S-PLUS: Photometric Recalibration with the Stellar Color Regression Method and an Improved Gaia XP Synthetic Photometry Method

• Published in: The Astrophysical journal. Supplement series Vol. 271; no. 2; pp. 41 - 55
• Main Authors: Xiao, Kai, Huang, Yang, Yuan, Haibo, Beers, Timothy C., Huang, Bowen, Xu, Shuai, Yang, Lin, Almeida-Fernandes, Felipe, Perottoni, Hélio D., Limberg, Guilherme, Schoenell, William, Ribeiro, Tiago, Kanaan, Antonio, de Oliveira, Natanael Gomes
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Saskatoon The American Astronomical Society 01-04-2024; IOP Publishing
• Subjects: Astronomy data analysis; Broadband; Calibration; Narrowband; Photometry; Scientific research; Spectra; Stellar color; Stellar photometry; Systematic errors
• ISSN: 0067-0049; 1538-4365
• DOI: 10.3847/1538-4365/ad24fa

Abstract
We present a comprehensive recalibration of narrowband/medium-band and broadband photometry from the Southern Photometric Local Universe Survey (S-PLUS) by leveraging two approaches: an improved Gaia XP synthetic photometry (XPSP) method with corrected Gaia XP spectra, and the stellar color regression (SCR) method with corrected Gaia Early Data Release 3 photometric data and spectroscopic data from LAMOST Data Release 7. Through the use of millions of stars as standards per band, we demonstrate the existence of position-dependent systematic errors, up to 23 mmag for the main survey region, in the S-PLUS iDR4 photometric data. A comparison between the XPSP and SCR methods reveals minor differences in zero-point offsets, typically within the range of 1–6 mmag, indicating the accuracy of the recalibration, and a twofold to threefold improvement in the zero-point precision. During this process, we also verify and correct for systematic errors related to CCD position. The corrected S-PLUS iDR4 photometric data will provide a solid data foundation for conducting scientific research that relies on high-precision calibration. Our results underscore the power of the XPSP method in combination with the SCR method, showcasing their effectiveness in enhancing calibration precision for wide-field surveys when combined with Gaia photometry and XP spectra, to be applied for other S-PLUS subsurveys.