ASSESSMENT of SYSTEMATIC CHROMATIC ERRORS THAT IMPACT SUB-1% PHOTOMETRIC PRECISION in LARGE-AREA SKY SURVEYS

T. S. Li; D. L. Depoy; J. L. Marshall; D. Tucker; R. Kessler; J. Annis; G. M. Bernstein; S. Boada; D. L. Burke; D. A. Finley; D. J. James; S. Kent; H. Lin; J. Marriner; N. Mondrik; D. Nagasawa; E. S. Rykoff; D. Scolnic; A. R. Walker; W. Wester; T. M.C. Abbott; S. Allam; A. Benoit-Lévy; E. Bertin; D. Brooks; D. Capozzi; A. Carnero Rosell; M. Carrasco Kind; J. Carretero; M. Crocce; C. E. Cunha; C. B. D'Andrea; L. N.Da Costa; S. Desai; H. T. Diehl; P. Doel; B. Flaugher; P. Fosalba; J. Frieman; E. Gaztanaga; D. A. Goldstein; D. Gruen; R. A. Gruendl; G. Gutierrez; K. Honscheid; K. Kuehn; N. Kuropatkin; M. A.G. Maia; P. Melchior; C. J. Miller; R. Miquel; J. J. Mohr; E. Neilsen; R. C. Nichol; B. Nord; R. Ogando; A. A. Plazas; A. K. Romer; A. Roodman; M. Sako; E. Sanchez; V. Scarpine; M. Schubnell; I. Sevilla-Noarbe; R. C. Smith; M. Soares-Santos; F. Sobreira; E. Suchyta; G. Tarle; D. Thomas; V. Vikram

doi:10.3847/0004-6256/151/6/157

ASSESSMENT of SYSTEMATIC CHROMATIC ERRORS THAT IMPACT SUB-1% PHOTOMETRIC PRECISION in LARGE-AREA SKY SURVEYS

T. S. Li, D. L. Depoy, J. L. Marshall, D. Tucker, R. Kessler, J. Annis, G. M. Bernstein, S. Boada, D. L. Burke, D. A. Finley, D. J. James, S. Kent, H. Lin, J. Marriner, N. Mondrik, D. Nagasawa, E. S. Rykoff, D. Scolnic, A. R. Walker, W. WesterT. M.C. Abbott, S. Allam, A. Benoit-Lévy, E. Bertin, D. Brooks, D. Capozzi, A. Carnero Rosell, M. Carrasco Kind, J. Carretero, M. Crocce, C. E. Cunha, C. B. D'Andrea, L. N.Da Costa, S. Desai, H. T. Diehl, P. Doel, B. Flaugher, P. Fosalba, J. Frieman, E. Gaztanaga, D. A. Goldstein, D. Gruen, R. A. Gruendl, G. Gutierrez, K. Honscheid, K. Kuehn, N. Kuropatkin, M. A.G. Maia, P. Melchior, C. J. Miller, R. Miquel, J. J. Mohr, E. Neilsen, R. C. Nichol, B. Nord, R. Ogando, A. A. Plazas, A. K. Romer, A. Roodman, M. Sako, E. Sanchez, V. Scarpine, M. Schubnell, I. Sevilla-Noarbe, R. C. Smith, M. Soares-Santos, F. Sobreira, E. Suchyta, G. Tarle, D. Thomas, V. Vikram

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Abstract

Meeting the science goals for many current and future ground-based optical large-area sky surveys requires that the calibrated broadband photometry is both stable in time and uniform over the sky to 1% precision or better. Past and current surveys have achieved photometric precision of 1%-2% by calibrating the survey's stellar photometry with repeated measurements of a large number of stars observed in multiple epochs. The calibration techniques employed by these surveys only consider the relative frame-by-frame photometric zeropoint offset and the focal plane position-dependent illumination corrections, which are independent of the source color. However, variations in the wavelength dependence of the atmospheric transmission and the instrumental throughput induce source color-dependent systematic errors. These systematic errors must also be considered to achieve the most precise photometric measurements. In this paper, we examine such systematic chromatic errors (SCEs) using photometry from the Dark Energy Survey (DES) as an example. We first define a natural magnitude system for DES and calculate the systematic errors on stellar magnitudes when the atmospheric transmission and instrumental throughput deviate from the natural system. We conclude that the SCEs caused by the change of airmass in each exposure, the change of the precipitable water vapor and aerosol in the atmosphere over time, and the non-uniformity of instrumental throughput over the focal plane can be up to 2% in some bandpasses. We then compare the calculated SCEs with the observed DES data. For the test sample data, we correct these errors using measurements of the atmospheric transmission and instrumental throughput from auxiliary calibration systems. The residual after correction is less than 0.3%. Moreover, we calculate such SCEs for Type Ia supernovae and elliptical galaxies and find that the chromatic errors for non-stellar objects are redshift-dependent and can be larger than those for stars at certain redshifts.

