC, PRIORITY,
MAG 1, PROGID, MAG 2, J M K20FE, H M K20FE,K M K20FE, RADIUS, A B, MUK20FE, CORR, J, H, KEXT, K,
KEXT K, PREVCATNAME†, RTOT†, JTOT†, HTOT†, KTOT†
OBJID, CATNAME, TARGETNAME, TARGETID, RA, DEC, PRIORITY,
MAG 1 (old bJ ), PROGID, MAG 2 (old rF ), COMMENTOBJID, CATNAME, TARGETNAME, TARGETID, RA, DEC, PRIORITY,
MAG 1, PROGID, MAG 2, COMMENTOBJID, CATNAME, TARGETNAME, TARGETID, RA, DEC, PRIORITY,
MAG 1, PROGID, MAG 2, COMMENTOBJID, CATNAME, TARGETNAME, TARGETID, RA, DEC, PRIORITY,
MAG 1, PROGID, MAG 2
OBJID, CATNAME, TARGETNAME, TARGETID, RA, DEC, PRIORITY,
MAG 1, PROGID, MAG 2
OBJID, CATNAME, TARGETNAME, TARGETID, RA, DEC, PRIORITY,
MAG 1, PROGID, MAG 2
OBJID, CATNAME, TARGETNAME, TARGETID, RA, DEC, PRIORITY,
MAG 1, PROGID, MAG 2, COMMENTOBJID, CATNAME, TARGETNAME, TARGETID, RA, DEC, PRIORITY,
MAG 1, PROGID, MAG 2, COMMENTOBJID, CATNAME, TARGETNAME, TARGETID, RA, DEC, PRIORITY,
MAG 1, PROGID, MAG 2, MAG 3
OBJID, CATNAME, TARGETNAME, TARGETID, RA, DEC, PRIORITY,
MAG 1, PROGID, MAG 2
OBJID, CATNAME, TARGETNAME, TARGETID, RA, DEC, PRIORITY,
MAG 1, PROGID, MAG 2
OBJID, CATNAME, TARGETNAME, TARGETID, RA, DEC, PRIORITY,
MAG 1, PROGID, MAG 2† New parameters created for the final data release.
SLANTED FONT V-spectrum parameters ( V) have matching R-spectrum ( R) parameters.

with the luminosity and mass functions in Jones et al. (inprep.).
(v) Fibre Cross-talk: Instances of fibre cross-talk, inwhich bright spectral features from one spectrum overlap
with an adjacent one, have been reviewed and are now
flagged in the database through three new parameters:
XTALKFLAG, XTALKSCORE, and XTALKVELOFF, defined in Tac 0000 RAS, MNRAS 000, 000–000

ble 6. The flags are not definitive and are only meant toreflect the likelihood that a redshift has been affected thus.
Specifically, users are urged to use extreme caution with redshifts from sources having XTALKFLAG > 1, XTALKVELOFF > 0
and XTALKSCORE > 4. Cases of XTALKSCORE = 3 are weak candidates where cross-talk is possible but not fully convincing(e.g. only the V or the R spectra are affected, but not both).

10

Jones et al.

Table 6. Descriptions of some key parameters in the 6dFGS database.

Parameter

TARGETID
TARGETNAMEPROGID
OBJID

Associated Table(s) Notes

all
all
all
all except TARGET
and SPECTRA

BMAG,RMAG

TARGETZCATVEL,ZCATERRZCATREF

TARGETTARGETBMAGSEL,RMAGSELTARGETTEMPLATECODE

TARGET

SPECIDZ ORIGIN

SPECTRA
SPECTRAKBESTRZ HELIO

SPECTRA
SPECTRAZZ INITIAL †Z UPDATE FLAG †Z HELIO INITIAL †QUALITY

SPECTRA
SPECTRA
SPECTRA
SPECTRA
SPECTRAQ FINALQUALITY INITIAL †QUALITY UPDATE COMM †TITLE V,TITLE R
XTALKFLAG †SPECTRA
SPECTRA
SPECTRA
SPECTRA
SPECTRAXTALKSCORE †XTALKVELOFF †XTALKCOMM †SLIT VANE CORR †REVTEMPLATE †REVCOMMENT †SPECTRA
SPECTRA
SPECTRA
SPECTRA
SPECTRA
SPECTRACATNAME
PREVCATNAME †RTOT †
JTOT,HTOT,KTOT †MAG 1,MAG 2

