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The Javalambre-Physics of the Accelerating Universe Astrophysical Survey (J-PAS) will observe approximately one-third of the northern sky with a set of 56 narrow-band filters using the dedicated 2.55 m Javalambre Survey Telescope (JST) at the Javalambre Astrophysical Observatory. Prior to the installation of the main camera, in order to demonstrate the scientific potential of J-PAS, two small surveys were performed with the single-CCD Pathfinder camera: miniJPAS (~1 deg2 along the Extended Groth Strip), and J-NEP (~0.3 deg2 around the JWST North Ecliptic Pole Time Domain Field), including all 56 J-PAS filters as well as u, g, r, and i. J-NEP is ~0.5–1.0 mag deeper than miniJPAS, providing photometry for 24,618 r-band-detected sources and photometric redshifts (photo-z) for the 6662 sources with r < 23. In this paper, we describe the photometry and photo-z of J-NEP and demonstrate a new method for the removal of systematic offsets in the photometry based on the median colours of galaxies, which we call 'galaxy locus recalibration'. This method does not require spectroscopic observations except in a few reference pointings and, unlike previous methods, is directly applicable to the whole J-PAS survey. We use a spectroscopic sample of 787 galaxies to test the photo-z performance for J-NEP and in comparison to miniJPAS. We find that the deeper J-NEP observations result in a factor ~1.5–2 decrease in σNMAD (a robust estimate of the standard deviation of the photo-z error) and η (the outlier rate) relative to miniJPAS for r > 21.5 sources, but no improvement in brighter ones, which is probably because of systematic uncertainties. We find the same relation between σNMAD and odds in J-NEP and miniJPAS, which suggests that we will be able to predict the σNMAD of any set of J-PAS sources from their odds distribution alone, with no need for additional spectroscopy to calibrate the relation. We explore the causes of photo-z outliers and find that colour-space degeneracy at low S/N, photometry artefacts, source blending, and exotic spectra are the most important factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The GALANTE optical photometric survey is observing the northern Galactic plane and some adjacent regions using seven narrow- and intermediate-filters, covering a total of 1618 deg2. The survey has been designed with multiple exposure times and at least two different air masses per field to maximize its photometric dynamic range, comparable to that of Gaia , and ensure the accuracy of its photometric calibration. The goal is to reach at least 1 per cent accuracy and precision in the seven bands for all stars brighter than AB magnitude 17 while detecting fainter stars with lower values of the signal-to-noise ratio. The main purposes of GALANTE are the identification and study of extinguished O+B+WR stars, the derivation of their extinction characteristics, and the cataloguing of F and G stars in the solar neighbourhood. Its data will be also used for a variety of other stellar studies and to generate a high-resolution continuum-free map of the H α emission in the Galactic plane. We describe the techniques and the pipeline that are being used to process the data, including the basis of an innovative calibration system based on Gaia  DR2 and 2MASS photometry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Javalambre-Physics of the Accelerating Universe Astrophysical Survey (J-PAS) will scan thousands of square degrees of the northern sky with a unique set of 56 filters using the dedicated 2.55 m Javalambre Survey Telescope (JST) at the Javalambre Astrophysical Observatory. Prior to the installation of the main camera (4.2 deg2 field-of-view with 1.2 Gpixels), the JST was equipped with the JPAS-Pathfinder, a one CCD camera with a 0.3 deg2 field-of-view and plate scale of 0.23 arcsec pixel−1. To demonstrate the scientific potential of J-PAS, the JPAS-Pathfinder camera was used to perform miniJPAS, a ∼1 deg2 survey of the AEGIS field (along the Extended Groth Strip). The field was observed with the 56 J-PAS filters, which include 54 narrow band (FWHM ∼ 145 Å) and two broader filters extending to the UV and the near-infrared, complemented by the u, g, r, i SDSS broad band filters. In this miniJPAS survey overview paper, we present the miniJPAS data set (images and catalogs), as we highlight key aspects and applications of these unique spectro-photometric data and describe how to access the public data products. The data parameters reach depths of magAB ≃ 22−23.5 in the 54 narrow band filters and up to 24 in the broader filters (5σ in a 3″ aperture). The miniJPAS primary catalog contains more than 64 000 sources detected in the r band and with matched photometry in all