GMASS ultradeep spectroscopy of galaxies at z ~ 2 - VII. Sample selection and spectroscopy

Ultra-deep imaging of small parts of the sky has revealed many populations of distant galaxies, providing insight into the early stages of galaxy evolution. Spectroscopic follow-up has mostly targeted galaxies with strong emission lines at z > 2 or concentrated on galaxies at z 1.4. Methods. To determine redshifts and physical properties, such as metallicity, dust content, dynamical masses, and star formation history, we performed ultra-deep spectroscopy with the red-sensitive optical spectrograph FORS2 at the Very Large Telescope. We first constructed a sample of objects, within the CDFS/GOODS area, detected at 4.5 μm, to be sensitive to stellar mass rather than star formation intensity. The spectroscopic targets were selected with a photometric redshift constraint (z > 1.4) and magnitude constraints (BAB 1.4. The redshift distribution is clearly inhomogeneous with several pronounced redshift peaks. From the redshifts and photometry, we deduce that the BzK selection criteria are efficient (82%) and suffer low contamination (11%). Several papers based on the GMASS survey show its value for studies of galaxy formation and evolution. We publicly release the redshifts and reduced spectra. In combination with existing and on-going additional observations in CDFS/GOODS, this data set provides a legacy for future studies of distant galaxies.