Software for the K-band Focal Plane Array (KFPA)

GBT software improvements and extensions are a critical part of the KFPA project, which will enable important new scientific results to be obtained with the GBT and KFPA.

Software Planning Documents

• SoftwareWbs
• PrototypePipelineSchedule

Monitor and Control of the Focal Plane Array

• ArrayMnCSoftwareDesign
  • Hardware M&C: HEMTBiasCard
• ArrayMnCSoftwareIntegration

Software Modification Requests (MRs)

• The KFPA Software Queue is here (MRs and PRs for M&C and the pipeline)
• The KFPA Weekly Pipeline Meeting Agenda
• Historical MR drafts: these are early MR drafts which are listed here for historical reasons. These are likely to be deleted at some point.
  • IF LO control for KFPA in Astrid/M&C
  • Pointing modes for KFPA (allowing specification of a single signal beam and reference beam). This would be the same type of data reduction as is currently done for all 2 beam receivers.
  • Basic observing spectral line modes to allow using two beams of KFPA for all the currently existing observing modes:
    • Track, OnOff, Nod, RaLongMap, DecLatMap, etc, but allowing specifying the signal and reference beams for each procedure
  • Automatic Balance of IF levels to above procedures.
  • Receiver FITS file modifications for KFPA and other multi-feed Rxs

Data Pipeline Effort

We plan a revolutionary change in the standard method of GBT data reduction, starting with the KFPA project. For a certain set of standard KFPA observing modes, the images will be automatically calibrated, gridded, merged and provided to the observer. The development of this idea is presented below as a series of links to planning meetings.

• Initial design sketch done immediately after the KFPA Workshop, November 2007.
• Pipeline Design
  • Draft Design Presented in February 2008
• Use Cases and related documentation:
  • Frequency Switched Case: NH3 Obs of Ophiuchus by Friesen et al 2009 Ap. J. 697, 1457
  • Position Switched Case: Cyanopolyyene observations of TMC
  • Use Cases Notes
  • Accurate Temperature Calibration: GBT Memo 232 Langston et al, April 2004
  • Position Switched Mapping of Sgr B2: GBT Memo 237 Langston and Curtis, August 2005
  • Equations of GBT Calibration (Draft): Braatz, Fisher, Jewell, Kemball, Langston, Maddalena, McMullin, November 2001
  • Detailed Equations of calibration (Draft): Maddalena, 2004
  • Example mapping reduction script: Dual Beam TMC HC5N mapping; Garwood and Langston, 2009
  • Source Calibration Procedure for the Pipeline: Still under development; Documentation of the SCAL observations and application.
  • Weather Calibration Procedure for the Pipeline: Still under development; Documentation of the Weather models and observations.
• Discussion Issues
• Pipeline Components
  • Pipeline infrustructure
  • Data Capture
  • Calibration Module
  • Total Power Calibration
  • Data Editing and Flagging
  • Identify Reference (off)
  • Data Calibration
  • Baseline Removal
  • Imaging
• Data Visualization
• Parallelization
• Data Conversion - sdfits to ACSIS
• June 2008 KFPA Data Analysis Meeting

To achieve automatic display and reduction of the KFPA images, we will need to make a number of improvements and extensions to the existing GBT software system.

• Pipeline interface Directives to GBT observing system. (Allows setting Pipeline start/stop and mapping parameters such as map center, size, flagging and mapping techniques).

This link is placed here temporarily.

• Items needed to complete KFPA functionality.

Existing K-band Data

• Existing GBT K-Band Data as of July 2008.
• Mapping data in the GBT Archive

Video Conferences

• Video Conference Notes May 6, 2008
• Additional Software Needs from June 3,2009.pdf

• June 17, 2009 Pipeline Minutes