Euclid

II. The VIS instrument

¹ Mullard Space Science Laboratory, University College London, Holmbury St Mary, Dorking, Surrey RH5 6NT, UK
² Université Paris-Saclay, Université Paris Cité, CEA, CNRS, AIM, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
³ Department of Astronomy, University of Geneva, ch. d’Ecogia 16, 1290 Versoix, Switzerland
⁴ Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales – Centre spatial de Toulouse, 18 avenue Edouard Belin, 31401 Toulouse Cedex 9, France
⁵ INAF-Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali, via del Fosso del Cavaliere 100, 00100 Roma, Italy
⁶ School of Physical Sciences, The Open University, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA, UK
⁷ Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, Institut d’astrophysique spatiale, 91405 Orsay, France
⁸ XCAM Limited, 2 Stone Circle Road, Northampton NN3 8RF, UK
⁹ Centre for Electronic Imaging, Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA, UK
¹⁰ UK Space Agency, Swindon, SN2 1SZ, UK
¹¹ Leiden Observatory, Leiden University, Einsteinweg 55, 2333 CC Leiden, The Netherlands
¹² ESAC/ESA, Camino Bajo del Castillo, s/n., Urb. Villafranca del Castillo, 28692 Villanueva de la Cañada, Madrid Spain
¹³ APCO Technologies, Chemin de Champex 10, 1860 Aigle, Switzerland
¹⁴ Surrey Satellite Technology Limited, Tycho House, 20 Stephenson Road, Surrey Research Park, Guildford GU2 7YE, UK
¹⁵ Department of Physics, Centre for Extragalactic Astronomy, Durham University, South Road DH1 3LE, UK
¹⁶ Department of Physics, Institute for Computational Cosmology, Durham University, South Road, DH1 3LE, UK
¹⁷ Institut d’Astrophysique de Paris, UMR 7095, CNRS, and Sorbonne Université, 98 bis boulevard Arago, 75014 Paris, France
¹⁸ Department of Physics, Oxford University, Keble Road, Oxford OX1 3RH, UK
¹⁹ Universität Bonn, Argelander-Institut für Astronomie, Auf dem Hügel 71, 53121 Bonn, Germany
²⁰ European Space Agency/ESTEC, Keplerlaan 1, 2201 AZ Noordwijk, The Netherlands
²¹ School of Mathematics, Statistics and Physics, Newcastle University, Herschel Building, Newcastle-upon-Tyne NE1 7RU, UK
²² Teledyne E2V, 106, Waterhouse Lane, Chelmsford CM1 2QU, UK
²³ Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA, 91109, USA
²⁴ Italian Space Agency, via del Politecnico snc, 00133 Roma, Italy
²⁵ OHB Italia, Via Gallarate 150, 20151 Milano, Italy
²⁶ School of Mathematics and Physics, University of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey GU2 7XH, UK
²⁷ INAF – Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera, Via Brera 28, 20122 Milano, Italy
²⁸ INAF – Osservatorio di Astrofisica e Scienza dello Spazio di Bologna, Via Piero Gobetti 93/3, 40129 Bologna, Italy
²⁹ IFPU, Institute for Fundamental Physics of the Universe, via Beirut 2, 34151 Trieste, Italy
³⁰ INAF – Osservatorio Astronomico di Trieste, Via G. B. Tiepolo 11, 34143 Trieste, Italy
³¹ INFN, Sezione di Trieste, Via Valerio 2, 34127 Trieste TS, Italy
³² SISSA, International School for Advanced Studies, Via Bonomea 265, 34136 Trieste TS, Italy
³³ Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Università di Bologna, Via Gobetti 93/2, 40129 Bologna, Italy
³⁴ INFN-Sezione di Bologna, Viale Berti Pichat 6/2, 40127 Bologna, Italy
³⁵ INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova, Via dell’Osservatorio 5, 35122 Padova, Italy
³⁶ Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics, Giessenbachstr. 1, 85748 Garching, Germany
³⁷ Universitäts-Sternwarte München, Fakultät für Physik, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Scheinerstrasse 1, 81679 München, Germany
³⁸ Institut de Physique Théorique, CEA, CNRS, Université Paris-Saclay, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex, France
