The PLATO Simulator: modelling of high-precision high-cadence space-based imaging

摘要

Many aspects of the design trade-off of a space-based instrument and itsperformance can best be tackled through simulations of the expectedobservations. The complex interplay of various noise sources in the course ofthe observations make such simulations an indispensable part of the assessmentand design study of any space-based mission. We present a formalism to modeland simulate photometric time series of CCD images by including models of theCCD and its electronics, the telescope optics, the stellar field, the jittermovements of the spacecraft, and all important natural noise sources. Thisformalism has been implemented in a versatile end-to-end simulation softwaretool, called PLATO Simulator, specifically designed for the PLATO space missionto be operated from L2, but easily adaptable to similar types of missions. Weprovide a detailed description of several noise sources and discuss theirproperties, in connection with the optical design, the allowable level ofjitter, the quantum efficiency of the detectors, etc. The expected overallnoise budget of generated light curves is computed as a function of the stellarmagnitude, for different sets of input parameters describing the instrumentproperties. The simulator is offered to the scientific community for futureuse.