TWOMASSTWOMASSTWOMASSTWOMASSTWOMASS

CORR
J,H,K
KEXT
KEXT KTWOMASSTWOMASSTWOMASSTWOMASSMAG 1,MAG 2

SUPERCOS

Unique source ID (integer), used to link tables.
Source name, ‘g####### − ######’. (Sources observed but not in the original
target list have the form ‘c####### − ######’).
Programme ID (integer), identifying the origin of targets. PROGID 6 8 for main samples.
Unique object ID (integer), assigned to each object in all input catalogues.

New bJ rF SuperCOSMOS magnitudes following the revision for 2dFGRS by Peacock,Hambly and Read. First introduced for DR2. The most reliable bJ rF 6dFGS magnitudes.
Existing redshifts and errors ( km s−1 ) from ZCAT (Huchra et al. 1992) where available.
Code indicating source of ZCAT redshift: ‘126x’ for earlier 6dFGS redshifts (subsequently
ingested by ZCAT), ‘392x’ for ZCAT-ingested 2dFGRS redshifts. The ‘x’ in both cases
holds redshift quality (see QUALITY below). ZCATREF6 99 for other ZCAT surveys.
Old bJ rF SuperCOSMOS magnitudes compiled by W. Saunders. Never used for selection
and not intended for science. Previously under BMAG and RMAG in pre-DR2 releases.
Code indicating cross-correlation template: ‘N’ = no redshift, ‘Z’ = ZCAT redshift(no template used), ‘T’ = 2dFGRS (no template used), 1 ... 9 = 6dFGS template code.
Unique spectral ID (integer). Different for repeat observations of the same object.
Is ‘C’ for most spectra, which come from (c)ombined (spliced) V and R spectral frames.
Is ‘V’ or ‘R’ for unpaired (orphan) data, as applicable.
Template spectrum ID (integer) used for redshift cross-correlation.
Heliocentric redshift. Corrected by −40 km s−1 for template offset if KBESTR= 1 or 7.
The redshift intended for science use.
Raw measured redshift. Not intended for science use. Also template offset corrected.
Initial copy of redshift Z, uncorrected (e.g. for slit vane shifts). Not for scientific use.
Z HELIO corrections: ‘1’ if slit-vane corrected, ‘2’ if template corrected, ‘3’ for both.
Initial version of Z HELIO, uncorrected (e.g. for slit vane shifts). Not for science use.
Redshift quality, Q (integer): ‘1’ for unusable measurements, ‘2’ for possible but unlikely
redshifts, ‘3’ for a reliable redshift, ‘4’ for high-quality redshifts, and ‘6’ forconfirmed Galactic sources. Only QUALITY= 3 or 4 should be used for science. (QUALITY
does not measure spectral quality.)
Final redshift quality assigned by software. Not intended for general use. Use QUALITY.
Quality value at initial ingest, before database revision. Not for general use.
Explanation of quality value changes during database revision.
Observation title from SDS configuration file (consisting of field name and plate number).
Fibre number of a nearby object suspected of spectral cross-talk contamination. ‘−1’ if
object is a contaminator itself. ‘0’ if neither a contaminator nor contaminee.
Score from ‘0’ (none) to ‘5’ (high) assessing the likelihood of spectral cross-contamination.
Velocity offset ( km s−1 ) between contaminator and contaminee in cross-contamination.
Comment about cross-talk likelihood.
Correction ( km s−1 ) made to a redshift affected by slit vane shifts during observing.
Code of any spectral template used during the database revision of redshifts.
Explanation of any redshift changes resulting from the database revision.
2MASS name. (Prior to this release, CATNAME held the old names now in PREVCATNAME).
Old 2MASS name (as at 2001).
2MASS XSC extrapolated/total radius (2MASS r ext parameter).
Revised 2MASS XSC total JHK magnitudes (2MASS j m ext, etc.). For science use.
Input catalogue magnitudes. Not used in TWOMASS table and so default non-value is 99.99.
Superseded by JTOT, HTOT, and KTOT.
Magnitude correction (based on average surface brightness) used to calculate KEXT K.
Old 2MASS XSC total JHK magnitudes. JH used for selection. Superseded by JTOT, etc.
Redundant 2MASS extrapolated K magnitudes, previously used to obtain KEXT K.
Old total K magnitude estimated from KEXT and CORR. Used in original 6dFGS K-band
selection (see Jones et al. (2004) for a discussion). Now redundant.
Old bJ rF SuperCOSMOS magnitudes compiled by Saunders, Parker and Read for target
selection. Now superseded by the revised magnitudes BMAG and RMAG in the TARGET table.

