Pushing HST to the limit: Detection completeness and morphology robustness of faint galaxies in the EGS field
Abstract
Reliable catalogs at the faint limit are essential for statistical studies of galaxy evolution. However, detection and structural measurements of faint galaxies remain challenging. We evaluate detection completeness and structural parameter uncertainties of faint galaxies in the CANDELS/EGS field using mock images and observations from the HST and JWST. The framework is also applicable to large high-redshift surveys, including Euclid, the upcoming CSST, and the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. We detect sources in the EGS F160W mosaic using a 1.5σthreshold and quantify detection completeness and false-detection rates with realistic mock images. Mock galaxy-pair tests assess blending effects on both source detection and structural measurements in sersic fitting. In addition, the overlap with CEERS observations is used to derive an empirical criterion for separating true faint galaxies from fake detections using HST photometry. We identify 72,467 sources in the CANDELS/EGS field, including 57,444 fainter than 25 mag in F160W. Detection completeness exceeds 95% for objects brighter than 25 mag but declines to <50% beyond 27 mag (with false detection rate>50%). Structure parameters from single sersic modeling are reliable down to mH = 25 mag. For galaxies at 25<mH<27 mag, systematic biases in the sersic index reach Δn \approx 5-70%, while Δq decreases from approximately -0.03 to -0.27. Close companions (~0.3 arcsec) introduce measurable biases in recovered sersic magnitudes and shapes, while the impact becomes negligible at larger separations. An empirical criterion based on mH, F814W-F160W color, R50, and zphot separates true faint galaxies from false detections, reaching 72% completeness and 84% purity. It yields a final catalog of 59,646 objects consistent with previous CANDELS measurements at bright magnitudes while reaching fainter limits.
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BibTeX
@misc{lai2026pushing,
title = {{Pushing HST to the limit: Detection completeness and morphology robustness of faint galaxies in the EGS field}},
author = {Limin Lai and Zhao-Yu Li and Chao Ma and Yang Anpin Li and Luis C. Ho and Mingyang Zhuang},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2609.16982},
eprint = {2609.16982},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.16982},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Pushing HST to the limit: Detection completeness and morphology robustness of faint galaxies in the EGS field
AU - Limin Lai
AU - Zhao-Yu Li
AU - Chao Ma
AU - Yang Anpin Li
AU - Luis C. Ho
AU - Mingyang Zhuang
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/15
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2609.16982
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.16982
AB - Reliable catalogs at the faint limit are essential for statistical studies of galaxy evolution. However, detection and structural measurements of faint galaxies remain challenging. We evaluate detection completeness and structural parameter uncertainties of faint galaxies in the CANDELS/EGS field using mock images and observations from the HST and JWST. The framework is also applicable to large high-redshift surveys, including Euclid, the upcoming CSST, and the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. We detect sources in the EGS F160W mosaic using a 1.5σthreshold and quantify detection completeness and false-detection rates with realistic mock images. Mock galaxy-pair tests assess blending effects on both source detection and structural measurements in sersic fitting. In addition, the overlap with CEERS observations is used to derive an empirical criterion for separating true faint galaxies from fake detections using HST photometry. We identify 72,467 sources in the CANDELS/EGS field, including 57,444 fainter than 25 mag in F160W. Detection completeness exceeds 95% for objects brighter than 25 mag but declines to <50% beyond 27 mag (with false detection rate>50%). Structure parameters from single sersic modeling are reliable down to mH = 25 mag. For galaxies at 25<mH<27 mag, systematic biases in the sersic index reach Δn \approx 5-70%, while Δq decreases from approximately -0.03 to -0.27. Close companions (~0.3 arcsec) introduce measurable biases in recovered sersic magnitudes and shapes, while the impact becomes negligible at larger separations. An empirical criterion based on mH, F814W-F160W color, R50, and zphot separates true faint galaxies from false detections, reaching 72% completeness and 84% purity. It yields a final catalog of 59,646 objects consistent with previous CANDELS measurements at bright magnitudes while reaching fainter limits.
ER -