Validation of Synthetic Sky Catalogs

With first light approaching for the deepest and largest sky surveys ever preformed, such as LSST, the astronomy community is working hard to prepare for unprecedented data releases in the coming years. In the interim, it is highly desirable to have synthetic datasets which will emulate that of the future survey products. Such datasets will allow working groups to test and refine analysis/processing pipelines, which will ensure scientific efficiency upon data arrival. To this end, we are working to generate accurate synthetic galaxy catalogs, taking advantage of some of the largest cosmological simulations currently available, and detailed models of galaxy evolution. This talk will give an introduction to how and why these catalogs are created, and especially focus on the iterative testing, improvement, and validation necessary for their development.