GSFC XMM-Newton GOF Status Report #038: Updated Proposal Tools

[Michael Arida <arida@milkyway.gsfc.nasa.gov>]

This is a reminder from the U.S. XMM-Newton GOF that the proposal
deadline for AO-2 is less than one month away, on October 11, 2001.

We have also updated some proposal tools (QuickSim, PIMMS) for the AO,
details of which follow below.

Regards,
  Michael Arida for the U.S. XMM-Newton GOF


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QuickSim
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QuickSim V2.0 has now been released. QuickSim, a PIMMS for
XMM-Newton image modeling, has been updated to include post-launch
calibrations of the effective areas and pulse-height response for
the MOS and PN instruments. In addition, the canned internal 
background files provided by the SOC have been adapted for use
in QuickSim to provide a more accurate background model, although
the spatial variation reported in the revised Users Handbook has
not been incorporated. Versions of the code, which must be 
locally installed and compiled, are available for both solaris
and linux machines.


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PIMMS/WebPIMMS
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PIMMS and WebPIMMS have now been updated for the XMM-Newton AO-2
release. The new version includes the latest instrument choices,
calibration data and effective area curves. However the present
release does NOT include the latest EPIC-PN pile-up calculations,
which has not been finalized as of this time.

WebPIMMS can be used at:
http://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/Tools/w3pimms.html