The ASTROID Simulator Software Package: Realistic Modelling of High-Precision High-Cadence Space-Based Imaging

Abstract: The preparation of a space-mission that carries out any kind of imaging to detect high-precision low-amplitude variability of its targets requires a robust model for the expected performance of its instruments. This model cannot be derived from simple addition of noise properties due to the complex interaction between the various noise sources. While it is not feasible to build and test a prototype of the imaging device on-ground, realistic numerical simulations in the form of an end-to-end simulator can be used to model the noise propagation in the observations. These simulations not only allow studying the performance of the instrument, its noise source response and its data quality, but also the instrument design verification for different types of configurations, the observing strategy and the scientific feasibility of an observing proposal. In this way, a complete description and assessment of the objectives to expect from the mission can be derived. We present a high-precision simulation software package, designed to simulate photometric time-series of CCD images by including realistic models of the CCD and its electronics, the telescope optics, the stellar field, the jitter movements of the spacecraft, and all important natural noise sources. This formalism has been implemented in a software tool, dubbed ASTROID Simulator.