Comments on: Spectral line analysis tools http://www.astrobetter.com/spectral-line-analysis-tools/ Tips and Tricks for Professional Astronomers Thu, 11 Mar 2010 05:52:50 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 By: George Jacoby http://www.astrobetter.com/spectral-line-analysis-tools/comment-page-1/#comment-1598 George Jacoby Wed, 27 Jan 2010 13:40:32 +0000 http://www.astrobetter.com/?p=933#comment-1598 Okay, I'll admit to being the original author of SPLOT and most of the ONEDSPEC package in IRAF. I find it both thrilling and shocking that most people (including myself) use these tools "as is" 25 years after I wrote them. (Note that Frank Valdes has provided many improvements and additions over the years.) My intent here is to encourage users to send suggestions to IRAF support at NOAO. Many improvements can be made relatively quickly and easily (e.g., a true database output from SPLOT). Although the resources at NOAO for IRAF are currently very limited, once improvements are made, the entire community benefits. Okay, I’ll admit to being the original author of SPLOT and most of the ONEDSPEC package in IRAF. I find it both thrilling and shocking that most people (including myself) use these tools “as is” 25 years after I wrote them. (Note that Frank Valdes has provided many improvements and additions over the years.) My intent here is to encourage users to send suggestions to IRAF support at NOAO. Many improvements can be made relatively quickly and easily (e.g., a true database output from SPLOT). Although the resources at NOAO for IRAF are currently very limited, once improvements are made, the entire community benefits.

]]> By: Pierre http://www.astrobetter.com/spectral-line-analysis-tools/comment-page-1/#comment-997 Pierre Mon, 21 Dec 2009 11:09:03 +0000 http://www.astrobetter.com/?p=933#comment-997 Hi all, in the same line of work as Gandalf, there is STECKMAP, which I wrote during my PhD and I am still using and upgrading, along with a number of believers. You can check it out here: http://astro.u-strasbg.fr/~ocvirk/ drop me a line if youre interested, Ill keep you up to date with the latest developments. Hi all,
in the same line of work as Gandalf, there is STECKMAP, which I wrote during my PhD and I am still using and upgrading, along with a number of believers. You can check it out here:
http://astro.u-strasbg.fr/~ocvirk/
drop me a line if youre interested, Ill keep you up to date with the latest developments.

]]> By: Anca Constantin http://www.astrobetter.com/spectral-line-analysis-tools/comment-page-1/#comment-945 Anca Constantin Thu, 17 Dec 2009 16:00:02 +0000 http://www.astrobetter.com/?p=933#comment-945 I didn't see here any mention of G. Kriss' SPECFIT, IRAF again [included in the stsdas group, under contrib.spfitpkg package], but it's been pretty good to me. And, definitely much more versatile than SPLOT. The help file was sufficient for me when I first tried it, and a brief description can be found in the 1994, PASP Conf. Series, Vol. 61, p. 437. I didn’t see here any mention of G. Kriss’ SPECFIT, IRAF again [included in the stsdas group, under contrib.spfitpkg package], but it’s been pretty good to me. And, definitely much more versatile than SPLOT. The help file was sufficient for me when I first tried it, and a brief description can be found in the 1994, PASP Conf. Series, Vol. 61, p. 437.

]]> By: Tim van K. http://www.astrobetter.com/spectral-line-analysis-tools/comment-page-1/#comment-925 Tim van K. Wed, 16 Dec 2009 08:48:01 +0000 http://www.astrobetter.com/?p=933#comment-925 I would go for CLASS. It is a bit of a steeper learning curve, but Class 90 can do a lot of fitting and a lot of moments easily. I have been using it in the submm for years now, even converting starlink produced spectra to class. One big advantage of class that i found cumbersome in IDL routine is its ability to easily do spectral line maps with variable fits of different baseline orders. I would go for CLASS. It is a bit of a steeper learning curve, but Class 90 can do a lot of fitting and a lot of moments easily. I have been using it in the submm for years now, even converting starlink produced spectra to class. One big advantage of class that i found cumbersome in IDL routine is its ability to easily do spectral line maps with variable fits of different baseline orders.

]]> By: Fred Walter http://www.astrobetter.com/spectral-line-analysis-tools/comment-page-1/#comment-916 Fred Walter Wed, 16 Dec 2009 01:04:26 +0000 http://www.astrobetter.com/?p=933#comment-916 ICUR, an IDL-based interactive spectroscopic package I started writing nearly 30 years ago, still works (though parts of it need to be updated). See <a href="http://www.astro.sunysb.edu/fwalter/ICUR/icur.html" rel="nofollow">the ICUR download page</a>. Documentation is in <a href="http://www.astro.sunysb.edu/fwalter/ICUR/icur.pdf" rel="nofollow">this pdf file</a>. ICUR, an IDL-based interactive spectroscopic package I started writing nearly 30 years ago, still works (though parts of it need to be updated).

