CFHTLenS: the Canada\u2013France\u2013Hawaii Telescope Lensing Survey \u2013 imaging data and catalogue products

We present data products from the Canada\u2013France\u2013Hawaii Telescope Lensing Survey (CFHTLenS). CFHTLenS is based on the Wide component of the Canada\u2013France\u2013Hawaii Telescope Legacy Survey (CFHTLS). It encompasses 154\u2009deg2 of deep, optical, high-quality, sub-arcsecond imaging data in the five optical filters u*g\u2032r\u2032i\u2032z\u2032. The scientific aims of the CFHTLenS team are weak gravitational lensing studies supported by photometric redshift estimates for the galaxies. This paper presents our data processing of the complete CFHTLenS data set. We were able to obtain a data set with very good image quality and high-quality astrometric and photometric calibration. Our external astrometric accuracy is between 60 and 70 mas with respect to Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) data, and the internal alignment in all filters is around 30 mas. Our average photometric calibration shows a dispersion of the order of 0.01\u20130.03\u2009mag for g\u2032r\u2032i\u2032z\u2032 and about 0.04\u2009mag for u* with respect to SDSS sources down to iSDSS 64 21. We demonstrate in accompanying papers that our data meet necessary requirements to fully exploit the survey for weak gravitational lensing analyses in connection with photometric redshift studies. In the spirit of the CFHTLS, all our data products are released to the astronomical community via the Canadian Astronomy Data Centre at http://www.cadc-ccda.hia-iha.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/community/CFHTLens/query.html. We give a description and how-to manuals of the public products which include image pixel data, source catalogues with photometric redshift estimates and all relevant quantities to perform weak lensing studies.Peer reviewed: YesNRC publication: Ye