† New parameters created for the final data release.

c 0000 RAS, MNRAS 000, 000–000

6dFGS: Final Redshift Release (DR3) and Large-Scale StructuresXTALKSCORE = 4 are good candidates, but which carry theprevious caveat. XTALKSCORE = 5 are likely cross-talk pairs
which are usually confirmed through visual inspection of thespectra. Cross-talk is an uncommon occurrence (about ∼ 1
percent of all spectra), and it only affects the redshifts forspectra with fewer real features than false ones. An algorithm was used to search for coincident emission lines in adjacent spectra and a cross-talk severity value assigned from
1 to 5. Users are urged to exercise caution with spectra andredshifts having cross-talk values of 3 or greater. A detailed
discussion of the cross-talk phenomenon can be found in the
database documentation on the website.
(vi) Highest Redshift Sources: Very occasionally,
spurious features due to cross-talk or poor sky-subtraction
led to erroneously high redshifts. This is particularly the casewith the Additional Target samples (PROGID > 8), whose
selection criteria do not necessarily ensure reliable detections at the optical wavelengths of 6dFGS spectra. Special
care should be taken with the high redshift sources reported
for these targets. All sources (across all programmes) withz > 1.0 were re-examined and re-classified where necessary. In addition, those sources from the primary and secondary samples (PROGID 6 8) with redshifts in the range
0.2 6 z < 1.0 were re-examined. There are 318 6dFGS
sources with z > 1, mostly QSOs, and a further 7 possible cases. The highest of these is the z = 3.793 QSO
g2037567−243832. Other notable examples are the candidate double QSO sources g0114547−181903 (z = 2.524)
shown in Fig. 5(b) and g2052000−500523 (z = 1.036). Deepfollow-up imaging in search of a foreground source is necessary to decide whether these sources are individual gravitationally lensed QSOs or genuine QSO pairs. Even withsuch data in hand, the distinction is quite often equivocal(e.g. Faure et al. 2003; Hennawi et al. 2006, and references
therein).
(vii) Orphan Fields: The final data release includes (forthe first time) data from 29 orphan fields. These are fields
that, for various reasons, are missing either the V or R halfof the spectrum. These fields have a reduced redshift yield
because of the restricted access to redshifted spectral features, particularly in the case of missing R spectra. Orphan
field data are flagged in the database through the Z ORIGIN
parameter (see Table 6).
(viii) Re-examination of Q=1 and Q=2 spectra: All sources originally classified as either being extragalactic and Q = 2, or non-2MASS-selected (PROGID > 4)
and Q = 1, have been re-examined. This was done primarily to improve the identification of faint high-redshift QSOs.
Many QSOs were poorly identified in the early stages of thesurvey due to the absence of suitable QSO templates forredshifting. Redshift data for 4 506 Q = 2 and 3 687 Q = 1
sources were checked, and the database updated where necessary.
(ix) Image Examination of all Q=6 Sources andRe-redshifting: In the initial redshifting effort, 6 212
sources were classified as Q = 6 (i.e. confirmed Galactic
sources with z = 0) on the basis of their spectra and redshifts alone. Once spectral and imaging data were assembled side-by-side in the 6dFGS database, it was straightforward to examine the postage-stamp images of these sources,
given their spectral classification. Most were confirmed as
being true Galactic sources (stars, HII regions, planetary
c 0000 RAS, MNRAS 000, 000–000