³⁹ INAF-Osservatorio Astrofisico di Torino, Via Osservatorio 20, 10025 Pino Torinese (TO), Italy
⁴⁰ Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Genova, Via Dodecaneso 33, 16146 Genova, Italy
⁴¹ INFN-Sezione di Genova, Via Dodecaneso 33, 16146 Genova, Italy
⁴² Department of Physics “E. Pancini”, University Federico II, Via Cinthia 6, 80126 Napoli, Italy
⁴³ INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Capodimonte, Via Moiariello 16, 80131 Napoli, Italy
⁴⁴ INFN section of Naples, Via Cinthia 6, 80126 Napoli, Italy
⁴⁵ Instituto de Astrofísica e Ciências do Espaço, Universidade do Porto, CAUP, Rua das Estrelas, 4150-762 Porto, Portugal
⁴⁶ Dipartimento di Fisica, Università degli Studi di Torino, Via P. Giuria 1, 10125 Torino, Italy
⁴⁷ INFN-Sezione di Torino, Via P. Giuria 1, 10125 Torino, Italy
⁴⁸ INAF – IASF Milano, Via Alfonso Corti 12, 20133 Milano, Italy
⁴⁹ INAF – Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma, Via Frascati 33, 00078 Monteporzio Catone, Italy
⁵⁰ INFN – Sezione di Roma, Piazzale Aldo Moro 2, c/o Dipartimento di Fisica, Edificio G. Marconi, 00185 Roma, Italy
⁵¹ Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas (CIEMAT), Avenida Complutense 40, 28040 Madrid, Spain
⁵² Port d’Informació Científica, Campus UAB, C. Albareda s/n, 08193, Bellaterra (Barcelona), Spain
⁵³ Institut d’Estudis Espacials de Catalunya (IEEC), Edifici RDIT, Campus UPC, 08860 Castelldefels, Barcelona, Spain
⁵⁴ Institute of Space Sciences (ICE, CSIC), Campus UAB, Carrer de Can Magrans s/n, 08193 Barcelona, Spain
⁵⁵ Institute for Theoretical Particle Physics and Cosmology (TTK), RWTH Aachen University, 52056 Aachen, Germany
⁵⁶ Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia “Augusto Righi” – Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna, Viale Berti Pichat 6/2, 40127 Bologna, Italy
⁵⁷ Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, Calle Vía Láctea s/n, 38204 San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain
⁵⁸ Institute for Astronomy, University of Edinburgh, Royal Observatory, Blackford Hill, Edinburgh EH9 3HJ, UK
⁵⁹ Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, UK
⁶⁰ European Space Agency/ESRIN, Largo Galileo Galilei 1, 00044 Frascati, Roma, Italy
⁶¹ Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS/IN2P3, IP2I Lyon, UMR 5822, 69100 Villeurbanne, France
⁶² Institute of Physics, Laboratory of Astrophysics, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Observatoire de Sauverny, 1290 Versoix, Switzerland
⁶³ UCB Lyon 1, CNRS/IN2P3, IUF, IP2I Lyon, 4 rue Enrico Fermi, 69622 Villeurbanne, France
⁶⁴ Institut de Ciencies de l’Espai (IEEC-CSIC), Campus UAB, Carrer de Can Magrans s/n, Cerdanyola del Vallés, 08193 Barcelona, Spain
⁶⁵ Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope, 65-1238 Mamalahoa Hwy, Kamuela, HI 96743, USA
⁶⁶ Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, CNES, LAM, Marseille, France
⁶⁷ Departamento de Física, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Edifício C8, Campo Grande, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal
⁶⁸ Instituto de Astrofísica e Ciências do Espaço, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Campo Grande, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal
⁶⁹ INFN-Padova, Via Marzolo 8, 35131 Padova, Italy
⁷⁰ School of Physics, HH Wills Physics Laboratory, University of Bristol, Tyndall Avenue, Bristol, BS8 1TL, UK
⁷¹ Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS/IN2P3, CPPM, Marseille, France
⁷² Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Bologna, Via Irnerio 46, 40126 Bologna, Italy
⁷³ FRACTAL S.L.N.E., calle Tulipán 2, Portal 13 1A, 28231, Las Rozas de Madrid, Spain
