Subpercent Photometry: Faint da White Dwarf Spectrophotometric Standards for Astrophysical Observatories

Gautham Narayan; Thomas Matheson; Abhijit Saha; Tim Axelrod; Annalisa Calamida; Edward Olszewski; Jenna Claver; Kaisey S. Mandel; Ralph C. Bohlin; Jay B. Holberg; Susana Deustua; Armin Rest; Christopher W. Stubbs; Clare E. Shanahan; Amali L. Vaz; Alfredo Zenteno; Giovanni Strampelli; Ivan Hubeny; Sean Points; Elena Sabbi; John MacKenty

doi:10.3847/1538-4365/ab0557

Subpercent Photometry: Faint da White Dwarf Spectrophotometric Standards for Astrophysical Observatories

Gautham Narayan, Thomas Matheson, Abhijit Saha, Tim Axelrod, Annalisa Calamida, Edward Olszewski, Jenna Claver, Kaisey S. Mandel, Ralph C. Bohlin, Jay B. Holberg, Susana Deustua, Armin Rest, Christopher W. Stubbs, Clare E. Shanahan, Amali L. Vaz, Alfredo Zenteno, Giovanni Strampelli, Ivan Hubeny, Sean Points, Elena SabbiJohn MacKenty

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

29 Scopus citations

Abstract

We have established a network of 19 faint (16.5 mag < V < 19 mag) northern and equatorial DA white dwarfs (WDs) as spectrophotometric standards for present and future wide-field observatories. Our analysis infers spectral energy distribution (SED) models for the stars that are tied to the three CALSPEC primary standards. Our SED models are consistent with panchromatic Hubble Space Telescope photometry to better than 1%. The excellent agreement between observations and models validates the use of non-LTE DA WD atmospheres extinguished by interstellar dust as accurate spectrophotometric references. Our standards are accessible from both hemispheres and suitable for ground- and space-based observatories covering the ultraviolet to the near-infrared. The high precision of these faint sources makes our network of standards ideally suited for any experiment that has very stringent requirements on flux calibration, such as studies of dark energy using the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope and the Wide-field Infrared Survey Telescope.

Original language	English (US)
Article number	20
Journal	Astrophysical Journal, Supplement Series
Volume	241
Issue number	2
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4365/ab0557
State	Published - Apr 2019

Keywords

cosmology: observations
methods: data analysis
standards
surveys
white dwarfs

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Astronomy and Astrophysics
Space and Planetary Science

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10.3847/1538-4365/ab0557

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Narayan, G., Matheson, T., Saha, A., Axelrod, T., Calamida, A., Olszewski, E., Claver, J., Mandel, K. S., Bohlin, R. C., Holberg, J. B., Deustua, S., Rest, A., Stubbs, C. W., Shanahan, C. E., Vaz, A. L., Zenteno, A., Strampelli, G., Hubeny, I., Points, S., ... MacKenty, J. (2019). Subpercent Photometry: Faint da White Dwarf Spectrophotometric Standards for Astrophysical Observatories. Astrophysical Journal, Supplement Series, 241(2), Article 20. https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4365/ab0557

Narayan, G, Matheson, T, Saha, A, Axelrod, T, Calamida, A, Olszewski, E, Claver, J, Mandel, KS, Bohlin, RC, Holberg, JB, Deustua, S, Rest, A, Stubbs, CW, Shanahan, CE, Vaz, AL, Zenteno, A, Strampelli, G, Hubeny, I, Points, S, Sabbi, E & MacKenty, J 2019, 'Subpercent Photometry: Faint da White Dwarf Spectrophotometric Standards for Astrophysical Observatories', Astrophysical Journal, Supplement Series, vol. 241, no. 2, 20. https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4365/ab0557

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abstract = "We have established a network of 19 faint (16.5 mag < V < 19 mag) northern and equatorial DA white dwarfs (WDs) as spectrophotometric standards for present and future wide-field observatories. Our analysis infers spectral energy distribution (SED) models for the stars that are tied to the three CALSPEC primary standards. Our SED models are consistent with panchromatic Hubble Space Telescope photometry to better than 1%. The excellent agreement between observations and models validates the use of non-LTE DA WD atmospheres extinguished by interstellar dust as accurate spectrophotometric references. Our standards are accessible from both hemispheres and suitable for ground- and space-based observatories covering the ultraviolet to the near-infrared. The high precision of these faint sources makes our network of standards ideally suited for any experiment that has very stringent requirements on flux calibration, such as studies of dark energy using the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope and the Wide-field Infrared Survey Telescope.",

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doi = "10.3847/1538-4365/ab0557",

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AU - Narayan, Gautham

AU - Matheson, Thomas

AU - Saha, Abhijit

AU - Axelrod, Tim

AU - Calamida, Annalisa

AU - Olszewski, Edward

AU - Claver, Jenna

AU - Mandel, Kaisey S.

AU - Bohlin, Ralph C.

AU - Holberg, Jay B.

AU - Deustua, Susana

AU - Rest, Armin

AU - Stubbs, Christopher W.

AU - Shanahan, Clare E.

AU - Vaz, Amali L.

AU - Zenteno, Alfredo

AU - Strampelli, Giovanni

AU - Hubeny, Ivan

AU - Points, Sean

AU - Sabbi, Elena

AU - MacKenty, John

PY - 2019/4

Y1 - 2019/4

N2 - We have established a network of 19 faint (16.5 mag < V < 19 mag) northern and equatorial DA white dwarfs (WDs) as spectrophotometric standards for present and future wide-field observatories. Our analysis infers spectral energy distribution (SED) models for the stars that are tied to the three CALSPEC primary standards. Our SED models are consistent with panchromatic Hubble Space Telescope photometry to better than 1%. The excellent agreement between observations and models validates the use of non-LTE DA WD atmospheres extinguished by interstellar dust as accurate spectrophotometric references. Our standards are accessible from both hemispheres and suitable for ground- and space-based observatories covering the ultraviolet to the near-infrared. The high precision of these faint sources makes our network of standards ideally suited for any experiment that has very stringent requirements on flux calibration, such as studies of dark energy using the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope and the Wide-field Infrared Survey Telescope.

AB - We have established a network of 19 faint (16.5 mag < V < 19 mag) northern and equatorial DA white dwarfs (WDs) as spectrophotometric standards for present and future wide-field observatories. Our analysis infers spectral energy distribution (SED) models for the stars that are tied to the three CALSPEC primary standards. Our SED models are consistent with panchromatic Hubble Space Telescope photometry to better than 1%. The excellent agreement between observations and models validates the use of non-LTE DA WD atmospheres extinguished by interstellar dust as accurate spectrophotometric references. Our standards are accessible from both hemispheres and suitable for ground- and space-based observatories covering the ultraviolet to the near-infrared. The high precision of these faint sources makes our network of standards ideally suited for any experiment that has very stringent requirements on flux calibration, such as studies of dark energy using the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope and the Wide-field Infrared Survey Telescope.

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KW - methods: data analysis

KW - standards

KW - surveys

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Subpercent Photometry: Faint da White Dwarf Spectrophotometric Standards for Astrophysical Observatories

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