Euclid preparation

XXV. The Euclid Morphology Challenge: Towards model-fitting photometry for billions of galaxies

¹ INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma, Via Frascati 33, 00078 Monteporzio Catone, Italy
e-mail: emiliano.merlin@inaf.it
² Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, Institut d'astrophysique spatiale, 91405 Orsay, France
³ Université Paris-Cité, CNRS, Astroparticule et Cosmologie, 75013 Paris, France
⁴ Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC); Departamento de Astrofísica, Universidad de La Laguna (ULL), 38200 La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain
⁵ Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, Calle Vía Láctea s/n, 38204 San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain
⁶ Université Paris-Cité, 5 Rue Thomas Mann, 75013 Paris, France
⁷ Université PSL, Observatoire de Paris, Sorbonne Université, CNRS, LERMA, 75014 Paris, France
⁸ School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK
⁹ Instituto de Física de Cantabria, Edificio Juan Jordá, Avenida de los Castros, 39005 Santander, Spain
¹⁰ Departamento de Física Teórica, Atómica y Óptica, Universidad de Valladolid, 47011 Valladolid, Spain
¹¹ Instituto de Astrofísica e Ciências do Espaço, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Tapada da Ajuda, 1349-018 Lisboa, Portugal
¹² Department of Physics and Astronomy, Purdue University, 525 Northwestern Ave., West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
¹³ Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, UK
¹⁴ Universitäts-Sternwarte München, Fakultät für Physik, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Scheinerstrasse 1, 81679 München, Germany
¹⁵ European Southern Observatory, Alonso de Cordova 3107, Casilla 19001, Santiago, Chile
¹⁶ Department of Astronomy, University of Geneva, ch. d'Écogia 16, 1290 Versoix, Switzerland
¹⁷ Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris, UMR 7095, CNRS, and Sorbonne Université, 98 bis boulevard Arago, 75014 Paris, France
¹⁸ Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope, 65-1238 Mamalahoa Hwy, Kamuela, HI 96743, USA
¹⁹ Instituto de Matemática Estatística e Física, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande, 96203-900 Rio Grande, RS, Brazil
²⁰ University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK
²¹ Aix-Marseille Univ., CNRS, CNES, LAM, Marseille, France
²² ICRAR, M468, University of Western Australia, Crawley WA 6009, Australia
²³ INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Capodimonte, Via Moiariello 16, 80131 Napoli, Italy
²⁴ Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth PO1 3FX, UK
²⁵ Institut für Theoretische Physik, University of Heidelberg, Philosophenweg 16, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
²⁶ INAF-Osservatorio di Astrofisica e Scienza dello Spazio di Bologna, Via Piero Gobetti 93/3, 40129 Bologna, Italy
²⁷ Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia "Augusto Righi" – Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna, via Piero Gobetti 93/2, 40129 Bologna, Italy
²⁸ INFN-Sezione di Bologna, Viale Berti Pichat 6/2, 40127 Bologna, Italy
²⁹ Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics, Giessenbachstr. 1, 85748 Garching, Germany
³⁰ Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Genova, Via Dodecaneso 33, 16146 Genova, Italy
³¹ INFN-Sezione di Roma Tre, Via della Vasca Navale 84, 00146 Roma, Italy
³² Department of Physics "E. Pancini", University Federico II, Via Cinthia 6, 80126 Napoli, Italy
³³ Dipartimento di Fisica, Universitá degli Studi di Torino, Via P. Giuria 1, 10125 Torino, Italy
³⁴ INFN-Sezione di Torino, Via P. Giuria 1, 10125 Torino, Italy
³⁵ INAF-Osservatorio Astrofisico di Torino, Via Osservatorio 20, 10025 Pino Torinese (TO), Italy
³⁶ INAF-IASF Milano, Via Alfonso Corti 12, 20133 Milano, Italy
³⁷ Institut de Física d'Altes Energies (IFAE), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Campus UAB, 08193 Bellaterra (Barcelona), Spain
³⁸ Port d'Informació Científica, Campus UAB, C. Albareda s/n, 08193 Bellaterra (Barcelona), Spain
³⁹ Institut d'Estudis Espacials de Catalunya (IEEC), Carrer Gran Capitá 2–4, 08034 Barcelona, Spain