11nebulae, YSOs), or Galactic objects in close proximity to
an extragalactic source. A small number were also foundto be 2MASS imaging artefacts, or parts of larger objects.
However, a significant number (847) were found to be galaxies with near-zero redshifts, which were subsequently reredshifted and re-classified, and updated in the database.
In some cases, even though the source was clearly a galaxy
on the basis of its imaging, its true redshift could not be obtained. The most common causes were scattered light froma nearby star, or contamination from a foreground screen of
Galactic emission.
(x) Anomalous K–z Sources with Q=3,4: The K–z
magnitude-redshift relation was used to identify anomalous
redshifts (Q = 3, 4) outside the envelope normally spannedby this relation at typical 6dFGS redshifts. The postagestamp images of these sources were compared to their spectra and redshifts to decide if the initial redshift was incorrect. There were 120 objects deemed to have an anomalous
K–z; 94 were found to have incorrect redshifts, which werere-examined and re-incorporated into the database.
(xi) Correction of Slit-Vane Shifted Fields: Midway through the survey it became apparent that themagnetically-held vane supporting the spectrograph slit was
shifting occasionally between exposures. This problem was
discovered prior to DR2 but the affected redshifts were withheld; they have been corrected and provided in the final release. The resulting spectra from affected fields show a small
wavelength offset (greater than ±0.75Å and up to a few Å),dependent on fibre number. The V and R spectral halves
were sometimes affected individually, and at other times in
unison. Instances of shifting were isolated by comparing the
wavelength of the [OI]λ5577.4Å sky line, as measured fromthe 6dFGS spectra, to its true value. A search found 125
affected fields able to be satisfactorily fit (measured [OI]
against fibre number) and redshift corrected. In all, 18 438
galaxies were corrected in this way (approximately 14 percent of the entire sample of all spectra), with corrections. 12Å. Redshift template values KBESTR were used to determine whether to apply a correction. If an object used
KBESTR = 1, 2 (corresponding to early-type galaxy templates), the redshift was deemed to be due to absorptionlines, which occur predominantly in the V half. If the corresponding V frame was indeed slit-vane affected, a correction was applied to the redshift for this galaxy based on the
fit to the V frame alone. Alternatively, if KBESTR = 3, 4, 5
(corresponding to late-type galaxy templates), then the redshift was deemed to be emission-line dependent, and the corresponding R frame correction was made where necessary.
Users can find those galaxies with slit-vane corrected redshifts through the new SLITVANECORR parameter, which gives
the size (in km s−1 ) of any corrections applied. Unaffectedgalaxies have SLITVANECORR = 0. The corrected redshifts are
the heliocentric redshifts held by Z HELIO.
(xii) Correction for Template Offset Values: Various tests comparing 6dFGS redshifts to independent measurements found small systematic offsets in the case of a couple of templates. The discrepancy is almost certainly due toa zero-point error in the velocity calibration of the template
spectra. This effect was discovered prior to DR2 and is discussed in Jones et al. (2005), although no corrections wereapplied to the affected redshifts in that release. For this final
release, corrections of −40 km s−1 have been applied to red-12

Jones et al.

