The first STEP project analysed two sets of sheared image simulations.
These simulations were analysed by many different researchers with
several different cosmic shear measurement methods. A
report into the results of this
analysis can be found here.
Set 1: SkyMaker simulations from Ludovic Van
Waerbeke.
Set 2: Shapelet simulations from Richard
Massey.
Both sets of simulations have a constant shear across them and a
rather nasty set of PSFs. Please feel free to
use these simulations to optimise your cosmic shear pipelines, including
acknowledgements to Ludovic Van Waerbeke and/or Richard Massey in any
publications.
Images generated using SkyMaker:
Images generated using Shapelets
- Richard has produced simulations which can be downloaded here from ftp://www.astro.calteach.edu/pub/ellis/rjm/STEP.
All the information you need about the simulations can be found
here.
Rules for the analysis
- All simulations have constant shear and constant PSFs. The SkyMaker simulations also have the same set of galaxies.
- These measures have been taken to speed up the production of the simulations and also to simplify the final comparison analysis.
Knowing that the simulations have these properties is however very different to what one would know about a real data set!
- Therefore, please do not use extra information about the properties of each image simulation in your analysis
and run your pipelines as you would normally on a set of real data.
- Anisotropic PSF modelling should be performed on each
simulation image . In the case of the SkyMaker simulations, PSFs
should not be determined from
a composite catalogue of stars in simulations with the same
PSFs.
Isotropy of the PSF across the image should not be assumed.
- Galaxy positions should be determined from each simulation image with your normal source detection software,
not from a composite catalogue.
Last modified 6th December.
STEP pages maintained by Catherine Heymans: heymans[at]physics.ubc.ca