other bands. This catalog is 99% complete at r = 23.6 (r = 22.7) mag for point-like (extended) sources. We show that our photometric redshifts have an accuracy better than 1% for all sources up to r = 22.5, and a precision of ≤0.3% for a subset consisting of about half of the sample. On this basis, we outline several scientific applications of our data, including the study of spatially-resolved stellar populations of nearby galaxies, the analysis of the large scale structure up to z ∼ 0.9, and the detection of large numbers of clusters and groups. Sub-percent redshift precision can also be reached for quasars, allowing for the study of the large-scale structure to be pushed to z > 2. The miniJPAS survey demonstrates the capability of the J-PAS filter system to accurately characterize a broad variety of sources and paves the way for the upcoming arrival of J-PAS, which will multiply this data by three orders of magnitude. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we analyse how to extract the physical properties from the GALANTE photometry of a stellar sample. We propose a direct comparison between the observational colours (photometric bands normalized to the 515 nm central wavelength) and the synthetic colours derived from different stellar libraries. We use the reduced χ2 as the figure of merit for selecting the best fitting between both colour sets. The synthetic colours of the Next Generation Spectral Library (NGSL) provide a valuable sample for testing the uncertainty and precision of the stellar parameters derived from observational data. Reddening, as an extrinsic stellar physical parameter becomes a crucial variable for accounting for the errors and bias in the derived estimates: the higher the reddenings, the larger the errors and uncertainties in the derived parameters. NGSL colours also enable us to compare different theoretical stellar libraries for the same set of physical parameters, where we see how different catalogues of models can provide very different solutions in a, sometimes, non-linear way. This peculiar behaviour makes us to be cautious with the derived physical parameters obtained from GALANTE photometry without previous detailed knowledge of the theoretical libraries used to this end. In addition, we carry out the experiment of deriving physical stellar parameters from some theoretical libraries, using some other libraries as observational data. In particular, we use the Kurucz and Coelho libraries, as input observational data, to derive stellar parameters from Coelho + TLUSTY and Kurucz + TLUSTY stellar libraries, respectively, for different photometric errors and colour excesses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The next generation of galaxy surveys will allow us to test one of the most fundamental assumptions of the standard cosmology, i.e. that gravity is governed by the general theory of relativity (GR). In this paper, we investigate the ability of the Javalambre Physics of the Accelerating Universe Astrophysical Survey (J-PAS) to constrain GR and its extensions. Based on the J-PAS information on clustering and gravitational lensing, we perform a Fisher matrix forecast on the effective Newton constant, μ, and the gravitational slip parameter, η, whose deviations from unity would indicate a breakdown of GR. Similar analysis is also performed for the DESI and Euclid surveys and compared to J-PAS with two configurations providing different areas, namely an initial expectation with 4000 deg2 and the future best case scenario with 8500 deg2. We show that J-PAS will be able to measure the parameters μ and η at a sensitivity of |$2\!-\!7{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$|⁠ , and will provide the best constraints in the interval z  = 0.3–0.6, thanks to the large number of ELGs detectable in that redshift range. We also discuss the constraining power of J-PAS for dark energy models with a time-dependent equation-of-state parameter of the type w (a) = w 0 + wa (1 − a), obtaining Δ w 0 = 0.058 and Δ wa  = 0.24 for the absolute errors of the dark energy parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We estimate the constraining power of Javalambre-Physics of the Accelerated Universe Astrophysical Survey (J-PAS) for parameters of an interacting dark energy (DE) cosmology. The survey is expected to map several millions of luminous red galaxies, emission line galaxies, and quasars in an area of thousands of square degrees in the northern sky with precise photometric redshift measurements. Forecasts for the DESI and Euclid surveys are also evaluated and compared to J-PAS. Using the Fisher matrix approach, we find that J-PAS can place constraints on the interaction parameter comparable to those from DESI, with an absolute uncertainty of about 0.02, when