GEMINI (December2015) Gemini IRAF package v1.13.1 GEMINI (December2015) Release date: December 7, 2015 This document describes the revisions relative to the Gemini IRAF package v1.13. All users are encouraged to use Ureka (http://ssb.stsci.edu/ureka/) to install IRAF and the Gemini IRAF package. Installation instructions for Ureka users can be found at http://www.gemini.edu/sciops/data-and-results/processing-software/download. This release, v1.13.1, is NOT yet integrated into Ureka. Ureka users will need to download "gemini_v1131_for_iraf_2.16.tar.gz" and follow the installation instructions provided in the file "gemini_readme.txt" distributed with the package. The tar file already contains the binaries, no need to recompile. Users who do not wish to use Ureka can download the Gemini IRAF package v1.13.1 for use with IRAF 2.14 (gemini_v1131_for_iraf_2.14.tar.gz) or for use with the 32-bit version of IRAF v2.16 distributed in Ureka (gemini_v1131_for_iraf_2.16.tar.gz). Please refer to http://www.gemini.edu/sciops/data-and-results/processing-software/requirements for other requirements on your IRAF installation including other required external packages. Installation instructions are provided in the gemini_readme.txt file distributed with the package. This will be the last distribution of IRAF 2.14 binaries. The Gemini IRAF package v1.13.1 has been fully tested and vetted *only* in the PyRAF environment. Most of the package works under IRAF CL, however we have experienced irregularities when using the GMOS package. Therefore, people using the GMOS package should use PyRAF to avoid problems. WARNING!! The Gemini IRAF package v1.13.1 does NOT work reliably with any of the version of IRAF v2.16 as distributed by NOAO. Ureka contains a version of IRAF v2.16 modified for compatibility with Gemini IRAF. If updating an older installation of the Gemini IRAF package, it is recommended that users initialize their uparm directories by typing "rm uparm/*" in their iraf home directory (ie., where mkiraf was executed / where the login.cl file is located). NOTE: if you wish to make a note of any stored parameters, please do so before running this command. The binaries distributed with the package were built on CentOS 5 and Mac OS X 10.6. See gemini_readme.txt for more information. PRIMARY REVISIONS ================= 1) GMOS: a) Support of GMOS-S Hamamatsu CCDs new video boards installed Aug2015. b) Full activation of the quantum efficiency correction support. c) More automation and options for GMOS spectroscopy reduction. d) Updated and improved reduction examples for Longslit. DETAILS OF THE REVISIONS ======================== Numerous stability fixes, bug fixes, and minor improvements, especially to the gemtools and gmos package are included in this release. They will not be listed here. Rather, only the most notable changes or those more likely to be of interest to the users will be highlighted. 1) GMOS ------------------- Instrument: GMOS a) Support of GMOS-S Hamamatsu CCDs new video boards New video boards were installed in GMOS-S in August 2015. As a result, characteristics like gain, read noise, etc changed. It is therefore important for people with GMOS-S data from September 2015 and beyond, to use this release, which contains the information on the new CCDs characteristics. This version remains backward compatible with past data. b) Full activation of the quantum efficiency correction support. In v1.13, a manual way to correct for quantum efficiency variation was introduced. In this patch release, the quantum efficiency correction is now integrated to the main "reduce" scripts: gireduce, gsreduce, and gfreduce. QE correction is particularly important in the processing of the GMOS-S Hamamatsu data. The GMOS reduction examples provided with the package and accessible through the "gmosexamples" task have been updated to reflect a procedure that corrects for QE variations. c) More automation and options for GMOS spectroscopy reduction The new cosmic ray rejection routine using LACosmic and the scattered light removal tools were integrated into "gsreduce" and "gfreduce" to offer a more automated and straightforward approach to GMOS longslit and IFU spectroscopy data reduction. Note that several new parameters were introduced so make sure you "unlearn gfreduce" and "unlearn gsreduce" before using either. Check the "gfreduce" and "gsreduce" help page for the details (eg. "help gfreduce"). d) Updated and improved reduction examples for GMOS Longslit. The new examples can be accessed with the gmosexamples task as follow: gm> gmosexamples standard_longslit gm> gmosexamples longslit If you wish to copy the examples over, the files are located in the directory "gmos$doc/" (from the PyRAF command line). They are named "gmos_longslit_standard_example.cl" and "gmos_longslit_example.cl". SUMMARY OF ALL CHANGED PARAMETERS ================================= If a task listed below is causing problems, it is very likely that the task is accessing an old parameter file that does not contain the updated parameters and/or values. To resolve the problem, the old parameter files for the Gemini IRAF package must be removed from the uparm directory. To do this, initialize the uparm directory by typing "rm uparm/*" in your iraf home directory (ie., where you ran mkiraf / where your login.cl file is located). NOTE: if you wish to make a note of any stored parameters, please do so before running this command. If it is not desirable to remove all the old parameter files for the Gemini IRAF tasks, it is possible to "unlearn" the individual task. Please see the appropriate help file for more information about the specific parameter changes listed below. gmos.gfreduce: - New parameters: fl_qecorr qe_refim fl_keep_qeim qe_corrpref qe_corrimages qe_data qe_datadir fl_crspec cr_xorder cr_sigclip cr_sigfrac cr_objlim cr_niter fl_scatsub sc_xorder sc_yorder sc_cross gmos.gfscatsub: - New parameters: status gmos.gsdrawslits: - New parameters: fl_label sci_ext gmos.gireduce: - New parameters: fl_qecorr qe_refim fl_keep_qeim qe_corrpref qe_corrimages qe_data qe_datadir gmos.gsflat: - New parameters: fl_qecorr qe_refim fl_keep_qeim qe_corrpref qe_corrimages qe_data qe_datadir - Modified defaults: ovs_order = "default" gmos.gsreduce: - New parameters: fl_qecorr qe_refim fl_keep_qeim qe_corrpref qe_corrimages qe_data qe_datadir fl_crspec cr_xorder cr_sigclip cr_sigfrac cr_objlim cr_niter fl_scatsub sc_nfind sc_column sc_torder sc_order1 sc_sample1 sc_order2 sc_niterate2 gmos.gsscatsub: - New parameters: nfind column - Modified parameters: n1iterate -> niterate2