The High-redshift Clusters Occupied by Bent Radio AGN (COBRA) Survey: Follow-up Optical Imaging

Abstract

Here we present new red sequence overdensity measurements for 77 fields in the high-z Clusters Occupied by Bent Radio AGN (COBRA) survey, based on r- and i-band imaging taken with the Lowell Observatory's Discovery Channel Telescope. We observe 38 COBRA fields in the r-band and 90 COBRA fields in the i-band. By combining the r- and i-band photometry with our 3.6 and 4.5 mu m Spitzer IRAC observations, we identify 39 red sequence cluster candidates that host a strong overdensity of galaxies when measuring the excess of red sequence galaxies relative to a background field. We initially treat the radio host as the cluster center and then determine a new cluster center based on the surface density of red sequence sources. Using our color selection, we identify which COBRA cluster candidates have strong red sequence populations. By removing foreground and background contaminants, we more securely determine which fields include cluster candidates with a higher significance than our single-band observations. Additionally, of the 77 fields we analyze with a redshift estimate, 26 include newly estimated photometric redshifts.