Eso very large telescope optical spectroscopy of bl lacertae objects. iv. new spectra and properties of the full sample

Abstract

We present the last chapter of a spectroscopy program aimed at deriving the redshift or a lower limit to the redshift of BL Lac objects using medium-resolution spectroscopy. Here we report new spectra for 33 BL Lac object candidates obtained in 2008-2009, confirming the BL Lac nature of 25 sources and obtaining new redshifts for 5 objects. These new observations are combined with our previous data in order to construct a homogeneous sample of ∼70 BL Lac objects with high-quality spectroscopy. All these spectra can be accessed at the Web site http://www.oapd.inaf.it/zbllac/. The average spectrum, beaming properties of the full sample, discussion of intervening systems, and future perspectives are addressed. © 2013. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.