Spitzer/IRAC observations of five deep fields

SEDS covers a total area of 1.46deg^2^ to a depth of 26 AB mag (3{sigma}) in both of the warm Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) bands at 3.6 and 4.5{mu}m. Because of its uniform depth of coverage in so many widely-separated fields, SEDS is subject to roughly 25% smaller errors due to cosmic variance than a single-field survey of the same size.

SEDS was designed to detect and characterize galaxies from intermediate to high redshifts (z=2-7) with a built-in means of assessing the impact of cosmic variance on the individual fields. Because the full SEDS depth was accumulated in at least three separate visits to each field, typically with six-month intervals between visits, SEDS also furnishes an opportunity to assess the infrared variability of faint objects. This paper describes the SEDS survey design, processing, and publicly-available data products.