User Documents

The CALDB as Installed at the HEASARC

• CAL/GEN/91-001: "The HEASARC Calibration Database (brief overview)" (Nov 22 2005 Version; html, pdf)
• CAL/GEN/93-006: "The Organization of the HEASARC CALDB" (Nov 28 2005 Version; html, pdf)

CALDB Installation, Maintenance and Use

• CAL/GEN/94-004: "How to Install a Calibration Database" (2009 Aug 04 version; html, pdf)
• CAL/GEN/92-015: "How to Manage a Calibration Database" (November 16, 2005 version; html, pdf)
  Entirely rewritten in Nov 2005; Breedon's original version is still available.

User Guides

• CAL/GEN/94-002: "The Calibration Database User's Guide" (html, pdf)
• OGIP/95-008: "MATHPHA User's Guide" (html, pdf)
• CAL/SW/93-010: "The GRPPHA User's Guide" (html, pdf)
• CAL/SW/93-011: "CALCRPSF User's Guide" (html, pdf)

Mission-Specific Calibration Documentation

• Ariel-V
• ASCA - The Advanced Satellite for Cosmology and Astrophysics
• The Chandra X-ray Observatory:
  • SPIE publications, proceedings of Chandra Calibration Workshops
  • FITS Embedded Function Specification (postscript)
• CGRO - The Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory
• COS-B - Celestial Observation Satellite B
• The Einstein Observatory (HEAO-2)
• EXOSAT - European X-ray Observatory Satellite
• Fermi
• NuSTAR
• ROSAT - The Roentgensatellit
• RXTE - The Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer
• SAS-2 - Small Astronomy Satellite 2
• SAX - Satellite per Astronomia a raggi X
• Suzaku
• Swift

CALDB-Related Legacy articles

• Recent Updates to GRPPHA Yusaf and George (Legacy 6, Sep 1995)
• Calibrating BBXRT Weaver (Legacy 5, Nov 1994)
• The ROSAT PSPC: The Off-Axis Point Spread Function Hasinger, Boese, Predehl, Turner, Yusaf, George, Rohrbach (Legacy 4, Feb 1994)
• The ROSAT PSPC: The On-Axis Point Spread Function: In-Flight comparison with the PANTER results Addendum: High Signal-to-Noise In-Flight Data Hasinger, Turner, George, Boese (Legacy 3, 1993 May)
• A Recalibration of the EXOSAT Diffraction Gratings Paerels, Wolkovitch & Kahn (Legacy 2, Nov 1992)
• The Calibration Requirements for Spectral Analysis George, Arnaud, Pence & Ruamsuwan (Legacy 2, Nov 1992)
• The ROSAT PSPC: The On-Axis Point Spread Function: In-Flight comparison with the PANTER results Hasinger, Turner, George, Boese (Legacy 2, Nov 1992)
• Calibration Sources for Spectral Analysis Seward (Legacy 2, Nov 1992)
• The HEASARC Calibration Database George (Legacy 1, May 1992)

Developer's Documentation

FITS Calibration File Formats/Conventions

• CAL/SW/2006-001: "Length Limits In Calibration Database Software and Files" (html; pdf)
• CAL/GEN/92-011: "Required and Recommended FITS keywords for Calibration Files" (html, pdf)
  A list of required keywords is also available.
• OGIP/93-001: "Specification of Physical Units within OGIP FITS files" (html, ps)
• OGIP/93-013: "Standard Strings for Mission, Instrument, Filter, Detector & Grating Names for OGIP FITS files" (html, ps)
  Feb 17, 2006: A draft update of this memo is now available (pdf, html; Excel Workbook)
• OGIP/94-001: "Standard strings for Detector Operating and Observing Modes" (html, ps)
• CAL/GEN/92-003: "Basic Calibration File (BCF) & Calibration Product File (CPF) Guidelines" (html, pdf)
• CAL/GEN/92-008: "Calibration Index Files" (html, pdf)

High Energy Spectrometry & Timing File Formats

• CAL/GEN/92-002: "The Calibration Requirements for Spectral Analysis." (html, pdf)
  (A description of the RMF & ARF OGIP file formats; published in Legacy, 2, 51.)
• CAL/GEN/92-002a: "The Calibration Requirements for Spectral Analysis (Addendum)" (html, pdf)
• OGIP/92-007: "The OGIP Spectral File Format" (html, pdf)
  • The OGIP Spectral File Format Addendum: Changes log (OGIP/92-007a) (html, pdf)
• OGIP/92-009: "The XSPEC Table Model File Format" (html, pdf)
• OGIP/96-001: "The Format for WMAPs in Spectral Files" (html, pdf)
• OGIP/93-003: "The Proposed Timing FITS File Format for High Energy Astrophysics Data" (html, pdf)

General Instrumental Calibration Files

• CAL/GEN/92-019: "The HEASARC format for Effective Areas" (html, pdf)
• CAL/GEN/92-020: "The HEASARC format for Radial PSF datasets" (html, pdf)
• CAL/GEN/92-021: "The HEASARC format for Vignetting Functions" (html, pdf)
• CAL/GEN/92-022: "The HEASARC format for Obscuration Factor datasets" (html, pdf)
• CAL/GEN/92-024: "The HEASARC format for Filter & Window Transmissions" (html, pdf)
• CAL/GEN/92-027: "The HEASARC format for 2D (image) PSF datasets" (html, pdf)

CALDB Software Documentation

• CAL/SW/95-002: "HEASARC CALDB Access Subroutines" (html, pdf) Updated 2006-08-21
• CAL/SW/93-005: "Summary of CALLIB Routines" (html, pdf)
• CAL/SW/93-004: "Summary of CALTOOLS Tasks" (html, pdf)
• OGIP/92-012: "The OGIP FORTRAN Programming Standard" (html, pdf)
• CAL/SW/93-018: "How to Install Callib & Caltools software" (html, pdf)

Data Delivery

• CAL/GEN/2003-001: "Automated Delivery of Calibration Data to the CALDB". (alternate versions: pdf, tex)

In Progress

• CAL/GEN/2004-001: "Specifying the Location of Defects in Charge Coupled Devices: The BADPIX File Format" (pdf)

Also see the HEASARC FITS File Format Recommendations