⁷⁴ Dipartimento di Fisica “Aldo Pontremoli”, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Celoria 16, 20133 Milano, Italy
⁷⁵ Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics, University of Oslo, PO Box 1029 0315 Blindern, Oslo, Norway
⁷⁶ Department of Physics, Lancaster University, Lancaster, LA1 4YB, UK
⁷⁷ Felix Hormuth Engineering, Goethestr. 17, 69181 Leimen, Germany
⁷⁸ Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie, Königstuhl 17, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
⁷⁹ Technical University of Denmark, Elektrovej 327, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
⁸⁰ Cosmic Dawn Center (DAWN), Niels Bohr Building, Rådmandsgade 62-64, 2200 Copenhagen N, Denmark
⁸¹ Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS/IN2P3, IJCLab, 91405 Orsay, France
⁸² Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie (IRAP), Université de Toulouse, CNRS, UPS, CNES, 14 Av. Edouard Belin, 31400 Toulouse, France
⁸³ NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
⁸⁴ Department of Physics and Astronomy, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK
⁸⁵ Department of Physics and Helsinki Institute of Physics, Gustaf Hällströmin katu 2, 00014 University of Helsinki, Finland
⁸⁶ Université de Genève, Département de Physique Théorique and Centre for Astroparticle Physics, 24 quai Ernest-Ansermet, 1211, Genève 4, Switzerland
⁸⁷ Department of Physics, PO Box 64, 00014 University of Helsinki, Finland
⁸⁸ Helsinki Institute of Physics, Gustaf Hällströmin katu 2, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
⁸⁹ NOVA optical infrared instrumentation group at ASTRON, Oude Hoogeveensedijk 4, 7991PD, Dwingeloo, The Netherlands
⁹⁰ Centre de Calcul de l’IN2P3/CNRS, 21 avenue Pierre de Coubertin, 69627 Villeurbanne Cedex, France
⁹¹ INFN-Sezione di Milano, Via Celoria 16, 20133 Milano, Italy
⁹² University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Northwestern Switzerland, School of Engineering, 5210 Windisch, Switzerland
⁹³ Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia “Augusto Righi” – Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna, via Piero Gobetti 93/2, 40129 Bologna, Italy
⁹⁴ Infrared Processing and Analysis Center, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
⁹⁵ Université Côte d’Azur, Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur, CNRS, Laboratoire Lagrange, Bd de l’Observatoire, CS 34229, 06304, Nice cedex 4, France
⁹⁶ Université Paris Cité, CNRS, Astroparticule et Cosmologie, 75013 Paris, France
⁹⁷ Institut d’Astrophysique de Paris, 98bis Boulevard Arago, 75014, Paris, France
⁹⁸ Institut de Física d’Altes Energies (IFAE), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Campus UAB, 08193 Bellaterra (Barcelona), Spain
⁹⁹ Kapteyn Astronomical Institute, University of Groningen, PO Box 800, 9700 AV Groningen, The Netherlands
¹⁰⁰ Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Aarhus, Ny Munkegade 120, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
¹⁰¹ Waterloo Centre for Astrophysics, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada
¹⁰² Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada
¹⁰³ Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 2Y5, Canada
¹⁰⁴ Space Science Data Center, Italian Space Agency, via del Politecnico snc, 00133 Roma, Italy
¹⁰⁵ Institute of Space Science, Str. Atomistilor, nr. 409 Măgurele, Ilfov 077125 Romania
¹⁰⁶ Departamento de Astrofísica, Universidad de La Laguna, 38206 La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain
¹⁰⁷ Institute for Particle Physics and Astrophysics, Dept. of Physics, ETH Zurich, Wolfgang-Pauli-Strasse 27, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland
