Analysis of Fabry-Perot Data with FPTOOL

Perhaps the most important aspect of FPTOOL is the integration of both image and spectral data reduction tools into a single task that has been optimized for Fabry-Perot data analysis. For example, support is provided for cosmic ray removal as well as spectral line identification. Other Fabry-Perot analysis features include frame sorting and interpolation, spectral extractions based on complex masks, and slit simulations. However, it should be noted that FPTOOL is merely a portion of the IRAF Fabry-Perot package and is not intended as a single tool for end-to-end Fabry-Perot data reduction. More complex reductions, such as frame alignment, Fabry-Perot phase correction (Shopbell, Bland-Hawthorn, & Cecil 1992), and ring fitting (Shopbell, Bland-Hawthorn, & Cecil 1993) are best accomplished using the dedicated IRAF tasks developed specifically for those problems.

While there are a number of simple utilities that have been included in FPTOOL for convenience, such as cube arithmetic and spatial filtering, the spectral analysis portions of FPTOOL have been developed primarily to solve the Fabry-Perot analysis problem of spectral fitting. In most cases, the number of spectra of interest in a data cube far exceeds the manual capabilities of even the most dedicated researcher. Some form of automation is clearly required to fit several hundred thousand spectra. FPTOOL has integrated the single spectrum fitting algorithms of the ONEDSPEC package with a set of inheritance-based automatic fitting procedures. The user need merely fit a few select spectra which are representative; FPTOOL will fit the rest. For compatibility and ease of use, the manual fitting interface closely matches that used by SPLOT. Multiple components and lines may be fit using Gaussians, Lorentzians, and Voigt profiles. Spectra may be masked, weighted, and smoothed. Additional details of the underlying spectral fitting capabilities can be found in Shopbell & Bland-Hawthorn 1995 . FPTOOL provides an integrated, graphical, IRAF -based approach to the complex data analysis problems associated with imaging Fabry-Perot data. The power of the IRAF GUI system has been used to create a visualization tool to assist in the quantification and understanding of large Fabry-Perot data sets. As such, FPTOOL is an important component of the IRAF Fabry-Perot package.

References:

Bland, J. & Tully, R.B. 1989, AJ, 98, 723 Bland-Hawthorn, J., Shopbell, P.L., & Cecil, G. 1992, in Astronomical Data Analysis Software and Systems I, A.S.P. Conf. Ser., Vol. 25, eds. D.M. Worrall, C. Biemesderfer, & J. Barnes, p. 393

Crutcher 1996, this volume

Shopbell, P.L., Bland-Hawthorn, J., & Cecil, G. 1992, in Astronomical Data Analysis Software and Systems I, A.S.P. Conf. Ser., Vol. 25, eds. D.M. Worrall, C. Biemesderfer, & J. Barnes, p. 442

Shopbell, P.L., Bland-Hawthorn, J., & Cecil, G. 1993, in Astronomical Data Analysis Software and Systems II, A.S.P. Conf. Ser., Vol. 52, eds. R.J. Hanisch, R.J.V. Brissenden, & J. Barnes, p. 447

Shopbell, P.L., & Bland-Hawthorn, J., 1995, in Astronomical Data Analysis Software and Systems IV, A.S.P. Conf. Ser., Vol. 77, eds. R.A. Shaw, H.E. Payne, & J.J.E. Hayes, p. 510