Most of the hands-on will be focused on data analysis and simulations, therefore we expect you to have the necessary software up and running on your laptop. IXPE data can be mainly reduced, analyzed and shown via the public softwares HEASOFT and IXPEOBSSIM. The following indicates what is needed to accomplish the three hands-on sessions with proficiency at the FIXP school at GSSI. Should problems with installation occur please ask Lorenzo, Riccardo and Romy (see below the email), your hands-on teachers.
HEASOFT
The complete HEASOFT package v6.34 can be downloaded from the following link (source code):
https://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/lheasoft/download.html
and its installation instructions for Linux/macOS can be found at:
https://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/lheasoft/linux.html
https://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/lheasoft/macos.html
Additionally, you will need the calibration database CALDB for IXPE. The database can be downloaded from the following link:
https://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/heasarc/caldb/caldb_supported_missions.html
(3 packages in total) and installed following the instructions here:
https://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/heasarc/caldb/install.html
Ideally, one should also have the NuSTAR calibration database installed.
Furthermore, you should have an up and running Python environment, which you can retrieve via Conda:
https://conda.io/projects/conda/en/latest/user-guide/install/index.html
If you have a Microsoft Windows OS, we suggest installing a Linux virtual machine.
IXPEOBSIM
You can find IXPEOBSSIM v31.0.3, together with the latest manual, at the following links:
https://github.com/lucabaldini/ixpeobssim
https://ixpeobssim.readthedocs.io/_/downloads/en/latest/pdf/
More easily, you should be able to install it by running the shell command:
pip install ixpeobssim
EXTENDED SOURCES
For the analysis of extended sources, it is helpful to install also the Chandra toolkit CIAO from:
https://cxc.cfa.harvard.edu/ciao/download/
or at least the SAOImageDS9 image display and visualization tool for astronomical data
https://sites.google.com/cfa.harvard.edu/saoimageds9
TIMING POLARIMETRY
For timing analysis, it would also be helpful to use the Python library Stingray, which can be installed by following the instructions here:
https://docs.stingray.science/en/stable/#installation-instructions
Additionally, the HENDRICS package is recommended and can be installed by following the instructions here:
https://hendrics.stingray.science/en/latest/install.html.
Please note that HENDRICS requires a recent Python version (>3.9).
Another useful tool for Pulsar timing analysis is PINT, which you can install following the instructions provided here: https://nanograv-pint.readthedocs.io/en/latest/installation.html.
Do not install with `pip install pint` or `conda install pint`because of a naming conflict! Use `pip install pint-pulsar` or `conda install -c conda-forge pint-pulsar` instead.
Most of the examples and exercises will be distributed in form of jupyter notebooks.
