Manual Extraction

Overview

This document describes how to perform so-called Manual Extraction in PypeIt. This is generally for cases where the object continuum is too faint to trigger the auto-magical Object Finding algorithm.

Process

Here is the standard recipe:

  1. Reduce the spectral image(s)

  2. Examine the spec2d images with pypeit_show_2dspec

  3. Record the spatial and spectral pixel where the trace should cross

  4. Note the detector and the approximate FWHM of the profile (in pixels)

  5. Modify the PypeIt file as described below

  6. run_pypeit again

Note for all cases below, if you are combining multiple files (i.e. using comb_id; see Combining Science Exposures) then the entry for the first file will be used for the combination.

Tracing

The code will lay down a new trace and perform extraction at each input location. The trace used will be, in order of decreasing preference:

  1. The brightest object on the slit, offset to the input position

  2. The standard star

  3. The slit edges

Multi-Slit

If you are running in multi-slit mode, you will add the spatial-spectral pixel pair for each object to extract for each detector to the PypeIt file.

This is to be added to the manual column of the Data Block of the PypeIt Reduction File. You can generate that column when running pypeit_setup or you can add it by-hand.

Here are example lines from the DevSuite for a Keck/LRISb reduction:

b150910_2070.fits.gz | 2015-09-10T05:43:39 |   science      |          s2 |     600 |     2,2 |      560 | 600/4000 | long_1.0 | 2:234.:1000.:3.
b150910_2083.fits.gz | 2015-09-10T10:03:42 |  standard      |   feige 110 |      60 |     2,2 |      560 | 600/4000 | long_1.0 |

The entry 2:234.:1000.:3. specifies det=2 (aka DET02), spat=234.0, spec=1000.0, and a FWHM=3.0 (pixels).

You can optionally specify the boxcar_radius (in pixels, not arcsec) as the last entry in the manual extraction entry. If not specified, the code will use the default value specified in ExtractionPar Keywords (which is in arcsec).

Here is an example that includes boxcar_radius:

b150910_2070.fits.gz | 2015-09-10T05:43:39 |   science      |          s2 |     600 |     2,2 |      560 | 600/4000 | long_1.0 | 2:234.:1000.:3.:4.

If you wish to operate on the negative image for an A-B reduction (typically near-IR; see A-B image differencing), then specify the detector value as negative.

When running a mosaic reduction (currently only available for Gemini GMOS and Keck DEIMOS), the part of the manual extraction entry that specifies the detector number needs to indicate the detectors that are mosaiced together in the same way as is done when setting the parameter detnum in the ReduxPar Keywords of the PypeIt Reduction File. Here is an example for Keck/DEIMOS:

d0225_0054.fits |    science |  241.13283 | 43.2563 |     16045h |    600ZD | 16045h |     1,1 | 58539.623231 |  1.1266414 |  1320.0 | 7899.99072266 | (1,5):68.0:2960.0:3.;(1,5):211.0:3082.0:3.

Still, if you wish to operate on the negative image, specify the detectors as a tuple of negative values, e.g. (-1, -5).

Note

Multiple manual extraction entries are separated by a semi-colon. See the Keck/DEIMOS example above.

Echelle

For echelle, you only have to specify the object location in a single order and the code will use its fractional position on all other orders.

Here are a few lines from the VLT/X-Shooter example in the PypeIt DevSuite:

                          filename    |       frametype |          ra |         dec |        target | dispname |   decker | binning |             mjd | airmass | exptime | arm | manual
XSHOO.2019-08-21T07:55:35.020.fits.gz |         science | 21:57:38.97 | -80:21:31.3 |     FRB190711 |  default |   1.2x11 |     1,1 | 58716.330266429 |    1.94 |   350.0 | VIS | 1:1181.8:3820.6:3.
XSHOO.2019-08-21T08:04:15.565.fits.gz |         science | 21:57:38.97 | -80:21:31.3 |     FRB190711 |  default |   1.2x11 |     1,1 | 58716.336291257 |   1.956 |   350.0 | VIS | 1:1181.8:3820.6:3.

The above will lay down a new trace at spatial=1181.8, spectral=3820.6 pixel on detector 1 and use a FWHM of 3.0 pixels. It will also force an extraction at the same relative position for each echelle order.

Coadd2D

For 2D coadds, there is no PypeIt Reduction File so the approach is different.

When using the pypeit_coadd_2dspec script, you specify manual extraction in the parameter block. Here is the example for VLT/X-Shooter from our DevSuite:

[coadd2d]
    use_slits4wvgrid = True
    offsets = 0.,0.,0.,0.,0.,0.
    weights = uniform
    manual = 1:22.4:608.1:3.

Details on the syntax for the manual entry are the same as above.