The Spitzer Extragalactic Representative Volume Survey (SERVS): survey definition and goals

TL;DR

The SERVS survey uses the Spitzer Space Telescope to map 18 square degrees at 3.6 and 4.5 microns, enabling detailed studies of galaxy evolution and rare objects from redshift 5 to the present.

Contribution

This paper introduces the design, data processing, and initial science results of the large, deep SERVS survey, which overlaps with multiple wavelength surveys for comprehensive galaxy studies.

Findings

Survey covers 18 square degrees at ~2 microJy depth.

Provides early science results on galaxy evolution and rare objects.

Establishes a framework for multi-wavelength galaxy studies.

Abstract

We present the Spitzer Extragalactic Representative Volume Survey (SERVS), an 18 square degrees medium-deep survey at 3.6 and 4.5 microns with the post-cryogenic Spitzer Space Telescope to ~2 microJy (AB=23.1) depth of five highly observed astronomical fields (ELAIS-N1, ELAIS-S1, Lockman Hole, Chandra Deep Field South and XMM-LSS). SERVS is designed to enable the study of galaxy evolution as a function of environment from z~5 to the present day, and is the first extragalactic survey both large enough and deep enough to put rare objects such as luminous quasars and galaxy clusters at z>1 into their cosmological context. SERVS is designed to overlap with several key surveys at optical, near- through far-infrared, submillimeter and radio wavelengths to provide an unprecedented view of the formation and evolution of massive galaxies. In this paper, we discuss the SERVS survey design, the data processing flow from image reduction and mosaicing to catalogs, as well as coverage of ancillary data from other surveys in the SERVS fields. We also highlight a variety of early science results from the survey.