  We present the VISTA-CFHT Stripe 82 (VICS82) survey: a near-infrared (J+Ks)
survey covering 150 square degrees of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS)
equatorial Stripe 82 to an average depth of J=21.9 AB mag and Ks=21.4 AB mag
(80% completeness limits; 5-sigma point source depths are approximately 0.5 mag
brighter). VICS82 contributes to the growing legacy of multi-wavelength data in
the Stripe 82 footprint. The addition of near-infrared photometry to the
existing SDSS Stripe 82 coadd ugriz photometry reduces the scatter in stellar
mass estimates to delta log(M_stellar)~0.3 dex for galaxies with
M_stellar>10^9M_sun at z~0.5, and offers improvement compared to optical-only
estimates out to z~1, with stellar masses constrained within a factor of
approximately 2.5. When combined with other multi-wavelength imaging of the
Stripe, including moderate-to-deep ultraviolet (GALEX), optical and
mid-infrared (Spitzer IRAC) coverage, as well as tens of thousands of
spectroscopic redshifts, VICS82 gives access to approximately 0.5 Gpc^3 of
comoving volume. Some of the main science drivers of VICS82 include (a)
measuring the stellar mass function of L^star galaxies out to z~1; (b)
detecting intermediate redshift quasars at 2<z<3.5; (c) measuring the stellar
mass function and baryon census of clusters of galaxies, and (d) performing
optical/near-infrared-cosmic microwave background lensing cross-correlation
experiments linking stellar mass to large-scale dark matter structure. Here we
define and describe the survey, highlight some early science results and
present the first public data release, which includes an SDSS-matched catalogue
as well as the calibrated pixel data itself.
