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Abstract:

We present the second edition of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS)Quasar Catalog. The catalog consists of the 16,713 objects in the SDSSFirst Data Release that have luminosities larger than M_i=-22(in a cosmology with H₀=70 km s^-1Mpc^-1, Ω_M=0.3, andΩ_Λ=0.7), have at least one emission line withFWHM larger than 1000 km s^-1, and have highly reliableredshifts. The area covered by the catalog is ~1360 deg². Thequasar redshifts range from 0.08 to 5.41, with a median value of 1.43.For each object, the catalog presents positions accurate to better than0.2" rms per coordinate, five-band (ugriz) CCD-based photometry withtypical accuracy of 0.03 mag, and information on the morphology andselection method. The catalog also contains some radio, near-infrared,and X-ray emission properties of the quasars, when available, from otherlarge-area surveys. Calibrated digital spectra of all objects in thecatalog, covering the wavelength region 3800-9200 Å at a spectralresolution of 1800-2100, are available. This publication supersedes thefirst SDSS Quasar Catalog, which was based on material from the SDSSEarly Data Release. A summary of corrections to current quasar databasesis also provided. The majority of the objects were found in SDSScommissioning data using a multicolor selection technique. Since thequasar selection algorithm was undergoing testing during the entireobservational period covered by this catalog, care must be taken whenassembling samples from the catalog for use in statistical studies. A

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