Introduction to RHESSI Data Analysis

Documentation

Data Products

Access to Data

SSW

Analysis Modes

RHESSI GUI

Combining GUI and Command Line

RHESSI Objects

Details and Links for these topics

Documentation

• RHESSI Data and Software Center Web Page

• Getting Started – Lots of links to basic information

• Data Access Guide – Overview of data and access

• Installation Guide – Install SSW and set up for RHESSI

• FAQ – installation of SSW, RHESSI setup, using RHESSI s/w and data

• Software Change History – Reverse chronology of major changes

Data Products

All Stored on RHESSI Data Archive at GSFC and ETH

Flare Catalog• ASCII and FITS files

• Numbered by ymmddnn

• Flares detected automatically

Quicklook Plots• Summary Count Rate, Quicklook Images, Spectra (soon), Monitor Rates, State of Health

• Browser tool for each type of plot

• Huge number of processed images, spectra at HEDC

Observing Summary • Pre-binned Count Rate Data for fast access

• Also has monitor rates, ephemeris, pointing, roll, flags

• Stored in daily FITS files

Level-0• All processing starts here

• Need RHESSI Software to read/interpret

• Record of the time and energy of every count seen by detectors

HESSI Flare List (generated 14-Oct-2004 12:22)

Total # flares: 13258 Time range: 12-Feb-2002 01:54:04.000 - 11-Oct-2004 20:00:12.000 8 flares found that meet the following requirements:Overall Time Limits: 23-Dec-2003 00:00:00.000 to 24-Dec-2003 00:00:00.000 Flare Start time Peak End Dur Peak Total Energy X Pos Y Pos Radial AR Flags s c/s Counts keV asec asec asec

3122302 23-Dec-2003 01:20:48 01:24:06 01:29:40 532 16 29368 50-100 0 0 0 0 ? A0 NS a0 3122303 23-Dec-2003 02:32:08 02:36:34 02:44:32 744 261 416148 25-50 0 0 0 0 ? A0 a0 3122306 23-Dec-2003 05:37:20 05:37:42 05:41:04 224 22 19392 300-800 0 0 0 0 ? A0 NS a0 3122308 23-Dec-2003 07:30:32 07:31:02 07:33:28 176 20 12148 25-50 200 200 282 0 ? A0 P1 a0 a1 3122312 23-Dec-2003 15:00:12 15:00:14 15:00:24 12 6 408 12-25 -264 184 321 0 ? A0 P1 a0 3122317 23-Dec-2003 22:06:20 22:06:22 22:06:56 36 6 1152 12-25 0 0 0 0 ? A0 NS a0 3122318 23-Dec-2003 23:22:12 23:22:38 23:22:44 32 8 1372 12-25 376 216 433 0 ? A0 P1 a0 3122319 23-Dec-2003 07:35:40 07:35:58 07:36:12 32 7 1176 12-25 0 0 0 0 ? A1 a1

Notes: Peak Rate: peak counts/second in energy range 12-25 keV, averaged over active collimators, including background. Total Counts: counts in energy range 12-25 keV integrated over duration of flare summed over all subcollimators, including background. Energy: the highest energy band in which the flare was observed. Radial Distance: distance from Sun center

Flare Flag Codes: a0 - In attenuator state 0 (None) sometime during flare a1 - In attenuator state 1 (Thin) sometime during flare a2 - In attenuator state 2 (Thick) sometime during flare a3 - In attenuator state 3 (Both) sometime during flare An - Attenuator state (0=None, 1=Thin, 2=Thick, 3=Both) at peak of flare DF - Front segment counts were decimated sometime during flare DR - Rear segment counts were decimated sometime during flare ED - Spacecraft eclipse (night) sometime during flare EE - Flare ended in spacecraft eclipse (night) ES - Flare started in spacecraft eclipse (night) FE - Flare ongoing at end of file FR - In Fast Rate Mode FS - Flare ongoing at start of file GD - Data gap during flare GE - Flare ended in data gap GS - Flare started in data gap MR - Spacecraft in high-latitude zone during flare NS - Non-solar event PE - Particle event Pn - Position quality code Qn - Data quality code SD - Spacecraft was in SAA sometime during flare SE - Flare ended when spacecraft was in SAA SS - Flare started when spacecraft was in SAA

Access to Data

• Define HSI_DATA_ARCHIVE and HSI_DATA_USER in your customized setup file ($SSW/site/setup/setup.hessi_env)

• RHESSI software looks for data files in this order:1. HSI_DATA_ARCHIVE 2. HSI_DATA_USER 3. If search_network is enabled, it searches on server at GSFC, SSL, or HEDC

• HSI_DATA_ARCHIVE points to data directoryon your computer, e.g. setenv HSI_DATA_ARCHIVE C:\hessidataon server, e.g. setenv HSI_DATA_ARCHIVE \\hesperia.gsfc.nasa.gov\data1\hessidata\

