statmorph-lsst: Quantifying and correcting morphological biases in galaxy surveys
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Waterloo
- Waterloo Centre for Astrophysics, University of Waterloo
- ORCID iD: 0000-0001-6245-5121
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Waterloo
- Waterloo Centre for Astrophysics, University of Waterloo
- ORCID iD: 0009-0009-2522-3685
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Waterloo
- Waterloo Centre for Astrophysics, University of Waterloo
- ORCID iD: 0000-0003-4849-9536
- Vicerrectoría de Investigación y Postgrado, Universidad de La Serena
- ORCID iD: 0000-0003-2139-0944
- Instituto de Astronomía Teórica y Experimental
- Observatorio Astronómico de Córdoba, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba
- ORCID iD: 0000-0001-6800-3329
- National Centre for Nuclear Research
- ORCID iD: 0009-0004-1910-4990
- National Centre for Nuclear Research
- ORCID iD: 0000-0001-5341-2162
- Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, Swinburne University of Technology
- ORCID iD: 0000-0002-6496-9414
- Instituto de Astronomía, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
- ORCID iD: 0000-0001-9601-7779
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Louisville
- ORCID iD: 0000-0002-4884-6756
- School of Physics and Astronomy, Rochester Institute of Technology
- Laboratory for Multiwavelength Astrophysics, Rochester Institute of Technology
- ORCID iD: 0000-0001-9187-3605
- School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Nottingham
- ORCID iD: 0000-0003-2939-8668
- National Center for Nuclear Research
- ORCID iD: 0000-0002-7300-2213
- Osservatorio Astronomico di Capodimonte
- ORCID iD: 0009-0000-6680-523X
- Instituto de Radioastronomía y Astrofísica, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
- ORCID iD: 0000-0002-9495-0079
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Minnesota State University, Mankato
- ORCID iD: 0000-0001-7016-5220
- Instituto de Astronomía, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
- ORCID iD: 0000-0001-8694-1204
- School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University
- ORCID iD: 0000-0001-8156-6281
- Department of Physics & Astronomy, College of Staten Island
- ORCID iD: 0009-0007-4440-2000
Abstract
Quantitative morphology provides a key probe of galaxy evolution across cosmic time and environments. However, these metrics can be biased by changes in imaging quality - resolution and depth - either across the survey area or the sample. To prepare for the upcoming Rubin LSST data, we investigate this bias for all metrics measured by statmorph and single-component Sérsic fitting with Galfit. We find that geometrical measurements (centroid, ellipticity, axis ratio, Petrosian radius, and effective radius) are robust within 10% at most depths and resolutions. Light concentration measurements (C, Gini, M20) systematically decrease with resolution, leading low-mass or high-redshift bulge-dominated sources to appear indistinguishable from disks. Sérsic index n, while unbiased, suffers from a 20-40% uncertainty due to degeneracies in the Sérsic fit. Disturbance measurements (A, AS, D) depend on signal-to-noise ratio and are thus affected by noise and surface-brightness dimming. We quantify this dependence for each parameter, offer empirical correction functions, and show that the evolution in C observed in JWST galaxies can be explained purely by observational biases. We propose two new measurements - isophotal asymmetry AX and substructure St - that aim to resolve some of these biases. Finally, we provide a Python package statmorph-lsst implementing these changes and a full dataset that enables tests of custom functions (see text for links).
