What's New in OSPEX

Returns the separate or combined fit function components as a function of energy in counts, rate, or flux, in photon or count space.  See Methods section of OSPEX document for more details.

SPEX_SPECFILE parameter is now an array.  For MESSENGER data, concatenates data from files (any number, don't have to be consecutive).  This can be done for other data types if needed, but currently only done for MESSENGER.

The new option, 'current', enters the fitting process without changing the fit parameters from their current value for the first interval.  For subsequent intervals, the 'previous interval' method is used. (Note that this was how the 'previous interval' method used to work.)

In the 'Previous Interval' method, the first interval selected for fitting now gets its starting values from the previous interval (in the full list of intervals).  Note that the meaning of 'previous' depends on whether you are looping forward or backward through intervals.

Plots residuals for selected fit intervals, showing chi-square.

If this parameter is set to 1, then you can use fit results whose energies are different (in value but not number) from the current data set.  Useful if you use RHESSI native energy bins which are slightly different for each detector.

Previously if you changed the fit time intervals (spex_fit_time_interval), the spex_summ arrays would be reinitialized and you would lose any fits you had already done.  Now you can modify your fit time intervals and the spex_summ arrays are adjusted accordingly.

There is now a 'Reset All Comp.' button in the fit component widget that lets you reset the parameter values, minima, maxima, and/or free masks for all components at once to default values, previous interval, previous iteration, or original (values when you entered the widget).  It is similar to the Reset button that applies to each fit component separately.

Also a bug was fixed so that now if you select Reset to previous interval, and your loop direction is backwards, then it resets to the interval+1 values (previous in the reverse direction).

Previously you had to include all fit function components you might possibly need for every interval right from the start - otherwise if you changed them, the spex_summ arrays would be reinitialized.  Now you can change the fit function after you've started saving fits - the spex_summ arrays are adjusted accordingly.

In the fit widget, the Select button now has some options to help you choose intervals based on filter state.
Also the filter state is now displayed (in parentheses next to the time interval) in the Fit Widget if all the intervals don't have the same filter state

New option to use the time profile of the background in the highest energy band to define the shape of the background for all energy bands. The amplitude is adjusted by the ratio of the data in the lower energies to the high-energy profile.  Refer to the 'Background' section in the OSPEX documentation for details.

There are new options for selecting contours in the ROI selection tool.  There's also a new HELP button on the widget to explain the region selection options.
 

Relative abundance of Fe, Ni is now a fit parameter.
Chianti is now default, previously was Mewe.
vth_noline function is obsolete, use vth with continuum option.
chianti/mewe and full/continuum/lines are now options.
New fit_comp* and spex_summ* parameters to handle these features.

Previously had a choice of genx (save) or FITS format for fit results output file.  Now FITS is the only choice.  Existing genx files can still be read into OSPEX.

o->list_function displays the details of the function components you've selected and their parameters
o->make_func_obj makes a fit_function object from current energy edges and function component parameters or from a specific interval that you've already fit

Start OSPEX main widget or any sub-widget with gui_label keyword to put a label on the widget title bars:
o=ospex(gui_label='your label')
o->gui, gui_label='your label'
o->xfit, gui_label='your label'

A new parameter, spex_image_full_srm, was added (in the GUI, it's a check box on the Select Input widget).

When spex_image_full_srm is not set (the default), the image cube is in units of photons/cm^2/sec/asec^2.  The conversion from counts to photons was made using the diagonal SRM in the RHESSI image object.  No SRM is used in OSPEX in this case.  You shouldn't analyze images at low energies in this mode since K-escape is a significant factor, and the off-diagonal elements of the SRM have not been taken into account.

When spex_image_full_srm is set, the spectrum computed from your selected image regions is converted back to counts by applying the diagonal SRM to reverse the original conversion.  The full SRM is calculated and used to convert to photons.

Previously in the GUI, when you created a new plot with the same name as an existing panel (e.g. SPEX HESSI Count Flux vs Energy), the old panel was replaced by the new panel in order to limit the number of panels stored.  Since panels showing different information may have the same name, all panels are now stored.  You can delete selected panels via the Multi-Panel Options button under Window_Control.
 

When you change to a new input source file by changing the spex_specfile parameter, now all of the input-dependent parameters (but not parameters to control configuration options) are reinitialized to program defaults.

You can always initialize all parameters via o->init_params (or via the Reset... button under File in the GUI).