Original language	English (US)
Article number	157
Journal	Astronomical Journal
Volume	151
Issue number	6
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.3847/0004-6256/151/6/157
State	Published - Jun 2016

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

Astronomy and Astrophysics
Space and Planetary Science

Keywords

atmospheric effects
methods: observational
surveys
techniques: photometric

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10.3847/0004-6256/151/6/157

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Li, T. S., Depoy, D. L., Marshall, J. L., Tucker, D., Kessler, R., Annis, J., Bernstein, G. M., Boada, S., Burke, D. L., Finley, D. A., James, D. J., Kent, S., Lin, H., Marriner, J., Mondrik, N., Nagasawa, D., Rykoff, E. S., Scolnic, D., Walker, A. R., ... Vikram, V. (2016). ASSESSMENT of SYSTEMATIC CHROMATIC ERRORS THAT IMPACT SUB-1% PHOTOMETRIC PRECISION in LARGE-AREA SKY SURVEYS. Astronomical Journal, 151(6), Article 157. https://doi.org/10.3847/0004-6256/151/6/157

@article{3abfb0da785d4af3bd6842dc8d4f0a04,

title = "ASSESSMENT of SYSTEMATIC CHROMATIC ERRORS THAT IMPACT SUB-1% PHOTOMETRIC PRECISION in LARGE-AREA SKY SURVEYS",

abstract = "Meeting the science goals for many current and future ground-based optical large-area sky surveys requires that the calibrated broadband photometry is both stable in time and uniform over the sky to 1% precision or better. Past and current surveys have achieved photometric precision of 1%-2% by calibrating the survey's stellar photometry with repeated measurements of a large number of stars observed in multiple epochs. The calibration techniques employed by these surveys only consider the relative frame-by-frame photometric zeropoint offset and the focal plane position-dependent illumination corrections, which are independent of the source color. However, variations in the wavelength dependence of the atmospheric transmission and the instrumental throughput induce source color-dependent systematic errors. These systematic errors must also be considered to achieve the most precise photometric measurements. In this paper, we examine such systematic chromatic errors (SCEs) using photometry from the Dark Energy Survey (DES) as an example. We first define a natural magnitude system for DES and calculate the systematic errors on stellar magnitudes when the atmospheric transmission and instrumental throughput deviate from the natural system. We conclude that the SCEs caused by the change of airmass in each exposure, the change of the precipitable water vapor and aerosol in the atmosphere over time, and the non-uniformity of instrumental throughput over the focal plane can be up to 2% in some bandpasses. We then compare the calculated SCEs with the observed DES data. For the test sample data, we correct these errors using measurements of the atmospheric transmission and instrumental throughput from auxiliary calibration systems. The residual after correction is less than 0.3%. Moreover, we calculate such SCEs for Type Ia supernovae and elliptical galaxies and find that the chromatic errors for non-stellar objects are redshift-dependent and can be larger than those for stars at certain redshifts.",

keywords = "atmospheric effects, methods: observational, surveys, techniques: photometric",

author = "Li, {T. S.} and Depoy, {D. L.} and Marshall, {J. L.} and D. Tucker and R. Kessler and J. Annis and Bernstein, {G. M.} and S. Boada and Burke, {D. L.} and Finley, {D. A.} and James, {D. J.} and S. Kent and H. Lin and J. Marriner and N. Mondrik and D. Nagasawa and Rykoff, {E. S.} and D. Scolnic and Walker, {A. R.} and W. Wester and Abbott, {T. M.C.} and S. Allam and A. Benoit-L{\'e}vy and E. Bertin and D. Brooks and D. Capozzi and Rosell, {A. Carnero} and Kind, {M. Carrasco} and J. Carretero and M. Crocce and Cunha, {C. E.} and D'Andrea, {C. B.} and Costa, {L. N.Da} and S. Desai and Diehl, {H. T.} and P. Doel and B. Flaugher and P. Fosalba and J. Frieman and E. Gaztanaga and Goldstein, {D. A.} and D. Gruen and Gruendl, {R. A.} and G. Gutierrez and K. Honscheid and K. Kuehn and N. Kuropatkin and Maia, {M. A.G.} and P. Melchior and Miller, {C. J.} and R. Miquel and Mohr, {J. J.} and E. Neilsen and Nichol, {R. C.} and B. Nord and R. Ogando and Plazas, {A. A.} and Romer, {A. K.} and A. Roodman and M. Sako and E. Sanchez and V. Scarpine and M. Schubnell and I. Sevilla-Noarbe and Smith, {R. C.} and M. Soares-Santos and F. Sobreira and E. Suchyta and G. Tarle and D. Thomas and V. Vikram",

