The LSST DESC DC2 Simulated Sky Survey
Bela Abolfathi, David Alonso, Robert Armstrong, Éric Aubourg, Humna Awan, Yadu N. Babuji, Franz Erik Bauer, Rachel Bean, George Beckett, Rahul Biswas, Joanne R. Bogart, Dominique Boutigny, Kyle Chard, James Chiang, Chuck F. Claver, Johann Cohen-Tanugi, Céline Combet, Andrew J. Connolly, Scott F. Daniel, Seth W. Digel, Alex Drlica-Wagner, Richard Dubois, Emmanuel Gangler, Eric Gawiser, Thomas Glanzman, Phillipe Gris, Salman Habib, Andrew P. Hearin, Katrin Heitmann, Fabio Hernandez, Renée Hložek, Joseph Hollowed, Mustapha Ishak, Željko Ivezić, Mike Jarvis, Saurabh W. Jha, Steven M. Kahn, J. Bryce Kalmbach, Heather M. Kelly, Eve Kovacs, Danila Korytov, K. Simon Krughoff, Craig S. Lage, François Lanusse, Patricia Larsen, Laurent Le Guillou, Nan Li, Emily Phillips Longley, Robert H. Lupton, Rachel Mandelbaum, Yao-Yuan Mao, Phil Marshall, Joshua E. Meyers, Marc Moniez, Christopher B. Morrison, Andrei Nomerotski, Paul O’Connor, HyeYun Park, Ji Won Park, Julien Peloton, Daniel Perrefort, James Perry, Stéphane Plaszczynski, Adrian Pope, Andrew Rasmussen, Kevin Reil, Aaron J. Roodman, Eli S. Rykoff, F. Javier Sánchez, Samuel J. Schmidt, Daniel Scolnic, Christopher W. Stubbs, J. Anthony Tyson, Thomas D. Uram, Antonio Villarreal, Christopher W. Walter, Matthew P. Wiesner, W. Michael Wood-Vasey, Joe Zuntz
Abstract
Abstract We describe the simulated sky survey underlying the second data challenge (DC2) carried out in preparation for analysis of the Vera C. Rubin Observatory Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) by the LSST Dark Energy Science Collaboration (LSST DESC). Significant connections across multiple science domains will be a hallmark of LSST; the DC2 program represents a unique modeling effort that stresses this interconnectivity in a way that has not been attempted before. This effort encompasses a full end-to-end approach: starting from a large N -body simulation, through setting up LSST-like observations including realistic cadences, through image simulations, and finally processing with Rubin’s LSST Science Pipelines. This last step ensures that we generate data products resembling those to be delivered by the Rubin Observatory as closely as is currently possible. The simulated DC2 sky survey covers six optical bands in a wide-fast-deep area of approximately 300 deg 2 , as well as a deep drilling field of approximately 1 deg 2 . We simulate 5 yr of the planned 10 yr survey. The DC2 sky survey has multiple purposes. First, the LSST DESC working groups can use the data set to develop a range of DESC analysis pipelines to prepare for the advent of actual data. Second, it serves as a realistic test bed for the image processing software under development for LSST by the Rubin Observatory. In particular, simulated data provide a controlled way to investigate certain image-level systematic effects. Finally, the DC2 sky survey enables the exploration of new scientific ideas in both static and time domain cosmology.