¹⁰⁸ Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia “G. Galilei”, Università di Padova, Via Marzolo 8, 35131 Padova, Italy
¹⁰⁹ Caltech/IPAC, 1200 E. California Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
¹¹⁰ Institut für Theoretische Physik, University of Heidelberg, Philosophenweg 16, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
¹¹¹ Université St Joseph; Faculty of Sciences, Beirut, Lebanon
¹¹² Departamento de Física, FCFM, Universidad de Chile, Blanco Encalada 2008, Santiago, Chile
¹¹³ Universität Innsbruck, Institut für Astro- und Teilchenphysik, Technikerstr. 25/8, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
¹¹⁴ Satlantis, University Science Park, Sede Bld 48940, Leioa-Bilbao, Spain
¹¹⁵ Instituto de Astrofísica e Ciências do Espaço, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Tapada da Ajuda, 1349-018, Lisboa, Portugal
¹¹⁶ Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena, Departamento de Electrónica y Tecnología de Computadoras, Plaza del Hospital 1, 30202 Cartagena, Spain
¹¹⁷ INFN-Bologna, Via Irnerio 46, 40126 Bologna, Italy
¹¹⁸ Dipartimento di Fisica, Università degli studi di Genova, and INFN- Sezione di Genova, via Dodecaneso 33, 16146, Genova, Italy
¹¹⁹ Carnegie Observatories, Pasadena, CA 91101, USA
¹²⁰ INAF, Istituto di Radioastronomia, Via Piero Gobetti 101, 40129 Bologna, Italy
¹²¹ Astronomical Observatory of the Autonomous Region of the Aosta Valley (OAVdA), Loc. Lignan 39, 11020, Nus (Aosta Valley), Italy
¹²² School of Physics and Astronomy, Cardiff University, The Parade, Cardiff, CF24 3AA, UK
¹²³ Center for Computational Astrophysics, Flatiron Institute, 162 5th Avenue, New York, NY 10010, USA
¹²⁴ Ernst-Reuter-Str. 4e, 31224 Peine, Germany
¹²⁵ Junia, EPA department, 41 Bd Vauban, 59800 Lille, France
¹²⁶ ICSC – Centro Nazionale di Ricerca in High Performance Computing, Big Data e Quantum Computing, Via Magnanelli 2, Bologna, Italy
¹²⁷ Instituto de Física Teórica UAM-CSIC, Campus de Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid, Spain
¹²⁸ CERCA/ISO, Department of Physics, Case Western Reserve University, 10900 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
¹²⁹ Laboratoire Univers et Théorie, Observatoire de Paris, Université PSL, Université Paris Cité, CNRS, 92190 Meudon, France
¹³⁰ IRFU, CEA, Université Paris-Saclay, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex, France
¹³¹ Dipartimento di Fisica e Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi di Ferrara, Via Giuseppe Saragat 1, 44122 Ferrara, Italy
¹³² Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Ferrara, Via Giuseppe Saragat 1, 44122 Ferrara, Italy
¹³³ Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, Observatoire astronomique de Strasbourg, UMR 7550, 67000 Strasbourg, France
¹³⁴ Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (WPI), University of Tokyo, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-8583, Japan
¹³⁵ Dipartimento di Fisica – Sezione di Astronomia, Università di Trieste, Via Tiepolo 11, 34131 Trieste, Italy
¹³⁶ NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA
¹³⁷ Bay Area Environmental Research Institute, Moffett Field, California 94035, USA
¹³⁸ Minnesota Institute for Astrophysics, University of Minnesota, 116 Church St SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
¹³⁹ Institute Lorentz, Leiden University, Niels Bohrweg 2, 2333 CA Leiden, The Netherlands
¹⁴⁰ Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii, 2680 Woodlawn Drive, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
¹⁴¹ Department of Physics & Astronomy, University of California Irvine, Irvine CA 92697, USA