year = "2016",

month = jun,

doi = "10.3847/0004-6256/151/6/157",

language = "English (US)",

volume = "151",

journal = "Astronomical Journal",

issn = "0004-6256",

publisher = "IOP Publishing Ltd.",

number = "6",

}

Li, TS, Depoy, DL, Marshall, JL, Tucker, D, Kessler, R, Annis, J, Bernstein, GM, Boada, S, Burke, DL, Finley, DA, James, DJ, Kent, S, Lin, H, Marriner, J, Mondrik, N, Nagasawa, D, Rykoff, ES, Scolnic, D, Walker, AR, Wester, W, Abbott, TMC, Allam, S, Benoit-Lévy, A, Bertin, E, Brooks, D, Capozzi, D, Rosell, AC, Kind, MC, Carretero, J, Crocce, M, Cunha, CE, D'Andrea, CB, Costa, LND, Desai, S, Diehl, HT, Doel, P, Flaugher, B, Fosalba, P, Frieman, J, Gaztanaga, E, Goldstein, DA, Gruen, D, Gruendl, RA, Gutierrez, G, Honscheid, K, Kuehn, K, Kuropatkin, N, Maia, MAG, Melchior, P, Miller, CJ, Miquel, R, Mohr, JJ, Neilsen, E, Nichol, RC, Nord, B, Ogando, R, Plazas, AA, Romer, AK, Roodman, A, Sako, M, Sanchez, E, Scarpine, V, Schubnell, M, Sevilla-Noarbe, I, Smith, RC, Soares-Santos, M, Sobreira, F, Suchyta, E, Tarle, G, Thomas, D & Vikram, V 2016, 'ASSESSMENT of SYSTEMATIC CHROMATIC ERRORS THAT IMPACT SUB-1% PHOTOMETRIC PRECISION in LARGE-AREA SKY SURVEYS', Astronomical Journal, vol. 151, no. 6, 157. https://doi.org/10.3847/0004-6256/151/6/157

TY - JOUR

T1 - ASSESSMENT of SYSTEMATIC CHROMATIC ERRORS THAT IMPACT SUB-1% PHOTOMETRIC PRECISION in LARGE-AREA SKY SURVEYS

AU - Li, T. S.

AU - Depoy, D. L.

AU - Marshall, J. L.

AU - Tucker, D.

AU - Kessler, R.

AU - Annis, J.

AU - Bernstein, G. M.

AU - Boada, S.

AU - Burke, D. L.

AU - Finley, D. A.

AU - James, D. J.

AU - Kent, S.

AU - Lin, H.

AU - Marriner, J.

AU - Mondrik, N.

AU - Nagasawa, D.

AU - Rykoff, E. S.

AU - Scolnic, D.

AU - Walker, A. R.

AU - Wester, W.

AU - Abbott, T. M.C.

AU - Allam, S.

AU - Benoit-Lévy, A.

AU - Bertin, E.

AU - Brooks, D.

AU - Capozzi, D.

AU - Rosell, A. Carnero

AU - Kind, M. Carrasco

AU - Carretero, J.

AU - Crocce, M.

AU - Cunha, C. E.

AU - D'Andrea, C. B.

AU - Costa, L. N.Da

AU - Desai, S.

AU - Diehl, H. T.

AU - Doel, P.

AU - Flaugher, B.

AU - Fosalba, P.

AU - Frieman, J.

AU - Gaztanaga, E.

AU - Goldstein, D. A.

AU - Gruen, D.

AU - Gruendl, R. A.

AU - Gutierrez, G.

AU - Honscheid, K.

AU - Kuehn, K.

AU - Kuropatkin, N.

AU - Maia, M. A.G.

AU - Melchior, P.

AU - Miller, C. J.