shifts derived from templates KBESTR = 1, 7. The corrected
redshifts are both the raw (Z) and heliocentric (Z HELIO)
redshifts. The redshift offsets were found to be consistent
between a 2004 comparison of 16 127 6dFGS and ZCAT redshifts, and a 2007 comparison of 443 redshifts from various
peculiar velocity surveys (Bernardi et al. 2003; Smith et al.
2000, 2004; Wegner et al. 2003).
(xiii) Telluric Sky Line Subtraction: The redshifting
software used by 6dFGS automatically removed telluric absorption lines from spectra, but the database spectra have
hitherto retained their imprint. For the final release we havere-spliced spectra and incorporated telluric line removal. An
example spectrum is shown in Fig. 5. A small number ofspectra which failed to re-splice successfully have had their
old telluric-affected versions retained.
(xiv) Spurious Clustering: The entire sample of reliable redshifts (Q = 3, 4) was tested for spurious clusters, caused by any systematic effect that produces noticeable numbers of objects from the same field with nearly
identical redshifts. Possible causes include poor sky subtraction and/or splicing of spectra, and the fibre cross-talkeffect discussed in item (v). Fields containing at least 16
cases of galaxy groups (3 or more members) with redshiftdifferences of less than 30 km s−1 had their redshifts reexamined: 171 galaxies from 7 fields. No prior knowledgeof real galaxy clustering was used for the re-redshifting, andthe database was updated with new redshifts and quality
assignments. The field 0058m30 was particularly prominent
with 48 galaxies at or near an apparent redshift of 0.1590.
This was due to the over-subtraction and subsequent misidentification of the 7600 Å telluric absorption band with
redshifted Hα. A further 134 objects with redshifts in therange 0.1585 6 z 6 0.1595 were reexamined for this effect,and 118 given corrected z or Q values. Almost all of the affected spectra are among the earliest observations of survey
data (2001), prior to the switch to VPH gratings.
(xv) RASS sources: All sources in the ROSAT All-Sky
Survey (RASS) Additional Target sample (PROGID = 113;
1850 sources) were re-examined using the full QSO templateset. The database was updated with new redshifts and quality assignments. Mahoney et al. (2009) describe the selection
and characteristics of this sample in more detail.

4
4.1

SOUTHERN LARGE-SCALE STRUCTURES
Sky projections

The wide sky coverage of the 6dF Galaxy Survey affords
the most detailed view yet of southern large-scale structures out to cz ∼30 000 km s−1 . The 6dFGS extends thesky coverage of the 2dFGRS (Colless et al. 2001) by anorder of magnitude, and likewise improves by an order ofmagnitude on the sampling density of the all-sky PSCz survey (Branchini et al. 1999; Saunders et al. 2000). Prominent
southern structures such as Shapley, Hydra-Centaurus andHorologium-Reticulum have received much special attention
in their own right over recent years (Raychaudhury 1989;
Quintana et al. 1995; Drinkwater et al. 1999; Reisenegger
et al. 2000; Bardelli et al. 2000; Kaldare et al. 2003; Woudt
et al. 2004; Fleenor et al. 2005, 2006; Radburn-Smith et al.
2006; Proust et al. 2006). However, a detailed large-scale