¹⁴² Department of Astronomy & Physics and Institute for Computational Astrophysics, Saint Mary’s University, 923 Robie Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3H 3C3, Canada
¹⁴³ Departamento Física Aplicada, Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena, Campus Muralla del Mar, 30202 Cartagena, Murcia, Spain
¹⁴⁴ CEA Saclay, DFR/IRFU, Service d’Astrophysique, Bat. 709, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
¹⁴⁵ Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth PO1 3FX, UK
¹⁴⁶ Department of Computer Science, Aalto University, PO Box 15400, Espoo, 00 076 Finland
¹⁴⁷ Ruhr University Bochum, Faculty of Physics and Astronomy, Astronomical Institute (AIRUB), German Centre for Cosmological Lensing (GCCL), 44780 Bochum, Germany
¹⁴⁸ DARK, Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Jagtvej 155, 2200 Copenhagen, Denmark
¹⁴⁹ Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC); Departamento de Astrofísica, Universidad de La Laguna (ULL), 38200 La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain
¹⁵⁰ Université PSL, Observatoire de Paris, Sorbonne Université, CNRS, LERMA, 75014, Paris, France
¹⁵¹ Université Paris-Cité, 5 Rue Thomas Mann, 75013 Paris, France
¹⁵² Univ. Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, Grenoble INP, LPSC-IN2P3, 53 Avenue des Martyrs, 38000 Grenoble, France
¹⁵³ Department of Physics and Astronomy, Vesilinnantie 5, 20014 University of Turku, Finland
¹⁵⁴ Serco for European Space Agency (ESA), Camino bajo del Castillo s/n, Urbanizacion Villafranca del Castillo, Villanueva de la Cañada, 28692 Madrid, Spain
¹⁵⁵ ARC Centre of Excellence for Dark Matter Particle Physics, Melbourne, Australia
¹⁵⁶ Centre for Astrophysics & Supercomputing, Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, Victoria 3122, Australia
¹⁵⁷ School of Physics and Astronomy, Queen Mary University of London, Mile End Road, London E1 4NS, UK
¹⁵⁸ Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of the Western Cape, Bellville, Cape Town, 7535, South Africa
¹⁵⁹ Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Service de Physique Théorique CP225, Boulevard du Triomphe, 1050 Bruxelles, Belgium
¹⁶⁰ ICTP South American Institute for Fundamental Research, Instituto de Física Teórica, Universidade Estadual Paulista, São Paulo, Brazil
¹⁶¹ Oskar Klein Centre for Cosmoparticle Physics, Department of Physics, Stockholm University, Stockholm 106 91, Sweden
¹⁶² Astrophysics Group, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK
¹⁶³ INAF-Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri, Largo E. Fermi 5, 50125 Firenze, Italy
¹⁶⁴ Dipartimento di Fisica, Sapienza Università di Roma, Piazzale Aldo Moro 2, 00185 Roma, Italy
¹⁶⁵ Centro de Astrofísica da Universidade do Porto, Rua das Estrelas, 4150-762 Porto, Portugal
¹⁶⁶ Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Jagtvej 128, 2200 Copenhagen, Denmark
¹⁶⁷ Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Roma Tor Vergata, Via della Ricerca Scientifica 1, Roma, Italy
¹⁶⁸ INFN, Sezione di Roma 2, Via della Ricerca Scientifica 1, Roma, Italy
¹⁶⁹ HE Space for European Space Agency (ESA), Camino bajo del Castillo s/n, Urbanizacion Villafranca del Castillo, Villanueva de la Cañada, 28692 Madrid, Spain
¹⁷⁰ Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0HA, UK
¹⁷¹ Center for Frontier Science, Chiba University, 1-33 Yayoi-cho, Inage-ku, Chiba 263-8522, Japan
¹⁷² Department of Physics, Graduate School of Science, Chiba University, 1-33 Yayoi-Cho, Inage-Ku, Chiba 263-8522, Japan
¹⁷³ Department of Astrophysics, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
¹⁷⁴ Higgs Centre for Theoretical Physics, School of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3FD, UK
