The S/N of COS observations in calcos is improved through two techniques, flat fielding and coadding spectra taken at different central wavelengths or
FP-POS settings. Flat fielding removes low-frequency variations on the detector by dividing the data by a high S/N flat-field response image.
FP-POS exposures smooth out pixel-to-pixel detector variations by combining in wavelength space data taken at different positions on the detector.
The deuterium lamps are not bright enough to map out the flat field at FUV wavelengths, so the FUV flats are constructed from on-orbit observations of bright white dwarfs. An image of the FUV detector using the deuterium lamp is shown in Figure 5.13. The light, vertical stripe is a
shadow cast by a grid wire in front of the detector (
Section 4.1.1). A detector dead spot and the hexagonal pattern of the fiber bundles in the micro-channel plate are also visible. Although significant structure is present in the FUV flats, it is reproducible and can be removed during data reduction.
Grid-wire shadows are the greatest source of fixed-pattern noise. In the past calcos flagged these regions and eliminated their contributions to the final, summed spectra. During Cycle 18 a grid-wire flat-field calibration file was developed for the G130M and G160M gratings, and it was updated in Cycle 21 for all FUV gratings. Pixels affected by grid wires are still flagged by
calcos, but their corrected values are included in the summed spectra.
Figure 5.14 shows the effect of correcting the grid-wire
shadows on a single G130M FUVB exposure of the white dwarf WD0320-539 obtained at the original lifetime position. This star has a relatively smooth continuum, making the corrections obvious. The upper (blue) spectrum contains grid-wire
shadows (indicated by the vertical lines), which are corrected in the lower (green) spectrum. The affected regions are clearly improved, but residual structure, much of it fixed-pattern noise in the FUV detector, remains. This structure can be reduced through the use of multiple
FP-POS settings (
Section 5.8.2).
Table 5.6 gives the limiting S/N for the G130M and G160M gratings when the grid-wire flat field is used, both with and without multiple
FP-POS settings. To attain higher S/N ratios special analysis procedures, such as those described in the
January 2011 COS STAN, are required.
In addition to grid-wire shadows “grid-wire impostors” were recently discovered in COS FUV Data. The morphology of the impostor in the extracted spectra is similar overall to that of the grid-wire shadows. However, unlike the grid-wire shadows the impostor features depend strongly on the y position on the detector. From the appearance of these features in the dark exposures it had been determined that the impostors are artifacts introduced by the geometric distortion correction. However, due to the way that the geometric distortion corrections are integrated into nearly every other aspect of calibration changing this reference file cannot be done quickly. Therefore, a 2D correction for the “impostors” has been incorporated into the FLATFIELD reference file until a fix to the geometric distortion correction can be fully investigated and tested. As a result
calcos now corrects these features through the flat-field correction.
Comparison of extracted spectra at difference FP-POS and
CENWAVE settings has revealed
y-independent illumination variations on each detector segment. These variations are now being corrected in
calcos by applying a low-order flat-field correction (L-flat) that has been incorporated into the FLATFIELD reference file. The L-flat applicable to the original and second lifetime positions is shown in
Figure 5.15 and an example of the improvement obtained using the L-flat is shown in
Figure 5.16.
The NUV flat field used by calcos was built from a combination of external PSA deuterium lamp exposures taken on the ground and internal FCA observations taken on the ground and on orbit.
Figure 5.17 presents a comparison between two NUV flat-field frames, one obtained on orbit and one on the ground. Each image was divided by a low-order polynomial to isolate the high-order fringe pattern characteristic of the NUV detector. Their ratio is consistent with the noise in the on-orbit image, confirming that the two flat fields may be safely combined. Pre-flight ground tests with COS show that the NUV MAMA can deliver S/N up to about 50 without using a flat field. Using a flat field it should be possible to routinely achieve S/N of 100 or more per resolution element.
Fixed-pattern noise in the COS detectors limits the S/N that can be achieved in a single exposure to 15−25 per resolution element for the FUV and 50 for the NUV. To achieve higher S/N ratios one can obtain a series of exposures, each slightly offset in the dispersion direction, causing spectral features to fall on a different part of the detector. For STIS and GHRS these motions are known as FP-SPLITs. For COS these motions are specified by the
FP-POS optional parameter.
Four FP-POS offset positions are available: a nominal position (0), two positions toward longer wavelengths (
−2 and
−1), and one position toward shorter wavelengths (+1). Positions
−2,
−1, 0, and +1 are designated respectively as
FP-POS=1,
2,
3, and
4. The nominal position,
FP-POS=3, is the setting used to define the wavelength range associated with the grating central wavelengths (
Table 5.3 and
Table 5.4). In pipeline processing
calcos creates individual calibrated spectra for each
FP-POS position, then aligns and combines them into a merged spectral product, using only good-quality data at each wavelength.
The optical mechanism on which the grating is mounted is rotated by one step for each adjacent FP-POS position. The amount that a particular spectral feature moves in the dispersion direction on the detector is approximately 250 pixels per step for the FUV channel and 52 pixels for the NUV. The corresponding wavelength shifts for each grating are given in
Chapter 13. There is a preferred direction for moving the grating mechanism. Overheads are reduced if
FP-POS exposures are obtained in increasing order (see
Section 9.5). When moving to a new grating or central-wavelength setting you may select any
FP-POS position without paying an additional overhead penalty. Thus, the most efficient order is
FP-POS=1, 2, 3, 4, as it requires no backward motion of the grating mechanism.
A wavelength calibration exposure will be obtained each time the FP-POS changes. For
FLASH=YES exposures the time-since-last-grating-motion clock is not reset by an
FP-POS movement. However, there will always be at least one lamp flash during each individual
FP-POS exposure. For
FLASH=NO exposures a separate wavelength calibration exposure will be taken for each
FP-POS position change. Using all four FP-POS for each CENWAVE can be achieved by using the FP-POS=ALL parameter in APT for each CENWAVE or by spreading out the four FP-POS positions over multiple orbits within a visit for each CENWAVE or over multiple visits to the same target.
The use of multiple FP-POS positions for each
CENWAVE setting of the COS FUV detector is required unless a strong scientific justification to do otherwise is provided in Phase I. Using multiple
FP-POS positions improves the limiting S/N and minimizes the effects of flat-field artifacts. The use of multiple
FP-POS positions is especially important for the FUV detector as the fixed pattern noise is larger and more poorly characterized than that of the NUV detector. In addition the consistent use of multiple FP-POS positions in the G130M and G140L/1105 settings will spread the bright geocoronal Lyman-
α illumination and significantly delay the appearance of gain sag effects.
Since this simple shift-and-add technique significantly improves the signal-to-noise ratio of the resulting spectrum, and will extend the lifetime of the COS FUV detector, the use of multiple FP-POS for each CENWAVE setting is required for science observations. Proposers using the FUV channel of COS, but who do not intend to use all four FP-POS settings for each CENWAVE setting, must justify their observing strategy in their Phase I proposals. A modest reduction in observational overheads will not normally be considered sufficient justification for not using all four FP-POS settings. Using all four FP-POS for each CENWAVE can be achieved by using the FP-POS=ALL parameter in APT for each CENWAVE or by spreading out the four FP-POS positions over multiple orbits within a visit for each CENWAVE or over multiple visits to the same target.