See the ICUR download page. Documentation is in this pdf file.

]]> By: Tolga Guver http://www.astrobetter.com/spectral-line-analysis-tools/comment-page-1/#comment-896 Tolga Guver Mon, 14 Dec 2009 22:24:32 +0000 http://www.astrobetter.com/?p=933#comment-896 You can try SHERPA (from : http://cxc.harvard.edu/sherpa3.4/) it is an older version and basically written to analyze Chandra X-ray spectroscopic data. But it also accepts ASCII files, so you can fit any sort of data (optionally with errorbars) with a broad selection of features and models (Gaussian, Lorentz, etc. together with all other typical X-ray spectral and general mathematical models, and finally if you need your own models). It also supports all sorts of chi2 minimization techniques, confidence contour plots etc. The newer version of the software also supports Python and S-lang you you can easily write complicated scripts as well, but the older one is much easier to use, for interactive analysis. You can try SHERPA (from : http://cxc.harvard.edu/sherpa3.4/) it is an older version and basically written to analyze Chandra X-ray spectroscopic data. But it also accepts ASCII files, so you can fit any sort of data (optionally with errorbars) with a broad selection of features and models (Gaussian, Lorentz, etc. together with all other typical X-ray spectral and general mathematical models, and finally if you need your own models). It also supports all sorts of chi2 minimization techniques, confidence contour plots etc. The newer version of the software also supports Python and S-lang you you can easily write complicated scripts as well, but the older one is much easier to use, for interactive analysis.

]]> By: Eric Bubar http://www.astrobetter.com/spectral-line-analysis-tools/comment-page-1/#comment-886 Eric Bubar Sun, 13 Dec 2009 17:47:06 +0000 http://www.astrobetter.com/?p=933#comment-886 I like to use SPECTRE from Chris Sneden. It requires Supermongo to work, but its excellent for getting out equivalent widths interactively. For automated extraction of equivalent widths, I've tried to bend DAOSPEC from Peter Stetson to my will, but haven't gotten it working to my satisfaction yet. Those would be my two choices. I like to use SPECTRE from Chris Sneden. It requires Supermongo to work, but its excellent for getting out equivalent widths interactively. For automated extraction of equivalent widths, I’ve tried to bend DAOSPEC from Peter Stetson to my will, but haven’t gotten it working to my satisfaction yet. Those would be my two choices.

]]> By: Vinay Kashyap http://www.astrobetter.com/spectral-line-analysis-tools/comment-page-1/#comment-855 Vinay Kashyap Fri, 11 Dec 2009 22:47:49 +0000 http://www.astrobetter.com/?p=933#comment-855 See also PINTofALE, at http://hea-www.harvard.edu/PINTofALE/ Designed for analysis of high-resolution EUV/X-ray stellar gratings spectra. There is a gui line-fitting program called fitlines() that's pretty flexible and robust, if I may say so myself. See also PINTofALE, at http://hea-www.harvard.edu/PINTofALE/

Designed for analysis of high-resolution EUV/X-ray stellar gratings spectra. There is a gui line-fitting program called fitlines() that’s pretty flexible and robust, if I may say so myself.

]]> By: Randall Smith http://www.astrobetter.com/spectral-line-analysis-tools/comment-page-1/#comment-854 Randall Smith Fri, 11 Dec 2009 22:20:22 +0000 http://www.astrobetter.com/?p=933#comment-854 You could take a look at <a href="http://heasarc.nasa.gov/docs/software/profit/" rel="nofollow">Profit</a> It was an attempt to develop a spectral line fitting program with the same ease-of-use of saoimage/ds9. I won't say we succeeded (I think we set a high bar trying to be as good as ds9), and unfortunately development has stalled as both developers moved on, but it is still usable. --Randall You could take a look at Profit

It was an attempt to develop a spectral line fitting program with the same ease-of-use of saoimage/ds9. I won’t say we succeeded (I think we set a high bar trying to be as good as ds9), and unfortunately development has stalled as both developers moved on, but it is still usable.

–Randall

]]> By: Gene Avrett http://www.astrobetter.com/spectral-line-analysis-tools/comment-page-1/#comment-851 Gene Avrett Fri, 11 Dec 2009 20:51:49 +0000 http://www.astrobetter.com/?p=933#comment-851 See my website for some lecture notes on the atmospheric modeling aspect of spectral line analysis, as well as a description of the Pandora computer program I use to calculate a spectrum from given atmospheric parameters. See my website for some lecture notes on the atmospheric modeling aspect of spectral line analysis, as well as a description of the Pandora computer program I use to calculate a spectrum from given atmospheric parameters.

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