XMM-Newton Calibration Documentation
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Summaries of recent status of the calibrations are available;
- EPIC Calibration Status (Version 3.7 - Sep 2015)
- RGS Calibration Status (Jul 2015)
- OM Calibration Status (Jan 2011)
- Cross-Calibration Status (Dec 2010)
General
| Document Reference | Title | Date | Comments |
| XMM-SOC-CAL-PL-0101 | Routine Calibration Plan 2015-2016 implementation plan | Jul 2015 | |
| XMM-SOC-CAL-PL-0001 | Routine Calibration Plan | Jul 2015 | |
| CAL-URD-0001.pdf | XMM-Newton Calibration Requirements | Jun 2015 | |
| arXiv.1305.4480 | Summary of the 2013 IACHEC meeting | May 2013 | Summary of the inter-calibration status |
| XMM-PS-GM-20 | Calibration Access and Data Handbook | May 2011 | Detailed description of calibration data files & algorithms for processing ODF's with SAS 11.0. Online Handbook available |
| XMM-SOC-CAL-TN-0052 | Status of XMM-Newton instruments cross-calibration with SASv7.1 | Dec 2010 | |
| XMM-SOC-CAL-TN-0062 | Health and cleanliness of the XMM-Newton science payload since launch | Aug 2005 | SPIE 5898-29 |
| XMM-SOC-CAL-TN-0061 | Crab: the standard X-ray candle with all (modern) X-ray satellites | Aug 2005 | SPIE 5898-3 |
| XMM-SOC-CAL-TN-0055 | XMM-Newton (cross) calibration SPIE paper 2004 | Jun 2004 | |
| XMM-SOC-CAL-TN-0045 | Timing accuracy and capabilities of XMM-Newton | Feb 2004 | Paper on timing capabilities of the diverse XMM-Newton instruments |
| XMM-CAL-TN-25 | Procedures for updating CCF components | Aug 2002 | CCF release procedure and interaction with SAS CCB |
| XMM-SOC-CAL-MIN-0002 | Minutes of first Radiation Workshop (29-11-2000 to 1-12-2000) | Dec 2000 | |
| XMM-SOC-CAL-TN-0014 | Evaluation of Tests of SIAM version 7 during Revolution 185 | Dec 2000 |
X-Ray Telescopes Specific
| Document Reference | Title | Date | Comments |
| XMM-SOC-CAL-TN-0054 | In-orbit Vignetting Calibrations of XMM-Newton Telescopes | Mar 2004 | |
| XMM-SOC-CAL-TN-0029 | In flight calibration of the PSF for the PN camera | Jun 2002 | |
| XMM-SOC-CAL-TN-0022 | In flight calibration of the PSF for the MOS1 and MOS2 cameras | Oct 2001 | |
| XMM-SOC-CAL-TN-0011 (CEA/SACLAY SAp) |
In-flight vignetting calibration of the MOS cameras | Aug 2000 | In-orbit verification of the telescope + grating vignetting function. |
| XMM-SOC-CAL-TN-0009 (SPIE 2000b) |
In-orbit calibration of the XMM-Newton Telescopes | Jul 2000 | In-orbit calibration status of the X-ray Telescopes. |
| XMM-SOC-CAL-TN-0005 SPIE 2000a) |
Imaging performance of the XMM-Newton X-ray Telescopes | Feb 2000 | In-orbit assessment of the X-ray Telescopes PSFs |
| XMM-SOC-CAL-TN-0003 (SPIE 1998b) |
Calibration of the XMM Flight Mirror Modules - Effective area | Jul 1998 | Effective area ground calibration of the first X-ray Telescope. |
| XMM-SOC-CAL-TN-0002 (SPIE 1998a) |
Calibration of the XMM Flight Mirror Modules - Image Quality | Jul 1998 | PSF ground calibration of the first X-ray Telescope. |
European Photon Imaging Camera (EPIC) Specific
| Document Reference | Title | Date | Comments |
| XMM-SOC-CAL-TN-0018 | EPIC status of calibration and data analysis | Sep 2015 | Summary of EPIC calibration status |
| Astronomy & Astrophysics, 2015, 581, A104 | When is pile-up important in the XMM-Newton EPIC cameras? | Sep 2015 | Characterisation of the effects of pile-up in terms of flux loss and spectral distortion |
| XMM-SOC-CAL-TN-0083 | Spectral calibration accuracy in EPIC-pn fast modes | Nov 2014 | Aligned to SAS v14.0 |
| Astronomy & Astrophysics, 2014, 571, A76 | XMM-Newton observations reveal the disappearance of the wind in 4U 1630-47 | Nov 2014 | Appendix A: Estimate of the systematic uncertainties on the calibration of the EPIC-pn effective area |