To see which parameters are reinitialized with a new input file, type print, o->get_param_names(/new_input)

In the OSPEX Select Input widget, when you select a RHESSI Image Cube input file, the Region # button becomes sensitized.  After you select all ROIs (up to 4) on all images, then you can select which ROI (0,1, 2, 3 or All) to make spectra from.  From the command line, e.g.:
o -> set, spex_roi_use = 2
o -> set, spex_roi_integrate=1

In the OSPEX Select Input widget, when you select a RHESSI Image Cube input file, the Select Regions button becomes sensitized.  This button has two options  to configure the region selection parameters, and to make the region selections on the images.  Right or left click in the image panel display to get a list of options for defining ROIs or displaying spectra and time profiles.

To use the Region selection tools from the command line, after selecting an image cube input file, type
o -> roi_config
o -> roi

Full explanations of these features are found in Imaging Spectroscopy with OSPEX.

There's a new environment variable, OSPEX_MODELS_DIR, used to find the file fit_model_components.txt which lists the available functions.  Users can copy that file to a local directory, add functions, and define OSPEX_MODELS_DIR to point to that directory.

In the GUI, there is now a button under File to set parameters from a script procedure file (either initializing all parameters first, or not).  To do the same from the command line, type:

o->runscript   or  
o->runscript,/init   or  
o->runscript, init, file='ospex_script.pro'   or  
ospex_script, obj=o

The writescript method now writes a procedure instead of a main program.  Previously we ran it with the .RUN executive command.  Now we run it by calling the procedure, with obj as a keyword argument.  If obj is an existing OSPEX object, the script will set parameters in it, otherwise a new OSPEX object will be created.  The procedure name will be the same as the file name you selected.  For example, if you write the script in ospex_script.pro, then call it as follows:

ospex_script, obj=o

The spex_summ... parameters now include spex_summ_bk_rate and spex_summ_bk_error.  These are written to the save or FITS output file along with the other spex_summ.. parameters.   The calc_summ method has two new allowed values for 'item': 'bk_ct_flux' and 'bk_ph_flux'.

In the "Fit Options" widget, there is now a button to "Show Error" bars when plotting spectra.  From the command line, use the /show_err keyword when calling plot_spectrum.  To show errors on plots while looping through fit intervals, set spex_autoplot_show_err to 1.

There is an option to correct for albedo now.  In the GUI, the controls are in the "Select Input" widget.  From the command line, there are four new parameters: spex_albedo_correct, spex_source_angle, spex_source_xy, and spex_anisotropy.  (Note: currently DRM edges must be on integer boundaries.)

Previously fit results were stored in IDL save file (.geny file).  Now have additional option to store them in FITS file.  FITS files are more standard and can be read without SSW or IDL, whereas save file require SSW IDL to read them.  The spex_summ... parameters are stored in both, but the FITS files contain additional general information in standard FITS keywords, as well as an extension storing the values of all OSPEX control parameters.

In the OSPEX GUI, under File, there is a new button called 'Set Params Manually'.  From the command line, use the setparams method (o -> setparams).

Either of these brings up a widget interface with all OSPEX control parameters.  You can change them through this interface and click Commit to change them in the OSPEX object.  Be careful - it's easy to mess things up unless you're sure of what you're doing.

f_ion is now included in the fit function choices in OSPEX.  f_vth_ion is not included because you can use the vth component combined with the ion component to form f_vth_ion.

RHESSI SRM files written after this date will contain the response matrices for all attenuator states that occurred during the time interval of the spectrum file.  In OSPEX, you set spex_drmfile to that one SRM file, and OSPEX will automatically retrieve the correct response matrix for each fit time interval.  The 'Plot Time Profile' button in the Input Widget will display the filter states on the plot.  Also in the Fit Options Widget, the 'Show Filter States' button shows the filter states on a time plot.  In the 'Fit Options Widget', the 'Remove Bad Intervals' button will remove fit time intervals that include a change in filter state.

The progress bar now always (almost) responds when you click the 'Cancel' button.  Previously, it usually ignored 'Cancel' clicks.

The spex_interval_range control parameter was replaced by the spex_intervals_tofit parameter.  Previously you specified the range of intervals to fit, and all intervals in that range were fit.  Now you specify an array of the interval numbers to fit.

f_3pow is now included in the fit function choices in OSPEX.

You now have the option to initialize OSPEX with a FITS file, and then replace the data or background array in the objects with your own data arrays.  Refer to the 'Input Data from Command Line' section in the OSPEX Documentation.

Implemented the option to select different background time intervals and fitting polynomial order for separate energy bands.

Now you can set data directly into OSPEX without a FITS file.  You need to supply, at the minimum, a spectrum and an array of energy edges.  Refer to the 'User Data' section in the OSPEX documentation for details.

Previously you were limited to specifying a single energy range to fit over (spex_erange parameter).  Now you can select multiple energy ranges.  This will allow you to exclude artifacts in the spectrum.