XMM-Newton EPIC Response and Background File Page
The SOC page
Downloads
The most recent Canned Response Matrices can be downloaded from the SOC or the GOF.
Please refer to the latest updates and carefully read the notes below before retrieving
and using the files.
Canned response matrices
General Information
The PN canned response matrices are available for spectra selected from single-pixel events only, doubles only and single+doubles combined. Users should be warned to compare spectral fitting results with and without the double events, as the effects of pile-up can make the results a little variable.These files have filenames of the form
where
| camera | epn |
| epoch | e1 for 2000-02-01 to 2007-01-01; e2 for 2007-01-01 to 2014-01-01; e3 for 2014-01-01 to 2021-01-01; e4 for 2021-01-01 to present |
| mode | ff for full frame, ef for extended full frame, sw for small window, lw for large window, ti for timing, bu for burst |
| adu | indicates the standard mode-dependent event threshold |
| pattern | s for singles, d for doubles, sd for both |
| rows | CCD physical row interval, provided at intervals of 20 rows; so Y0 = CCD lines 1-20, Y1 = CCD lines 21-40, ... Y9 = CCD lines 181-200 |
| version | version number (aligned with SAS version) |
For example, the response file epn_e4_ff20_sdY9_v21.0.rmf corresponds to the PN, from 2021-01-01 to present, full frame mode, single and double patterns, CCD lines 181-200, and SAS version 21.0.
Although since SAS 6.5 no ready-made MOS response files are provided
(see "Update
2005-12-15"), for the purposes of the feasibility study of XMM-Newton
proposals, a limited set of MOS response files have been
made available.
Additionally, since SAS 13.5, two sets of files are produced for spectra
having energy resolution 5 eV and 15 eV (see
"Update
2014-01-31".
The filenames have the form
where
| camera | m1 for MOS1 or m2 for MOS2 |
| epoch | e1 - e19 |
| mode | im for imaging, tu for timing |
| pattern | p0 for pattern 0 only, or pall for patterns 0-12 |
| position | c for center of patch, w for wings of patch, o for off patch |
The epochs cover the years
e1 = 2000-02-01 to 2001-01-01
e2 = 2001-01-01 to 2001-10-01
e3 = 2001-10-01 to 2002-01-01
e4 = 2002-01-01 to 2002-10-01
e5 = 2002-10-01 to 2003-01-01
e6 = 2003-01-01 to 2004-10-01
e7 = 2004-10-01 to 2005-10-01
e8 = 2005-10-01 to 2006-10-01
e9 = 2006-10-01 to 2007-10-01
e10 = 2007-10-01 to 2008-10-01
e11 = 2008-10-01 to 2009-10-01
e12 = 2009-10-01 to 2010-10-01
e13 = 2010-10-01 to 2011-10-01
e14 = 2011-10-01 to 2013-04-27
e15: 2013-04-27 to 2014-12-16
e16: 2014-12-16 to 2016-08-05
e17: 2016-08-05 to 2018-03-26
e18: 2018-03-26 to 2019-11-14
e19: 2019-11-14 to present
For information about patch positions, see "EPIC Status of Calibration and Data Analysis Document".
Pipeline Produced Matrices
The source spectra produced by the pipeline refer to a set of canned matrices (please refer to "Update 2006-02-16"). These matrices are the latest available at the time of the pipeline processing, and may be used for performing spectral analysis with the following caveat:- MOS spectra of sources which are within 1 arcminute of the boresight of the MOS cameras (normally the target of the observation) experience a redistribution which is highly dependent upon the exact position of the source and the size of the extraction region. An accurate analysis of such sources should use a redistribution matrix produced by the task rmfgen. Using a canned matrix in this case may introduce large errors below 1 keV (please refer to "Update 2005-12-15").
If you have any questions concerning XMM-Newton send email to xmmhelp@athena.gsfc.nasa.gov