| MNRAS, 2014, 445, 3745 | Testing rate-dependent corrections on timing mode EPIC-pn spectra of the accreting neutron star GX 13+1 | Oct 2014 | Validation of the EPIC-pn Timing Mode RDPHA calibration |
| Astronomy and Astrophysics, 564, 75 | Cross-calibration of the XMM-Newton EPIC pn and MOS on-axis effective areas using 2XMM sources | Apr 2014 | Aligned to SASv12 |
| XMM-SOC-CAL-TN-0200 | Pile-up thresholds for the EPIC cameras | Dec 2013 | Aligned to SAS v13.5 |
| XMM-SOC-CAL-TN-0193 | Status of the EPIC thin and medium filters on-board XMM-Newton after more than 10 years of operation: II - analysis of in-flight data | Aug 2013 | |
| XMM-SOC-USR-TN-0020 | EPIC "calibration+science" exposures: how to deal with them? | Jul 2013 | |
| XMM-SOC-CAL-TN-0050 | PN X-ray Loading | May 2013 | Systematic analysis of X-ray loading in EPIC-PN |
| XMM-SOC-CAL-TN-0184 | Testing epspatialcti on clusters of galaxies | Jan 2013 | |
| XMM-SOC-CAL-TN-0096 | The stability of the EPIC-pn camera | Nov 2012 | Based on a regular monitoring of RXJ1856-3754 |
| XMM-SOC-CAL-TN-0084 | Evaluation of pile-up thresholds in the EPIC-MOS cameras | Aug 2012 | Based on the fraction of diagonal events |
| Astronomy & Astrophysics, 2011, 534, 34 | A New Comprehensive 2-D Model of the Point Spread Functions of the XMM-Newton EPIC Telescopes | Oct 2011 | Description of the PSF ELLBETA model |
| XMM-SOC-CAL-TN-0082 | Accuracy of energy reconstruction in EPIC-MOS Timing Mode | Apr 2009 | Aligned to SAS v8.0 |
| Astronomy & Astrophysics, 2009, 496, 879 | Statistical evaluation of the flux cross-calibration of the XMM-Newton EPIC cameras | Mar 2009 | Based on 2XMM catalogue sources |
| XMM-SOC-CAL-TN-0051 | PN Optical Loading | Jul 2008 | Systematic analysis of optical loading in EPIC-PN |
| XMM-SOC-CAL-TN-0073 | Bright source X-ray spectroscopy with XMM-Newton: A modified EPIC-pn Timing mode | Jun 2007 | Performaces and calibration of the Modified Timing Mode |
| XMM-SOC-CAL-TN-0069 | The XMM-Newton view of the Crab | Jul 2006 | Guidance for data reduction in EPIC pn-Burst mode |
| XMM-SOC-CAL-TN-0068 | The EPIC pn-CCD detector aboard XMM-Newton: Status of the background calibration | May 2006 | Freyberg et al., SPIE 5165-13 |
| XMM-SOC-CAL-TN-0067 | The XMM-Newton EPIC pn Camera: Spectral and temporal properties of the internal background | May 2006 | Freyberg et al., "New visions of the X-ray Universe" Symposium |
| XMM-SOC-CAL-TN-0066 | The XMM-Newton EPIC pn Camera: Spatial distribution of the internal background fluorescence lines | May 2006 | Freyberg et al., "New visions of the X-ray Universe" Symposium |
| XMM-SOC-CAL-TN-0064 | Effect of soft flares on XMM-Newton EPIC-pn timing mode data | Mar 2006 | Calibration of a method implemented in the SAS task epreject |
| XMM-SOC-CAL-TN-0081 | Comparison of EPIC-pn ground-based and in-orbit calibration measurements | Jun 2005 | Freyberg et al., 2005, MPE Report 288, 159 |
| XMM-SOC-CAL-TN-0070 | Improving XMM-Newton EPIC-pn at low energies: method & application to the Vela SNR | Jul 2004 | Calibration of a method implemented in the SAS task epreject |
| XMM-SOC-CAL-TN-0043 | MOS optical loading | Nov 2003 | Systematic analysis of optical loading in EPIC-MOS |
| XMM-SOC-CAL-TN-0036 | Assessing the EPIC spectral calibration in the hard band with a 3C 273 observation | Mar 2003 | Out-of-date. However, it includes a method for pile-up correction |
| XMM-SOC-CAL-TN-0022 | In flight calibration of the PSF for the MOS1 and MOS2 cameras | Oct 2001 | MEDIUM PSF calibration |
| Astronomy & Astrophysics, 2001, 365, L27 | The European Photon Imaging Camera on XMM-Newton: The MOS cameras | Jan 2001 | User-level description of the EPIC-MOS camera |
| Astronomy & Astrophysics, 2001, 365, L18 | The European Photon Imaging Camera on XMM-Newton: The pn-CCD camera | Jan 2001 | User-level description of the EPIC-pn camera |
