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An Automated System for the Reduction and Analysis of X-ray Data from Galaxies
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| Much an observer's time is spent on repetitive data reduction, and
likewise certain aspects of data analysis such as determining errors
for spectral fits is also repetitive. Often, particularly early on
in a mission's life, data reduction and analysis need to be repeated
as calibration data and tools are updated. We propose the
development of a system for the automation of the reduction and
analysis of X-ray data from galaxies for the missions ASCA, ROSAT,
AXAF and XMM. For this specific scope, the system will handle all of
the tasks that could appropriately be handled in an automated
fashion. This will free a considerable part of the astronomer's time
for more advanced analysis of the data products. Furthermore it is
likely that it will not be feasible for astronomers to complete many
interesting projects without such a system in place given the large
amount of time required and the volume of the data involved in X-ray
research. This problem will become increasingly acute as future
X-ray missions produce more voluminous and complex data sets.
The system will be based mostly on scripts that drive existing
software (such as FTOOLS and XSPEC) but will also consist of advanced
(also scriptable) software already in development at CMU for spatial
and temporal analysis of complex X-ray data. A large emphasis will
be placed on ease-of-use and extensibility. This system will be
useful for both "legacy" analysis of a given galaxy (i.e., a complete
spectral, spatial and temporal analysis of the publically available
data from the supported missions) and survey studies (analysis of
deep fields and searches for serendipitous sources). A primitive
early version of the system has already been successfully used to
analyze and re-analyze the ASCA data from a sample of galaxies. As
the availability of funding for researchers is limited, a system such
as this will be of considerable value in assuring that as much X-ray
data as possible in the archives and forthcoming from missions such
as AXAF and XMM are analyzed and published. Following completion of
the initial version of the system, the system will be expanded, e.g.,
to include other extragalactic data such as clusters and groups, and
to include tools for multi-wavelength data analysis. The successful
completion of these goals will be particularly useful to institutions
will a limited number of X-ray-proficient personnel who nevertheless
wish to take advantage of the X-ray data available from these (and
future) missions. Since the products of the system will include
"calibrated" images, spectra and lightcurves as well as "physical"
parameters from fits to these products, such as temperatures and
spatial extents, the system could be applied to entire archives to
produce databases for use with future data-mining projects. We will
also explore the visualization of the final results (particularly
spatial results), to aid in the scientific understanding of the data
and for public outreach. |
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