A spectroscopic survey of redshift 1.4 ≲ z ≲ 3.0 galaxies in the goods-north field:: Survey description, catalogs, and properties

We present the results of a spectroscopic survey with LRIS-B on Keck of more than 280 star-forming galaxies and AGNs at redshifts 1.4 less than or similar to z less than or similar to 3.0 in the GOODS-N field. Candidates are selected by their U(n)GR colors using the BM/BX'' criteria to target redshift 1.4 less than or similar to z less than or similar to 2.5 galaxies and the LBG criteria to target redshift z similar to 3 galaxies; combined these samples account for similar to 25%-30% of the R and K-S band counts to R = 25.5 and K-S(AB) 24: 4, respectively. The 212 BM/BX galaxies and 74 LBGs constitute the largest spectroscopic sample of galaxies at z > 1.4 in GOODS-N. Extensive multiwavelength data allow us to investigate the stellar populations, stellar masses, bolometric luminosities (L-bol), and extinction of z similar to 2 galaxies. Deep Chandra and Spitzer data indicate that the sample includes galaxies with a wide range in L-bol (similar or equal to 10(10) to > 10(12) L circle dot) and 4 orders of magnitude in dust obscuration (L-bol/L-UV). The sample includes galaxies with a large dynamic range in evolutionary state, from very young galaxies (ages similar or equal to 50 Myr) with small stellar masses (M* similar or equal to 10(9) M circle dot) to evolved galaxies with stellar masses comparable to the most massive galaxies at these redshifts (M* > 10(11) M circle dot). Spitzer data indicate that the optical sample includes some fraction of the obscured AGN population at high redshifts: at least 3 of 11 AGNs in the z > 1.4 sample are undetected in the deep X-ray data but exhibit power-law SEDs longward of similar to 2 mu m (rest frame) indicative of obscured AGNs. The results of our survey indicate that rest-frame UV selection and spectroscopy presently constitute the most timewise efficient method of culling large samples of high-redshift galaxies with a wide range in intrinsic properties, and the data presented here will add significantly to the multiwavelength legacy of GOODS.