the interaction term is proportional to the dark matter energy density, and almost as good, of about 0.01, when the interaction is proportional to the DE density. For the equation of state of DE, the constraints from J-PAS are slightly better in the two cases (uncertainties 0.04–0.05 against 0.05–0.07 around the fiducial value −1). Both surveys stay behind Euclid but follow it closely, imposing comparable constraints in all specific cases considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the characterization of the GALANTE photometric system, a seven intermediate- and narrow-band filter system with a wavelength coverage from 3000 Å to 9000 Å. We describe the photometric system presenting the full sensitivity curve as a product of the filter sensitivity, CCD, telescope mirror, and atmospheric transmission curves, as well as some first- and second-order moments of this sensitivity function. The GALANTE photometric system is composed of four filters from the J-PLUS photometric system, a twelve broad-to-narrow filter system, and three exclusive filters, specifically designed to measure the physical parameters of stars such as effective temperature T eff, log (g), metallicity, colour excess E (4405 − 5495), and extinction type R 5495. Two libraries, the Next Generation Spectral Library (NGSL) and the one presented in Maíz Apellániz & Weiler (2018), have been used to determine the transformation equations between the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) ugriz photometry and the GALANTE photometric system. We will use this transformation to calibrate the zero-points of GALANTE images. To this end, a preliminary photometric calibration of GALANTE has been made based on two different griz libraries (SDSS DR12 and ATLAS All-Sky Stellar Reference Catalog, hereinafter RefCat2). A comparison between both zero-points is performed leading us to the choice of RefCat2 as the base catalogue for this calibration, and applied to a field in the Cyg OB2 association. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT We present a new eclipsing post-common-envelope binary, identified inside the Kepler field prior to the launch of the spacecraft. Multifilter photometry and radial velocity data are analysed with an eclipsing-binary modelling code to determine the physical parameters of the binary. Spectra of the system within the primary eclipse and uneclipsed allow us to identify the spectral characteristics of the primary and secondary components. The primary component of the binary is a DA white dwarf, with M≃ 0.61 M⊙, log g≃ 7.95 and Teff≃ 20 500 K. The detection of two flares and the emission signatures displayed in the spectra show that the secondary component of the system is chromospherically active and is classified as an active M4 main-sequence star. Its mass, radius and temperature are estimated as M≃ 0.39 M⊙, R≃ 0.37 R⊙ and Teff≃ 3200 K. The ephemeris of the system is HJD = 245 3590.436 126(10) + 0.350 468 722(6) × E. This binary is a new post-common-envelope binary (PCEB), with physical parameters within the range found in other systems of this small group of evolved binaries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Generalized SCIDAR (GS) measurements, which were taken at the Paranal Observatory in 2007 November/December in the context of a site qualification for the future European Extremely Large Telescope, are recalibrated to overcome the bias induced on the profiles by an incorrect normalization of the autocorrelation of the scintillation maps, which has recently been identified in the GS technique. A complete analysis of the GS-corrected measurements and the corrected errors is performed statistically as well as on individual nights, and for each time period during the nights. The relative errors of the profiles can reach up to 60 per cent in some narrow temporal windows and some vertical slabs, with the total seeing up to 12 per cent and the total integrated turbulence J up to 21 per cent. However, the statistical analysis shows that the absolute error of the median values of the total seeing is 0.06 arcsec (relative error 5.6 per cent); for the boundary seeing it is 0.05 arcsec (relative error 5.6 per cent) and for the seeing in the free atmosphere it is 0.04 arcsec (relative error 9 per cent). We find that, in spite of the fact that the relative error increases with the height, the boundary and the free atmosphere seeing contribute in an equivalent way to the error on the total seeing in absolute terms. Moreover, we find that there are no correlations between the relative errors and the value of the corresponding seeing. The absolute error of the median value of the isoplanatic angle is 0.13 arcsec (relative error 6.9 per cent). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]