The Las Campanas Infrared Survey. III. TheH‐Band Imaging Survey and the Near‐Infrared and Optical Photometric Catalogs

(Abridged) The Las Campanas Infrared Survey, based on broad-band optical andnear-infrared photometry, is designed to robustly identify a statisticallysignificant and representative sample of evolved galaxies at redshifts z>1. Wehave completed an H-band imaging survey over 1.1 square degrees of sky in sixseparate fields. The average 5 sigma detection limit in a four arcseconddiameter aperture is H ~ 20. Here we describe the design of the survey, theobservation strategies, data reduction techniques, and object identificationprocedures. We present sample near-infrared and optical photometric catalogsfor objects identified in two survey fields. We perform object detection in allbandpasses and identify ~ 54,000 galaxies over 1,408 square arcminutes of skyin the two fields. Of these galaxies, ~ 14,000 are detected in the H-band and ~2,000 have the colors of evolved galaxies, I - H >3, at z > 1. We find that (1)the differential number counts N(m) for the H-band detected objects has a slopeof 0.44 at H < 19 and 0.27 for H > 19. In addition, we find that (2) thedifferential number counts for the H detected red objects has a slope of 0.85at H < 20 and 0.32 at H > 20, with a mean surface density ~ 3,000 degree^{-2}mag^{-1} at H=20. Finally, we find that (3) galaxies with red optical tonear-IR colors (I-H > 3) constitute ~ 20% of the H detected galaxies at H ~ 21,but only 2% at H = 19. We show that red galaxies are strongly clustered, whichresults in a strong field to field variation in their surface density.Comparisons of observations and predictions based on various formationscenarios indicate that these red galaxies are consistent with mildly evolvingearly-type galaxies at z ~ 1, although with a significant amount of on-goingstar formation as indicated by the large scatter in their V-I colors.Comment: 48 pages, 13 figures, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa