Burke, DL;
Rykoff, ES;
Allam, S;
Annis, J;
Bechtol, K;
Bernstein, GM;
Drlica-Wagner, A;
... Walker, AR; + view all
(2018)
Forward Global Photometric Calibration of the Dark Energy Survey.
The Astronomical Journal
, 155
(1)
, Article 41. 10.3847/1538-3881/aa9f22.
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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 mb std 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 mb std of stellar sources over the multiyear Y3A1 data sample with residual random calibration errors of s = 6 7 mmag – per exposure. The accuracy of the calibration is uniform across the 5000 deg2 DES footprint to within s = 7 mmag. The systematic uncertainties of magnitudes in the standard system due to the spectra of sources are less than 5 mmag for main-sequence stars with 0.5 3.0 < -< g i .
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Forward Global Photometric Calibration of the Dark Energy Survey |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.3847/1538-3881/aa9f22 |
| Publisher version: | http://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/aa9f22 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | © 2017. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved. This version is the version of record. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions. |
| Keywords: | Science & Technology, Physical Sciences, Astronomy & Astrophysics, methods: observational, techniques: photometric, REDSHIFTS, SOFTWARE, FLUX |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > Dept of Physics and Astronomy |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1571417 |
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