mapping of all intervening structures (and the voids between them) with a purpose-built instrument has remained
unavailable until now. The complementary 2MASS Redshift
Survey (2MRS; Huchra et al., in prep) uses the 6dFGS in
the south to provide an all-sky redshift survey of some 23 000
galaxies to K = 11.25 (z̄ = 0.02). It is hoped it will one day
be extended to reach an equivalent depth to 6dFGS in thenorth in those areas not already covered by SDSS.
Figures 6 and 7 show the z < 0.2 universe as seen by
6dFGS in the plane of the sky, projected in Galactic coordinates. The two figures show the northern and southern
Galactic hemispheres, respectively. Familiar large-scale concentrations such as Shapley are obvious, and several of the
key structures have been labelled. At z < 0.02, filamentary structures such as the Centaurus, Fornax and Sculptor
walls (Fairall 1998) interconnect their namesake clusters ina manner typical of large structures generally. At z ≈ 0.006
to 0.01 the Centaurus wall crosses the Galactic plane Zoneof Avoidance (ZoA) and meets the Hydra wall at the Centaurus cluster. The Hydra wall then extends roughly parallelto the ZoA before separating into two distinct filaments at
the adjacent Hydra/Antlia clusters, both of which extend
into the ZoA. Behind these, at z = 0.01 to 0.02, a separate
filament incorporates the Norma and Centaurus-Crux clusters, and encompasses the putative Great Attractor region(Woudt et al. 2004; Radburn-Smith et al. 2006, and references therein). Beyond these, at z = 0.04 to 0.05, lies the
Shapley Supercluster complex, a massive concentration ofclusters thought to be responsible for 10 percent of the Local Group motion (Raychaudhury 1989; Reisenegger et al.
2000; Bardelli et al. 2000) or even more (Quintana et al.
1995; Drinkwater et al. 1999; Proust et al. 2006).
4.2

Declination slice projections

Figures 8 and 9 show an alternative projection of these structures, as conventional radial redshift maps, cross-sectioned
in declination. The two figures show the same data on two
different scales, out to limiting redshifts of z = 0.05 and 0.1
respectively. The empty sectors in our maps correspond to
the ZoA region. These declination-slice sky views can also be
cross-referenced with the Aitoff-projected sky redshift maps
presented in Jones et al. (2005) for the 6dFGS data available
up to 2004, as well as Figs 6 and 7.
Figure 9 similarly displays the local universe out toz = 0.1 with hitherto unseen detail and sky coverage. While
it extends and confirms the now familiar labyrinth of filaments and voids, it also reveals evidence of inhomogeneity on
a still larger scale — the plot for −40◦ < δ < −30◦ (middle
right panel) is a good example. A large under-dense region(∆z ∼ 0.05) at α ≈ 4 hr to 5 hr separates regions of compact
high-density filaments; similar inhomogeneities are visible in
the other plots. An extraordinarily large void (∆z = 0.03 by0.07) is apparent in the plot for −20◦ < δ < −10◦ , towards α ≈ 23 hr. Other voids of this size are apparent when
the data are examined in Cartesian coordinates. The mostextreme inhomogeneity, however, is the over-dense Shapley
region, which is unique within the sample volume.
Erdogdu et al. (2006a) have used spherical harmonics
and Wiener filtering to decompose the density and velocity field of the shallower 2MRS. The correspondence between the largest-scale superclusters and voids seen in both
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6dFGS: Final Redshift Release (DR3) and Large-Scale Structures

13

Figure 6. The distribution of galaxies in the 6dFGS shown in an Aitoff projection of Galactic coordinates across the southern Galactic
hemisphere; redshifts are colour-coded from blue (low, z < 0.02) to red (high, z > 0.1). Some of the major large-scale structures arelabelled.
c 0000 RAS, MNRAS 000, 000–000

14Jones et al.

Figure 7. Same as Fig. 6 except showing the northern Galactic hemisphere.

surveys at z < 0.05 is clear. Our southernmost projection(−90◦ < δ < −60◦ ) confirms the most distant (Pavo) of
the three tentative superclusters of Fairall & Woudt (2006)
while indicating that the other two are not major overdensities. We point out that this southern region is where 6dFGS
coverage is generally lowest, with below-average completeness between 0 hr and 6 hr and around the pole (poor sky
coverage), and at 11 hr to 17 hr (ZoA). Azimuthal stretchingeffects are also evident, due to the wide R.A. span of single
fields at polar declinations.
Work is currently underway cataloguing new clusters
and groups from 6dFGS (Merson et al, in prep.) using apercolation-inferred friends-of-friends algorithm (Huchra &Geller 1982; Eke et al. 2004). At the same time, a preliminary list of ∼ 500 void regions has been compiled as a reference for future work on under-dense regions. A power specc 0000 RAS, MNRAS 000, 000–000

6dFGS: Final Redshift Release (DR3) and Large-Scale Structures

Figure 8. 6dFGS redshift maps out to z = 0.05, in declination slices of varying width from the equator to the pole.
c 0000 RAS, MNRAS 000, 000–000

15

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Jones et al.

