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We present a comprehensive methodology for the simulation of astronomicalimages from optical survey telescopes. We use a photon Monte Carlo approach toconstruct images by sampling photons from models of astronomical sourcepopulations, and then simulating those photons through the system as theyinteract with the atmosphere, telescope, and camera. We demonstrate that allphysical effects for optical light that determine the shapes, locations, andbrightnesses of individual stars and galaxies can be accurately represented inthis formalism. By using large scale grid computing, modern processors, and anefficient implementation that can produce 400,000 photons/second, wedemonstrate that even very large optical surveys can be now be simulated. Wedemonstrate that we are able to: 1) construct kilometer scale phase screensnecessary for wide-field telescopes, 2) reproduce atmosphericpoint-spread-function moments using a fast novel hybrid geometric/Fouriertechnique for non-diffraction limited telescopes, 3) accurately reproduce theexpected spot diagrams for complex aspheric optical designs, and 4) recoversystem effective area predicted from analytic photometry integrals. This newcode, the photon simulator (PhoSim), is publicly available. We have implementedthe Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) design, and it can be extended toother telescopes. We expect that because of the comprehensive physicsimplemented in PhoSim, it will be used by the community to plan futureobservations, interpret detailed existing observations, and quantifysystematics related to various astronomical measurements. Future developmentand validation by comparisons with real data will continue to improve thefidelity and usability of the code.

Simulation of Astronomical Images from Optical Survey Telescopes using a Comprehensive Photon Monte Carlo Approach