Galaxies with Background QSOs: II. An Automated Search for Multiple Galaxy Emission Lines

We have improved upon our previous search technique of systematically searching QSO spectra for narrow galactic Hα emission, which indicates a foreground galaxy within the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) spectral fiber. We now search for Hα plus eight other galactic emission lines in the same manner. We have scanned the SDSS DR7 QSO catalog spectra searching for these emission lines. Here we present our sample which focuses on the redshift range z < 0.401 where galactic Hα is detectable in the SDSS spectra. This has revealed 27 unique galaxies on top of QSOs (GOTOQs). We have deblended the QSOs from the respective galaxies and determined the photometric properties of these systems. We find upon deblending that most of the galaxies are primarily blue, late-type galaxies with colors in the range-0.71<(u-r)<2.07. We find a slight anti-correlation between reddening and impact parameter (E(B-V)(g−i) vs. b). The galaxies have average star formation rates of 0.01 to 1 M yr−1, with an average of 0.6 M yr−1. They range in z from 0 to 0.4 and in stellar luminosity from about 0.01 L ∗ to 3.0 L∗. They are foreground to QSOs of brightness 17.4 to 20.4 magnitudes (r