AU - Miquel, R.

AU - Mohr, J. J.

AU - Neilsen, E.

AU - Nichol, R. C.

AU - Nord, B.

AU - Ogando, R.

AU - Plazas, A. A.

AU - Romer, A. K.

AU - Roodman, A.

AU - Sako, M.

AU - Sanchez, E.

AU - Scarpine, V.

AU - Schubnell, M.

AU - Sevilla-Noarbe, I.

AU - Smith, R. C.

AU - Soares-Santos, M.

AU - Sobreira, F.

AU - Suchyta, E.

AU - Tarle, G.

AU - Thomas, D.

AU - Vikram, V.

PY - 2016/6

Y1 - 2016/6

N2 - Meeting the science goals for many current and future ground-based optical large-area sky surveys requires that the calibrated broadband photometry is both stable in time and uniform over the sky to 1% precision or better. Past and current surveys have achieved photometric precision of 1%-2% by calibrating the survey's stellar photometry with repeated measurements of a large number of stars observed in multiple epochs. The calibration techniques employed by these surveys only consider the relative frame-by-frame photometric zeropoint offset and the focal plane position-dependent illumination corrections, which are independent of the source color. However, variations in the wavelength dependence of the atmospheric transmission and the instrumental throughput induce source color-dependent systematic errors. These systematic errors must also be considered to achieve the most precise photometric measurements. In this paper, we examine such systematic chromatic errors (SCEs) using photometry from the Dark Energy Survey (DES) as an example. We first define a natural magnitude system for DES and calculate the systematic errors on stellar magnitudes when the atmospheric transmission and instrumental throughput deviate from the natural system. We conclude that the SCEs caused by the change of airmass in each exposure, the change of the precipitable water vapor and aerosol in the atmosphere over time, and the non-uniformity of instrumental throughput over the focal plane can be up to 2% in some bandpasses. We then compare the calculated SCEs with the observed DES data. For the test sample data, we correct these errors using measurements of the atmospheric transmission and instrumental throughput from auxiliary calibration systems. The residual after correction is less than 0.3%. Moreover, we calculate such SCEs for Type Ia supernovae and elliptical galaxies and find that the chromatic errors for non-stellar objects are redshift-dependent and can be larger than those for stars at certain redshifts.

AB - Meeting the science goals for many current and future ground-based optical large-area sky surveys requires that the calibrated broadband photometry is both stable in time and uniform over the sky to 1% precision or better. Past and current surveys have achieved photometric precision of 1%-2% by calibrating the survey's stellar photometry with repeated measurements of a large number of stars observed in multiple epochs. The calibration techniques employed by these surveys only consider the relative frame-by-frame photometric zeropoint offset and the focal plane position-dependent illumination corrections, which are independent of the source color. However, variations in the wavelength dependence of the atmospheric transmission and the instrumental throughput induce source color-dependent systematic errors. These systematic errors must also be considered to achieve the most precise photometric measurements. In this paper, we examine such systematic chromatic errors (SCEs) using photometry from the Dark Energy Survey (DES) as an example. We first define a natural magnitude system for DES and calculate the systematic errors on stellar magnitudes when the atmospheric transmission and instrumental throughput deviate from the natural system. We conclude that the SCEs caused by the change of airmass in each exposure, the change of the precipitable water vapor and aerosol in the atmosphere over time, and the non-uniformity of instrumental throughput over the focal plane can be up to 2% in some bandpasses. We then compare the calculated SCEs with the observed DES data. For the test sample data, we correct these errors using measurements of the atmospheric transmission and instrumental throughput from auxiliary calibration systems. The residual after correction is less than 0.3%. Moreover, we calculate such SCEs for Type Ia supernovae and elliptical galaxies and find that the chromatic errors for non-stellar objects are redshift-dependent and can be larger than those for stars at certain redshifts.

KW - atmospheric effects

KW - methods: observational

KW - surveys

KW - techniques: photometric

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84975480296&partnerID=8YFLogxK

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84975480296&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.3847/0004-6256/151/6/157

DO - 10.3847/0004-6256/151/6/157

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:84975480296

SN - 0004-6256

VL - 151

JO - Astronomical Journal

JF - Astronomical Journal

IS - 6

M1 - 157

ER -

ASSESSMENT of SYSTEMATIC CHROMATIC ERRORS THAT IMPACT SUB-1% PHOTOMETRIC PRECISION in LARGE-AREA SKY SURVEYS

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