¹⁷⁵ Theoretical astrophysics, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Uppsala University, Box 515, 751 20 Uppsala, Sweden
¹⁷⁶ School of Physics & Astronomy, University of Southampton, Highfield Campus, Southampton SO17 1BJ, UK
¹⁷⁷ Department of Physics, Royal Holloway, University of London, TW20 0EX, UK
¹⁷⁸ Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
¹⁷⁹ Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Peyton Hall, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
¹⁸⁰ Center for Cosmology and Particle Physics, Department of Physics, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA
¹⁸¹ Department of Astronomy, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, USA
¹⁸² Departamento de Física Fundamental. Universidad de Salamanca. Plaza de la Merced s/n., 37008, Salamanca, Spain
¹⁸³ Thales Services S.A.S., 290 Allée du Lac, 31670 Labège, France
¹⁸⁴ Observatorio Nacional, Rua General Jose Cristino, 77-Bairro Imperial de Sao Cristovao, Rio de Janeiro, 20921-400, Brazil
¹⁸⁵ Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, c/ Via Lactea s/n, La Laguna, 38200, Spain Departamento de Astrofísica de la Universidad de La Laguna, Avda. Francisco Sanchez, La Laguna, 38200, Spain
¹⁸⁶ Sterrenkundig Observatorium, Universiteit Gent, Krijgslaan 281 S9, 9000 Gent, Belgium
¹⁸⁷ Aurora Technology for European Space Agency (ESA), Camino bajo del Castillo s/n, Urbanizacion Villafranca del Castillo, Villanueva de la Cañada, 28692 Madrid, Spain
¹⁸⁸ Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z1, Canada

^★ Corresponding author; m.cropper@ucl.ac.uk

Received: 5 June 2024
Accepted: 19 September 2024

Abstract

This paper presents the specification, design, and development of the Visible Camera (VIS) on the European Space Agency’s Euclid mission. VIS is a large optical-band imager with a field of view of 0.54 deg² sampled at 0″.1 with an array of 609 Megapixels and a spatial resolution of 0″.18. It will be used to survey approximately 14 000 deg² of extragalactic sky to measure the distortion of galaxies in the redshift range z = 0.1–1.5 resulting from weak gravitational lensing, one of the two principal cosmology probes leveraged by Euclid. With photometric redshifts, the distribution of dark matter can be mapped in three dimensions, and the extent to which this has changed with look-back time can be used to constrain the nature of dark energy and theories of gravity. The entire VIS focal plane will be transmitted to provide the largest images of the Universe from space to date, specified to reach m_AB ≥ 24.5 with a signal-to-noise ratio S/N ≥ 10 in a single broad I_E ≃ (r + i + z) band over a six-year survey. The particularly challenging aspects of the instrument are the control and calibration of observational biases, which lead to stringent performance requirements and calibration regimes. With its combination of spatial resolution, calibration knowledge, depth, and area covering most of the extra-Galactic sky, VIS will also provide a legacy data set for many other fields. This paper discusses the rationale behind the conception of VIS and describes the instrument design and development, before reporting the prelaunch performance derived from ground calibrations and brief results from the inorbit commissioning. VIS should reach fainter than m_AB = 25 with S/N ≥ 10 for galaxies with a full width at half maximum of 0″. 3 in a 1″.3 diameter aperture over the Wide Survey, and m_AB ≥ 26.4 for a Deep Survey that will cover more than 50 deg². The paper also describes how the instrument works with the Euclid telescope and survey, and with the science data processing, to extract the cosmological information.