SALVAGE: The SDSS-ALMA Legacy Value Archival Gas Exploration
What is SALVAGE?
The SDSS-ALMA Legacy Value Archival Gas Exploration (SALVAGE) dataset combines optical data products from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) and molecular gas measurements from the Atacama Large (sub-)Millimeter Array (ALMA) archive to produce a sample of 277 “semi-resolved” galaxies.
How to Use SALVAGE
The SALVAGE (SDSS-ALMA Legacy Value Archival Gas Exploration) dataset provides reduced ALMA CO(1-0) cubes and derived molecular gas measurements for SDSS galaxies. This section offers a brief guide on accessing and using these data.
Accessing the Data
All SALVAGE data products are publicly available through CANFAR:
- Data Release: SALVAGE Public Data Release
- Contents:
/data/atlas/– Quicklook images of optical fields, moment0 maps, spectra, and higher-order products (PNG)./data/cubes/– Reduced ALMA cubes in FITS format for individual galaxies./data/moments/– Derived moment maps (moment0, moment1, moment2) in FITS format./data/qa_failed/– Cubes and moment maps for galaxies that failed quality assurance.salvage_pub.csv– Catalog of semi-resolved molecular gas measurements with galaxy properties, CO luminosities, molecular gas masses, SFRs, and quality flags.
Using the Data
- Each FITS cube in
/data/cubes/corresponds to a single galaxy and can be analyzed directly or used to derive moment maps. - Derived moment maps in
/data/moments/match the cube filenames and are ready for analysis. - The catalog (
salvage_pub.csv) provides a convenient summary of molecular gas measurements and associated stellar properties.
Reproducing or Extending the Analysis
- All calibration and reduction scripts used to produce SALVAGE are available on GitHub: SALVAGE Repository
- Researchers can adapt these scripts for their own analyses or to reproduce the published data products.
Citation
If you use SALVAGE, please cite:
Wilkinson et al. (2025), SDSS-ALMA Legacy Value Archival Gas Exploration (SALVAGE) - I: global star formation is governed by central (not global) molecular gas.
Contact
If you have any questions or comments, feel free to reach out by email.