First Data Release of the Merian Survey: A Wide-field Imaging Survey of Dwarf Galaxies at <i>z</i>  ∼ 0.06–0.10

Abstract We present an overview of the Merian Survey and its forthcoming first data release (DR1), an optical imaging survey optimized for studying bright-star-forming dwarf galaxies. Merian uses two medium-band filters (N708 and N540, centered at 708 and 540 nm), custom-built for the Dark Energy Camera (DECam) on the Blanco telescope. Merian covers ∼750 deg 2 of equatorial fields, overlapping with the Hyper Suprime-Cam Subaru Strategic Program (HSC-SSP) wide, deep, and ultra-deep fields. Combined with the HSC-SSP imaging data ( grizy ), Merian DECam medium-band imaging allows for photometric redshift measurements via detection of Hα and [O iii ] line emission flux excess in the N708 and N540 filters, respectively, at 0.06 &lt; z &lt; 0.10. We present the survey design, observations taken to date, data reduction using the Legacy Survey of Space and Time Science Pipelines, aperture-matched photometry for accurate galaxy colors, and the contents of DR1. The key science goals of Merian include probing the dark matter halos of dwarf galaxies out to their virial radii using high signal-to-noise weak lensing profile measurements, decoupling the effects of baryonic processes from dark matter, and understanding the role of black holes in dwarf galaxy evolution. This rich data set will also offer unique opportunities for studying extremely metal-poor galaxies via their strong [O iii ] emission and Hα lines, as well as [O ii ] emitters at z ∼ 0.4, and Ly α emitters at z ∼ 3.3 and z ∼ 4.8. Merian showcases the power of utilizing narrow and medium-band filters alongside broad-band filters for sky imaging, demonstrating their synergistic capacity to unveil astrophysical insights across diverse astrophysical phenomena.

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Publication Details

Journal
The Astrophysical Journal
Published
2025-10-28
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ae003e
Citations
2
Primary Topic
Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
2.31
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article

First Data Release of the Merian Survey: A Wide-field Imaging Survey of Dwarf Galaxies at z  ∼ 0.06–0.10

Justin I. Read, L. S. Kelvin, Stacy Y. Kim, Runquan Guan et al.
2 citations
The Astrophysical Journal
Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena
2.31
article

First Data Release of the Merian Survey: A Wide-field Imaging Survey of Dwarf Galaxies at z  ∼ 0.06–0.10

Justin I. Read, L. S. Kelvin, Stacy Y. Kim, Runquan Guan, Akaxia Cruz, G. E. Medina, Rodrigo Córdova Rosado, Yifei Luo, Robert H. Lupton, Sean D. Johnson, Vivienne Baldassare, Ting S. Li, Alyson Brooks, Charlie Mace, Jenny E. Greene, Song Huang, J. C. Bhattacharyya, Alexie Leauthaud, Zheng Cai, Arun Kannawadi, Annika H. G. Peter, Abby Mintz, Diana Blanco, Erin Kado-Fong, Erik J. Wasleske, Arka Banerjee, Robel Geda, Allen Seifert, Jiaxuan Li, Shany Danieli, Mingyu Li, Xiaojing Lin, Yue Pan, Xinjun Chen, Joseph Wick
article en
2 citations

Abstract

Abstract We present an overview of the Merian Survey and its forthcoming first data release (DR1), an optical imaging survey optimized for studying bright-star-forming dwarf galaxies. Merian uses two medium-band filters (N708 and N540, centered at 708 and 540 nm), custom-built for the Dark Energy Camera (DECam) on the Blanco telescope. Merian covers ∼750 deg 2 of equatorial fields, overlapping with the Hyper Suprime-Cam Subaru Strategic Program (HSC-SSP) wide, deep, and ultra-deep fields. Combined with the HSC-SSP imaging data ( grizy ), Merian DECam medium-band imaging allows for photometric redshift measurements via detection of Hα and [O iii ] line emission flux excess in the N708 and N540 filters, respectively, at 0.06 &lt; z &lt; 0.10. We present the survey design, observations taken to date, data reduction using the Legacy Survey of Space and Time Science Pipelines, aperture-matched photometry for accurate galaxy colors, and the contents of DR1. The key science goals of Merian include probing the dark matter halos of dwarf galaxies out to their virial radii using high signal-to-noise weak lensing profile measurements, decoupling the effects of baryonic processes from dark matter, and understanding the role of black holes in dwarf galaxy evolution. This rich data set will also offer unique opportunities for studying extremely metal-poor galaxies via their strong [O iii ] emission and Hα lines, as well as [O ii ] emitters at z ∼ 0.4, and Ly α emitters at z ∼ 3.3 and z ∼ 4.8. Merian showcases the power of utilizing narrow and medium-band filters alongside broad-band filters for sky imaging, demonstrating their synergistic capacity to unveil astrophysical insights across diverse astrophysical phenomena.

The Astrophysical JournalVol. 993(1)
Openalex Percentile: Top 10%
Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena
2.31
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