Citation:
Date Published:
November 1, 2002Abstract:
The Sloan Digital Sky Survey is one of the first multicolor photometricand spectroscopic surveys designed to measure the statistical propertiesof galaxies within the local universe. In this paper we present some ofthe initial results on the angular two-point correlation functionmeasured from the early SDSS galaxy data. The form of the correlationfunction, over the magnitude interval 18*<22, isshown to be consistent with results from existing wide-field,photographic-based surveys and narrower CCD galaxy surveys. On scalesbetween 1' and 1° the correlation function is well described by apower law with an exponent of ~-0.7. The amplitude of the correlationfunction, within this angular interval, decreases with faintermagnitudes in good agreement with analysis from existing galaxy surveys.There is a characteristic break in the correlation function on scales ofapproximately 1°-2°. On small scales, θ<1',the SDSS correlation function does not appear to be consistent with thepower-law form fitted to the 1'<θ<0.5d data.