Year: 2017
Type: article
Abstract: Many scientific goals for the Dark Energy Survey (DES) require the calibration of optical/NIR broadband b = grizY photometry that is stable in time and uniform over the celestial sky to one percent or better. It is also necessary to limit to similar accuracy systematic uncertainty in the calibrated broadband magnitudes due to uncertainty in the spectrum of the source. Here we present a “Forward Global Calibration Method (FGCM)” for photometric calibration of the DES, and we present results of its application to the first three years of the survey (Y3A1). The FGCM combines data taken with auxiliary instrumentation at the observatory with data from the broadband survey imaging itself and models of the instrument and atmosphere to estimate the spatial and time dependences of the passbands of individual DES survey exposures. “Standard” passbands that are typical of the passbands encountered during the survey are chosen. The passband of any individual observation is combined with an estimate of the source spectral shape to yield a magnitude in the standard system. This “chromatic correction” to the standard system is necessary to achieve subpercent calibrations and in particular, to resolve ambiguity between the broadband brightness of a source and the shape of its SED. The FGCM achieves a reproducible and stable photometric calibration of standard magnitudes of stellar sources over the multiyear Y3A1 data sample with residual random calibration errors of per exposure. The accuracy of the calibration is uniform across the DES footprint to within . The systematic uncertainties of magnitudes in the standard system due to the spectra of sources are less than for main-sequence stars with .
Source: The Astronomical Journal
Authors: D. L. Burke, E. S. Rykoff, S. Allam, J. Annis, K. Bechtol, G. M. Bernstein, A. Drlica-Wagner, D. A. Finley, R. A. Gruendl, D. J. James, S. Kent, R. Kessler, S. Kuhlmann, J. Lasker, T. S. Li, D. Scolnic, J. Smith, D. L. Tucker, W. Wester, B. Yanny, T. M. C. Abbott, F. B. Abdalla, A. Benoit-Lévy, E. Bertin, A. Carnero Rosell, M. Carrasco Kind, J. Carretero, C. E. Cunha, C. B. D’Andrea, L. N. da Costa, S. Desai, H. T. Diehl, P. Doel, J. Estrada, J. García-Bellido, D. Gruen, G. Gutierrez, K. Honscheid, K. Kuehn, N. Kuropatkin, M. A. G. Maia, M. March, J. L. Marshall, P. Melchior, F. Menanteau, R. Miquel, A. A. Plazas, M. Sako, E. Sanchez, V. Scarpine, R. Schindler, I. Sevilla-Noarbe, M. Smith, R. C. Smith, M. Soares-Santos, F. Sobreira, E. Suchyta, G. Tarle, A. R. Walker
Institutions: SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, Stanford University, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, Large Synoptic Survey Telescope Corporation, University of Pennsylvania, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, National Center for Supercomputing Applications, University of Washington, Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, University of Chicago, Argonne National Laboratory, Austin Peay State University, Rhodes University, University College London, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris, Université Pierre-et-Marie-Curie, National Observatory, Laboratório Interinstitucional de e-Astronomia, Institute for High Energy Physics, Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad, Instituto de Física Teórica, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, The Ohio State University, Australian Astronomical Observatory, Texas A&M University, Princeton University, Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas, University of Southampton, Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), Oak Ridge National Laboratory, University of Michigan
Language: English
Subfield: Instrumentation
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
Funders: National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Energy, University of Pennsylvania, Ohio State University, University of Chicago, University of Portsmouth, University of Sussex, Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovação, Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico, Fundação Carlos Chagas Filho de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Science and Technology Facilities Council, FP7 Ideas: European Research Council, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
Awards: Capitalizing on Gravitational Shear, Testing the Dark Energy Paradigm and Measuring Neutrino Mass with the Dark Energy Survey, G1794164356, G2371548206, G262532246, G303061748, G3467815775, G4104599821, G4235786860, Understanding the Origin of Cosmic Structure, G4654690619, G5570207115, Probing Particle Mediated Growth: Towards a Predictive Understanding of Self-Assembly for Energy Applications, Model-guided biofuel production enhancement of metabolically engineered E. coli., UCL Astrophysics Consolidated Grant 2015-2018, Collaborative Research: The Dark Energy Survey Data Management Operations, G8726098666, G969889393
OpenAlex ID: W2623782234