| XMM-SOC-CAL-TN-0001 | PHS Tools EPIC Optical Loading | Nov 2000 | Calculation of effects of optical stray light on the EPIC energy scale calibration |
| XMM-PS-TN-38 | Transmission of the RGA - A Simulation with SciSim | Oct 2000 | Transmission through the RGA to EPIC as a function of energy |
| XMM-SOC-CAL-TN-0012 (EPIC SPIE2000) |
In-orbit calibration activities of XMM-Newton EPIC Cameras | Aug 2000 | Original in-orbit calibration requirements |
| XMM-SOC-CAL-TN-0007 (EPIC MOS Orsay v1.2) |
EPIC MOS Ground Calibration Description | Mar 2000 | EPIC MOS Ground Calibration Campaign |
| XMM-SOC-CAL-TN-0008 (EPIC PN Orsay v1.1) |
EPIC PNFM1 Ground Calibration at Orsay | Mar 2000 | EPIC PN Ground Calibration Campaign |
| XMM-SOC-CAL-TN-0006 (EPIC LUX RE 170) |
EPIC MOS CCD RMF Description | Feb 2000 | EPIC-MOS RMF Functional Form |
| XMM-SOC-CAL-TN-0004 (EPIC LUX RE 166) |
EPIC MOS CCD Gain Relation | Nov 1999 | EPIC-MOS gain correction algorithm |
Presentations held at the EPIC Calibration Meetings can be found here.
Reflection Grating Spectrometer (RGS) Specific
| Document Reference | Title | Date | Comments |
| XMM-SOC-CAL-TN-0030 | Status of the RGS calibration | Jul 2015 | General user document on calibration status |
| XMM-SOC-CAL-TN-0206 | RGS Diagnostic Trend Analysis Report 2014 | May 2015 | Evolution of system peak and hot pixels |
| A&A, 2015, 573, p.128 | Calibration and in-orbit performance of the Reflection Grating Spectrometer onboard XMM-Newton | Jan 2015 | |
| XMM-SOC-CAL-TN-0192 | Wavelength control of bad surface features in the RGS | Aug 2013 | Avoiding instrumental features at specific wavelengths |
| XMM-SOC-CAL-TN-0098 | The accuracy of the RGS Wavelength Scale | Apr 2012 | |
| XMM-SOC-CAL-TN-0089 | An investigation into RGS-pn rectification | May 2010 | Assessment of the differences between RGS and EPIC-pn spectral models |
| XMM-SOC-CAL-TN-0086 | RGS small window mode | Jun 2010 | Pile-up mitigation in RGS Small Window mode |
| XMM-SOC-CAL-TN-0159 | Stability of the RGS effective area | Jan 2010 | Contamination model |
| A&A, 2009, 497, p.291 | Effective area calibration of the Reflection Grating Spectrometers of XMM-Newton. I. X-ray spectroscopy of the Crab nebula | Apr 2009 | |
| XMM-SOC-CAL-TN-0079 | The RGS Wavelength scale | Jul 2008 | A survey of lines in coronal sources for the RGS wavelength scale; |
| XMM-SOC-CAL-TN-0075 | Pile-up in RGS spectra | Sep 2007 | How to identify pile-up in RGS spectra |
| XMM-SOC-CAL-TN-0058 | Templates for the RGS Background | Nov 2004 | Synthesising RGS model backgrounds from blank fields especially for extended sources |
| XMM-SOC-CAL-TN-0046 | System Offsets using diagnostics images | Aug 2003 | Pixel-by-pixel offsets |
| XMM-SOC-CAL-TN-0150 | Dithering RGS observations | Aug 2003 | RGS Multi-pointing mode | A&A, 2003, 404, p.959 | The interstellar oxygen-K absorption edge as observed by XMM-Newton. Separation of instrumental and interstellar components | Jun 2003 |
| XMM-SOC-CAL-TN-0149 | Monitoring RGS contamination | May 2003 | |
| A&A, 2001,365, p.7 | The Reflection Grating Spectrometer on board XMM-Newton | Jan 2001 | User-level description of the RGS |
Optical Monitor (OM) Specific
| Document Reference | Title | Date | Comments |
| XMM-SOC-CAL-TN-0019 | Calibration of the XMM-Newton Optical/UV Monitor Telescope (OM) | Jan 2011 | Status of calibrations |
| XMM-SOC-CAL-TN-0033 | Calibration Observations using OM | Apr 2005 | List of observations |
| XMM-SOC-CAL-TN-0015 | Photometric Accuracy of the Optical Monitor | Jan 2001 | |
| XMM-SOC-CAL-TN-0013 (OM A&A) |
OM Instrument Paper | Nov 2000 | OM instrument paper with inflight performance and status of calibration |