⁴⁰ Institute of Space Sciences (ICE, CSIC), Campus UAB, Carrer de Can Magrans, s/n, 08193 Barcelona, Spain
⁴¹ INFN section of Naples, Via Cinthia 6, 80126 Napoli, Italy
⁴² Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia "Augusto Righi" – Alma Mater Studiorum Universitá di Bologna, Viale Berti Pichat 6/2, 40127 Bologna, Italy
⁴³ INAF-Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri, Largo E. Fermi 5, 50125 Firenze, Italy
⁴⁴ Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales, 31400 Toulouse, France
⁴⁵ Institut national de physique nucléaire et de physique des particules, 3 rue Michel-Ange, 75794 Paris Cédex 16, France
⁴⁶ Institute for Astronomy, University of Edinburgh, Royal Observatory, Blackford Hill, Edinburgh EH9 3HJ, UK
⁴⁷ ESAC/ESA, Camino Bajo del Castillo, s/n., Urb. Villafranca del Castillo, 28692 Villanueva de la Cañada, Madrid, Spain
⁴⁸ European Space Agency/ESRIN, Largo Galileo Galilei 1, 00044 Frascati, Roma, Italy
⁴⁹ Univ. Lyon, Univ. Claude-Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS/IN2P3, IP2I Lyon, UMR 5822, 69622 Villeurbanne, France
⁵⁰ Institute of Physics, Laboratory of Astrophysics, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Observatoire de Sauverny, 1290 Versoix, Switzerland
⁵¹ Mullard Space Science Laboratory, University College London, Holmbury St Mary, Dorking, Surrey RH5 6NT, UK
⁵² Departamento de Física, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Edifício C8, Campo Grande, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal
⁵³ Instituto de Astrofísica e Ciências do Espaço, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Campo Grande, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal
⁵⁴ Department of Physics, Oxford University, Keble Road, Oxford OX1 3RH, UK
⁵⁵ INFN-Padova, Via Marzolo 8, 35131 Padova, Italy
⁵⁶ Université Paris-Saclay, Université Paris-Cité, CEA, CNRS, Astrophysique, Instrumentation et Modélisation Paris-Saclay, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
⁵⁷ INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Trieste, Via G. B. Tiepolo 11, 34143 Trieste, Italy
⁵⁸ Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF) – Osservatorio di Astrofisica e Scienza dello Spazio (OAS), Via Gobetti 93/3, 40127 Bologna, Italy
⁵⁹ Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Bologna, Via Irnerio 46, 40126 Bologna, Italy
⁶⁰ INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova, Via dell'Osservatorio 5, 35122 Padova, Italy
⁶¹ Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics, University of Oslo, PO Box 1029 Blindern, 0315 Oslo, Norway
⁶² Leiden Observatory, Leiden University, Niels Bohrweg 2, 2333 CA Leiden, The Netherlands
⁶³ Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA
⁶⁴ von Hoerner & Sulger GmbH, SchloßPlatz 8, 68723 Schwetzingen, Germany
⁶⁵ Technical University of Denmark, Elektrovej 327, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
⁶⁶ Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris, 98bis Boulevard Arago, 75014 Paris, France
⁶⁷ Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie, Königstuhl 17, D-69117 Heidelberg, Germany
⁶⁸ Aix-Marseille Univ, CNRS/IN2P3, CPPM, Marseille, France
⁶⁹ Université de Genève, Département de Physique Théorique and Centre for Astroparticle Physics, 24 quai Ernest-Ansermet, 1211 Genève 4, Switzerland
⁷⁰ Department of Physics and Helsinki Institute of Physics, Gustaf Hällströmin katu 2, 00014 University of Helsinki, Finland
⁷¹ NOVA optical infrared instrumentation group at ASTRON, Oude Hoogeveensedijk 4, 7991PD Dwingeloo, The Netherlands
⁷² Argelander-Institut für Astronomie, Universität Bonn, Auf dem Hügel 71, 53121 Bonn, Germany
⁷³ Department of Physics, Institute for Computational Cosmology, Durham University, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE, UK
⁷⁴ University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Northwestern Switzerland, School of Engineering, 5210 Windisch, Switzerland
⁷⁵ European Space Agency/ESTEC, Keplerlaan 1, 2201 AZ Noordwijk, The Netherlands
⁷⁶ Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Aarhus, Ny Munkegade 120, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
⁷⁷ Centre for Astrophysics, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada
