Lamost observations in the Kepler field. I. Database of low-resolution spectra

The nearly continuous light curves with micromagnitude precision provided by the space mission Kepler are revolutionizing our view of pulsating stars. They have revealed a vast sea of low-amplitude pulsation modes that were undetectable from Earth. The long time base of Kepler light curves allows for the accurate determination of the frequencies and amplitudes of pulsation modes needed for in-depth asteroseismic modeling. However, for an asteroseismic study to be successful, the first estimates of stellar parameters need to be known and they cannot be derived from the Kepler photometry itself. The Kepler Input Catalog provides values for the effective temperature, surface gravity, and metallicity, but not always with sufficient accuracy. Moreover, information on the chemical composition and rotation rate is lacking. We are collecting low-resolution spectra for objects in the Kepler field of view with the Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fiber Spectroscopic Telescope (lamost, Xinglong observatory, China). All of the requested fields have now been observed at least once. In this paper, we describe those observations and provide a useful database for the whole astronomical community.