• HSI_DATA_USER points to data directory on your computerAutomatically copied via search_network orManually copiedExample: setenv HSI_DATA_USER C:\hessidata_user

• RHESSI software should find data automatically

SSW

• SSW = SolarSoftWare, IDL software library for Solar Physics

• RHESSI is one of many instruments in SSW

• RHESSI requires SSW installation, plus specific RHESSI setup steps

• RHESSI requires IDL Version 5.6 or greater

• SSW is a dynamic environment, always changing

• ‘GEN’ directories in SSW have many useful tools

• Documentation:

• Each procedure has documentation header

• XCAT – Web Interface to find and display procedures

• xdoc – IDL interface to find and displays procedures

• doc_library – IDL interface to show header documentation

Analysis Modes

• IDL Command Line• Requires IDL, SSW, and access to Level-0 FITS files

• Allows for complete analysis

• Requires knowledge of IDL and RHESSI software calls

• Graphical User Interface (GUI)•Requires IDL, SSW, and access to Level-0 FITS files

•Simple to use

•Limited in capabilities

• Combination of GUI and Command Line Mix and match, and get the best of both

• HEDC• Requires browser, does NOT require IDL or SSW

• Many prepared plots to browse through

• Allows you to initiate batch jobs to retrieve and plot data

• Runs IDL on the HEDC server to handle batch jobs

RHESSI GUI

• Type hessi in SSW IDL to start

• Buttons to generate• Observing Summary Plots• Images• Lightcurves• Spectra• Synoptic Data, GOES Plots

• Remembers all plots for quick retrieval / stacking / overlays

• Interactive manipulation of plots

• Output options• Write script • Print plots or write plot files (PNG,PS,JPEG,TIFF)• Write Image or Spectrum FITS files• Save and Restore Object• Show movie

Combining GUI and Command Line (CLI)

• Share Object Between GUI and CLI

• Pass an existing object into GUI via hessi,object

• Extract object from GUI via hessi_data, e.g. hessi_data, image=o

• Same object in both, not a copy

• Write a CLI script from GUI

• Use plotman method from CLI

• Write image FITS file and restore into GUI or CLI

• Save and restore objects in GUI and CLI

RHESSI Objects

Object – package for holding data and operations

RHESSI objects include these data:

Control Parameters

Info Parameters

Data Product

All RHESSI objects have some standard operations (methods):

GET - get control or info parameters

SET - set control parameters

GETDATA - get data product

PLOT - plot data product

PLOTMAN - plot data product in interactive widget

Methods are like subroutines, but called with -> (arrow)

Instantiate (create) an image object by o = hsi_image()

Control parameters are set to defaults. User changes only a few.

RHESSI Objects (cont)

• RHESSI objects are chains of connected objects

• Main RHESSI objects:• hsi_image• hsi_lightcurve• hsi_spectrum• hsi_obs_summary

• Below each, is chain of all intermediate data objects necessary to produce an image, lightcurve, spectrum, etc.

• Each object in chain remembers its state and data

• Changes in control parameters force reprocessing only when necessary

Example:o = hsi_spectrum()o -> set, obs_time_interval = ['12-feb-2004 00:20', '12-feb-2004 00:22']o -> set, sp_time_interval = 4.spectrum = o -> getdata()

o -> plotman, sp_data_unit='flux' ; won’t require reprocessingo -> plotman, sp_energy_binning=1 ; will require some reprocessing

Level-0 Data Files Simulated Data File(hsi_sim_flare)

User Simulation

Find and Read Data(hsi_packet)

Unpack data into photon-tagged event list (hsi_eventlist)

Produce Spectrum by binning data by energy, time, and detector

(hsi_spectrogram, hsi_spectrum)

Calculate aspect Solution

(hsi_aspect)

Calculate spectral response matrix

(hsi_srm)

Spectral Analysis(OSPEX , XSPEC)

SPECTRUM CREATION DIAGRAM

EXAMPLES

Flare Catalog Utilities:

flares = hsi_read_flarelist() ; structure with all flare info

flare = hsi_getflare(2090203) ; structure with info for flare 2090203

hsi_flarecat, list=list, /structure ; widget to select flares

Observing Summary:

o = hsi_obs_summary(obs_time_interval='21-apr-2002 ' + ['00:00', '02:00'])

o -> plotman, /ylog, plotman_obj=p, /multi

o -> plotman, /ylog, plotman_obj=p, /corrected

o -> plotman, plotman_obj=p, class='hsi_ephemeris‘

data = o -> getdata()

times = o -> getaxis(/ut)

flags = o -> changes() ; structure with times and states of all flag changes in interval

help, flags.attenuator_state, /st