⁷⁸ Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada
⁷⁹ Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 2Y5, Canada
⁸⁰ Space Science Data Center, Italian Space Agency, via del Politecnico snc, 00133 Roma, Italy
⁸¹ Institute of Space Science, Bucharest 077125, Romania
⁸² Departamento de Astrofísica, Universidad de La Laguna, 38206 La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain
⁸³ Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia "G.Galilei", Universitá di Padova, Via Marzolo 8, 35131 Padova, Italy
⁸⁴ Departamento de Física, FCFM, Universidad de Chile, Blanco Encalada 2008, Santiago, Chile
⁸⁵ Centre for Electronic Imaging, Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA, UK
⁸⁶ AIM, CEA, CNRS, Université Paris-Saclay, Université de Paris, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
⁸⁷ Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas (CIEMAT), Avenida Complutense 40, 28040 Madrid, Spain
⁸⁸ Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena, Departamento de Electrónica y Tecnología de Computadoras, 30202 Cartagena, Spain
⁸⁹ Infrared Processing and Analysis Center, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena CA 91125, USA
⁹⁰ INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera, Via Brera 28, 20122 Milano, Italy
⁹¹ Junia, EPA department, 59000 Lille, France
⁹² SISSA, International School for Advanced Studies, Via Bonomea 265, 34136 Trieste TS, Italy
⁹³ IFPU, Institute for Fundamental Physics of the Universe, via Beirut 2, 34151 Trieste, Italy
⁹⁴ INFN, Sezione di Trieste, Via Valerio 2, 34127 Trieste, TS, Italy
⁹⁵ Dipartimento di Fisica e Scienze della Terra, Universitá degli Studi di Ferrara, Via Giuseppe Saragat 1, 44122 Ferrara, Italy
⁹⁶ Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Ferrara, Via Giuseppe Saragat 1, 44122 Ferrara, Italy
⁹⁷ Institut de Physique Théorique, CEA, CNRS, Université Paris-Saclay, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex, France
⁹⁸ Dipartimento di Fisica – Sezione di Astronomia, Universitá di Trieste, Via Tiepolo 11, 34131 Trieste, Italy
⁹⁹ NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA
¹⁰⁰ INAF, Istituto di Radioastronomia, Via Piero Gobetti 101, 40129 Bologna, Italy
¹⁰¹ INFN-Bologna, Via Irnerio 46, 40126 Bologna, Italy
¹⁰² Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie (IRAP), Université de Toulouse, CNRS, UPS, CNES, 14 Av. Edouard Belin, 31400 Toulouse, France
¹⁰³ Université Côte-d'Azur, Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur, CNRS, Laboratoire Lagrange, Bd de l'Observatoire, CS 34229, 06304 Nice cedex 4, France
¹⁰⁴ Institute for Theoretical Particle Physics and Cosmology (TTK), RWTH Aachen University, 52056 Aachen, Germany
¹⁰⁵ Department of Physics & Astronomy, University of California Irvine, Irvine CA 92697, USA
¹⁰⁶ University of Lyon, UCB Lyon 1, CNRS/IN2P3, IUF, IP2I Lyon, France
¹⁰⁷ INFN-Sezione di Genova, Via Dodecaneso 33, 16146, Genova, Italy
¹⁰⁸ INAF-Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali, via del Fosso del Cavaliere, 100, 00100 Roma, Italy
¹⁰⁹ Instituto de Física Teórica UAM-CSIC, Campus de Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid, Spain
¹¹⁰ Department of Physics, PO Box 64, 00014 University of Helsinki, Finland
¹¹¹ Ruhr University Bochum, Faculty of Physics and Astronomy, Astronomical Institute (AIRUB), German Centre for Cosmological Lensing (GCCL), 44780 Bochum, Germany
¹¹² Department of Physics, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YB, UK
¹¹³ Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS/IN2P3, IJCLab, 91405 Orsay, France
¹¹⁴ Department of Physics and Astronomy, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK
¹¹⁵ Astrophysics Group, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK
¹¹⁶ Univ. Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, Grenoble INP, LPSC-IN2P3, 53, Avenue des Martyrs, 38000 Grenoble, France
¹¹⁷ Centre de Calcul de l'IN2P3, 21 avenue Pierre de Coubertin 69627 Villeurbanne Cedex, France
¹¹⁸ Dipartimento di Fisica, Sapienza Università di Roma, Piazzale Aldo Moro 2, 00185 Roma, Italy
¹¹⁹ Zentrum für Astronomie, Universität Heidelberg, Philosophenweg 12, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
