Computing Average HRC Dead Time Corrections
[CIAO 3.4 Science Threads]
OverviewLast Update: 1 Dec 2006 - new for CIAO 3.4 Synopsis: HRC deadtime corrections are determined as a function of time from detector total event and valid event counters (usually sampled every 2.05 seconds but may differ, depending on telemetry format) and written to a deadtime factor (dtf1) file. The average deadtime correction (DTCOR) for an observation is computed from the dtf1 file, filtered by the relevant good time intervals, and is applied to the corresponding ONTIME to compute the LIVETIME (and EXPOSURE) of the observation. If the user applies different time filters, DTCOR, LIVETIME, and EXPOSURE keyword values should be updated. Purpose: To recompute deadtime statistics from an HRC deadtime factor file (dtf1.fits) with different time filters from those used in standard processing, and to use them to update the DTCOR, LIVETIME, and EXPOSURE of the observation. Read this thread if:
|
Contents
- Get Started
- Examine the deadtime corrections
- Recompute the deadtime statistics
- Update the Event File
- Parameter files:
- History
- Images
Get Started
Sample ObsID used: 5969 (HRC-S, Vega)
File types needed: evt1 or evt2; dtf1
This thread should be done after any necessary reprocessing is completed (e.g. running hrc_process_events).
In this thread, we assume that all relevant files are in the same working directory.
The software version is stored in the ASCDSVER header keyword:
unix% dmkeypar hrcf05969_000N003_dtf1.fits ASCDSVER echo+ 7.6.7
Since these data were processed with a processing version between 7.6.4 and 7.6.7, they are affected by the bug described in the Overview, so we will complete this thread in its entirety.
Examine the deadtime corrections
We examine the individual deadtime corrections in the dtf1.fits file by plotting it in ChIPS:
unix% chips Welcome to ChIPS, version CIAO 3.4 Copyright (C) 1999-2003, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory chips> curve "hrcf05969_000N003_dtf1.fits[cols time,dtf]" chips> simpleline chips> red
The plot is shown Figure 1 . The curve indicates a sharp drop from ~1 to ~.4 in dtf around 2.253398e8 s and a rise back to ~1 near 2.253418e8 s, due to slew on and off the target, a very bright x-ray source subject to telemetry saturation.
However, the average deadtime correction in the evt2 event list is ~0.97:
chips> quit unix% dmlist hrcf05969N003_evt2.fits header | egrep 'DTCOR|ONTIME|LIVETIME|EXPOSURE' 0091 ONTIME 2189.4000990987 [s] Real8 0092 DTCOR 0.97910268724769 Real8 Dead time correction 0093 LIVETIME 2143.6475204879 Real8 Ontime multiplied by DTCOR 0094 EXPOSURE 2143.6475204879 Real8 Total exposure time, with all known corr. appl.
This indicates the the dtf1.fits data were not properly time-filtered in calculating the average deadtime correction.
An examination of the GTIs in the event list confirm the times cited above, with a bit more accuracy:
unix% dmlist hrcf05969N003_evt2.fits"[gti]" data,clean # START STOP 225339799.7114064991 225341989.1115055978
Recompute the deadtime statistics
These GTI information may be used to recompute the deadtime statistics using the tool hrc_dtfstats. The tool takes the existing dtf1.fits file and creates a new file with the event GTI information applied.
unix% punlearn hrc_dtfstats unix% pset hrc_dtfstats infile=hrcf05969_000N003_dtf1.fits unix% pset hrc_dtfstats outfile=hrcf05969_dtfstats_new.fits unix% pset hrc_dtfstats gtifile=hrcf05969N003_evt2.fits"[gti]" unix% hrc_dtfstats Input file (hrcf05969_000N003_dtf1.fits): Output file (hrcf05969_dtfstats_new.fits): File containing GTI to filter on (<filename>|NONE) (hrcf05969N003_evt2.fits[gti]):
The contents of the parameter file may be checked using plist hrc_dtfstats.
The new dtfstats file has a value of DTCOR=0.35535, which agrees with the plot in Figure 1:
unix% dmlist hrcf05969_dtfstats_new.fits"[cols DTCOR]" data,clean # DTCOR 0.35535140943668
Update the Event File
Finally, we update the event list header values of LIVETIME and EXPOSURE, obtained by multiplying the ONTIME by the correct value of DTCOR. The file is copied first, to preserve the original, then edited with dmhedit.
unix% echo "2189.40009910*0.35535140943668" | bc -l 778.00641103599186717498 unix% dmcopy hrcf05969N003_evt2.fits hrcf05969N003_evt2_new.fits unix% dmhedit hrcf05969N003_evt2_new.fits filelist="" op=add key=LIVETIME value=778.0064110 unix% dmhedit hrcf05969N003_evt2_new.fits filelist="" op=add key=EXPOSURE value=778.0064110 unix% dmhedit hrcf05969N003_evt2_new.fits filelist="" op=add key=DTCOR value=0.35535140943668 unix% dmlist hrcf05969N003_evt2_new.fits header | egrep 'ONTIME|LIVETIME|EXPOSURE|DTCOR' 0091 ONTIME 2189.4000990987 [s] Real8 0092 DTCOR 0.35535140943668 Real8 Dead time correction 0093 LIVETIME 778.0064110 Real8 Ontime multiplied by DTCOR 0094 EXPOSURE 778.0064110 Real8 Total exposure time, with all known corr. appl.
The corrected event list should be used for all further analysis.
Parameters for /home/username/cxcds_param/hrc_dtfstats.par infile = hrcf05969_000N003_dtf1.fits Input file outfile = hrcf05969_dtfstats_new.fits Output file gtifile = hrcf05969N003_evt2.fits[gti] File containing GTI to filter on (<filename>|NONE) (maincol = DTF) Name of the deadtime factor column (errcol = DTF_ERR) Name of the deadtime factor error column (chisqlim = 5) Limit for the variability test (clobber = no) Clobber the output file if it exists (verbose = 0) Verbose level. (mode = ql) |
History
01 Dec 2006 | new for CIAO 3.4 |