Figure 9. Same as Fig. 8, except on a larger scale out to z = 0.1.
c 0000 RAS, MNRAS 000, 000–000

6dFGS: Final Redshift Release (DR3) and Large-Scale Structures
trum analysis of the clustering of 6dFGS galaxies will be
published elsewhere.

5

CONCLUSION

The 6dF Galaxy Survey (6dFGS) is a combined redshift andpeculiar velocity survey over most of the southern sky. Here
we present the final redshift catalogue for the survey (version 1.0), consisting of 125 071 extragalactic redshifts over
the whole southern sky with |b| > 10◦ . Of these, 110 256 are
new redshifts from 136 304 spectra obtained with the United
Kingdom Schmidt Telescope (UKST) between 2001 May
and 2006 January. With a median redshift of z1/2 = 0.053,
6dFGS is the deepest hemispheric redshift survey to date.
Redshifts and associated spectra are available through afully-searchable online SQL database, interlinked with photometric and imaging data from the 2MASS XSC, SuperCOSMOS and a dozen other input catalogues. Peculiar velocities and distances for the brightest 10 percent of thesample will be made available in a separate future release.
In this paper we have mapped the large-scale structuresof the local (z < 0.1) southern universe in unprecedented
detail. In addition to encompassing well-known superclusters such as Shapley and Hydra-Centaurus, the 6dFGS data
reveal a wealth of new intervening structures. The greater
depth and sampling density of 6dFGS compared to earlier
surveys of equivalent sky coverage has confirmed hundredsof voids and furnished first redshifts for around 400 southern
Abell clusters (Abell, Corwin & Olowin 1989). More detailed
quantitative analyses of 6dFGS large-scale structure will be
the subject of future publications.
The unprecedented combination of angular coverageand depth in 6dFGS offers the best chance yet to minimise
systematics in the determination of the luminosity and stellar mass functions of low-redshift galaxies, both in the nearinfrared and optical (e.g. Jones et al. 2006). While surveys
containing ∼ 105 -galaxy redshifts (such as 6dFGS) have now
reduced random errors to comparable levels of high precision, systematic errors remain the dominant source of thedifferences between surveys. For example, the evolutionary
corrections that initially beset comparisons between 2dFGRS and SDSS (cf. Norberg et al. 2002; Blanton et al. 2001)
are negligible for 6dFGS, which spans lookback times of only
0.2 to 0.7 Gyr across [0.5z̄, 1.5z̄] (compared to 0.5 to 1.3 Gyrfor SDSS and 2dFGRS). The minimisation of such systematics are a feature of the 6dFGS stellar mass and luminosity
functions derived for the final redshift set (Jones et al., inprep).
In addition to these studies, 6dFGS redshift data havealready been used to support a variety of extragalactic
samples selected from across the electromagnetic spectrum.
Deep HI surveys planned for next-generation radio telescopes (Blake et al. 2004; van Driel 2005; Rawlings 2006;
Johnston et al. 2008) will also benefit from this redshift information as they probe the gas content of the local southern
universe over comparable volumes.
c 0000 RAS, MNRAS 000, 000–000

17

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
DHJ acknowledges support from Australian Research Council Discovery–Projects Grant (DP-0208876), administeredby the Australian National University. JPH acknowledges
support from the US National Science Foundation under
grant AST0406906.
We dedicate this paper to two colleagues who madeimportant contributions to the 6dF Galaxy Survey before
their passing: John Dawe (1942 – 2004), observer and longtime proponent of wide-field fibre spectroscopy on the UKST
from its earliest days, and Tony Fairall (1943 – 2008), whose
unique insights from a career-long dedication to mapping
the southern universe underpin much of the interpretation
contained herein.

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