¹²⁰ Department of Mathematics and Physics E. De Giorgi, University of Salento, Via per Arnesano, CP-I93, 73100, Lecce, Italy
¹²¹ INFN, Sezione di Lecce, Via per Arnesano, CP-193, 73100 Lecce, Italy
¹²² INAF-Sezione di Lecce, c/o Dipartimento Matematica e Fisica, Via per Arnesano, 73100 Lecce, Italy
¹²³ Institute for Computational Science, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
¹²⁴ Higgs Centre for Theoretical Physics, School of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3FD, UK
¹²⁵ Université St Joseph; Faculty of Sciences, Beirut, Lebanon
¹²⁶ Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Peyton Hall, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
¹²⁷ Helsinki Institute of Physics, Gustaf Hällströmin katu 2, 00014 University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
¹²⁸ Kapteyn Astronomical Institute, University of Groningen, PO Box 800, 9700 AV Groningen, The Netherlands
¹²⁹ Department of Mathematics and Physics, Roma Tre University, Via della Vasca Navale 84, 00146 Rome, Italy
¹³⁰ Cosmic Dawn Center (DAWN), Rådmandsgade 62, 2200 København, Denmark
¹³¹ Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Jagtvej 128, 2200 Copenhagen, Denmark
¹³² Departement of Physics and Astronomy, University of British Columbia, Vancouver BC V6T 1Z1, Canada

Received: 21 September 2022
Accepted: 18 October 2022

Abstract

The European Space Agency's Euclid mission will provide high-quality imaging for about 1.5 billion galaxies. A software pipeline to automatically process and analyse such a huge amount of data in real time is being developed by the Science Ground Segment of the Euclid Consortium; this pipeline will include a model-fitting algorithm, which will provide photometric and morphological estimates of paramount importance for the core science goals of the mission and for legacy science. The Euclid Morphology Challenge is a comparative investigation of the performance of five model-fitting software packages on simulated Euclid data, aimed at providing the baseline to identify the best-suited algorithm to be implemented in the pipeline. In this paper we describe the simulated dataset, and we discuss the photometry results. A companion paper is focussed on the structural and morphological estimates. We created mock Euclid images simulating five fields of view of 0.48 deg² each in the I_E band of the VIS instrument, containing a total of about one and a half million galaxies (of which 350 000 have a nominal signal-to-noise ratio above 5), each with three realisations of galaxy profiles (single and double Sérsic, and 'realistic' profiles obtained with a neural network); for one of the fields in the double Sérsic realisation, we also simulated images for the three near-infrared Y_E, J_E, and H_E bands of the NISP-P instrument, and five Rubin/LSST optical complementary bands (u, g, r, i, and z), which together form a typical dataset for an Euclid observation. The images were simulated at the expected Euclid Wide Survey depths. To analyse the results, we created diagnostic plots and defined metrics to take into account the completeness of the provided catalogues, as well as the median biases, dispersions, and outlier fractions of their measured flux distributions. Five model-fitting software packages (DeepLeGATo, Galapagos-2, Morfometryka, ProFit, and SourceXtractor++) were compared, all typically providing good results. Of the differences among them, some were at least partly due to the distinct strategies adopted to perform the measurements. In the best-case scenario, the median bias of the measured fluxes in the analytical profile realisations is below 1% at a signal-to-noise ratio above 5 in I_E, and above 10 in all the other bands; the dispersion of the distribution is typically comparable to the theoretically expected one, with a small fraction of catastrophic outliers. However, we can expect that real observations will prove to be more demanding, since the results were found to be less accurate for the most realistic realisation. We conclude that existing model-fitting software can provide accurate photometric measurements on Euclid datasets. The results of the challenge are fully available and reproducible through an online plotting tool.