GalaxyCount: a JAVA calculator of galaxy counts and variances in multiband wide-field surveys to 28 AB mag

Abstract

We provide a consistent framework for estimating galaxy counts and variances in wide-field images for a range of photometric bands. The variances include both Poissonian noise and variations due to large scale structure. We demonstrate that our statistical theory is consistent with the counts in the deepest multiband surveys available. The statistical estimates depend on several observational parameters (e.g. seeing, signal to noise ratio), and include a sophisticated treatment of detection completeness. The JAVA calculator is freely available and offers the user the option to adopt our consistent framework or a different scheme. We also provide a summary table of statistical measures in the different bands for a range of different fields of view. Reliable estimation of the background counts has profound consequences in many areas of observational astronomy. We provide two such examples. One is from a recent study of the Sculptor galaxy NGC 300 where stellar photometry has been used to demonstrate that the outer disc extends to 10 effective radii, far beyond what was thought possible for a normal low-luminosity spiral. We confirm this finding by a reanalysis of the background counts. Secondly, we determine the luminosity function of the galaxy cluster Abell 2734, both through spectroscopically determined cluster membership, and through statistical subtraction of the background galaxies using the calculator and offset fields. We demonstrate very good agreement, suggesting that expensive spectroscopic follow-up, or off-source observations, may often be bypassed via determination of the galaxy background with GalaxyCount.

Accepted for publication in MNRAS. This version contains many significant improvements on the previous version, including: rigorous treatment of completeness in magnitude limited surveys, the effect of the window function, and examination of the perceived usefulness of offset fields. The accompanying JAVA tool is easy to use, freely available and can be downloaded, ready to use in seconds

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• Determining neutron star masses with weak microlensing
• Weak Microlensing
• Stellar populations -- the next ten years