Monash X-ray burst wiki | MINBAR / Burst Lightcurve Fits

This page describes the procedures for fitting the burst light curves.

The fits have been performed by Jean using a FORTRAN code originally used for the WFC bursts (only). For MINBAR, this fitting has been performed on the light curves for all the bursts (including events detected only by RXTE and JEM-X)

The table listing the light curve fit parameters is minbar_table_jean_vs16jun14.txt (in the minbar/build directory); the corresponding plots are in the directory minbar_lightcurveplots_jean_vs16jun14. The readme.txt file (describing the columns) is ~~missing~~ minbar_readme_jean_vs17jan14.txt, and the columns are as follows:

source name
instrument (1=WFC, 2=PCA, 3=JEMX)
burst onset time in MJD-UT
Time between onset time and start of exponential fit (s)
e-folding decay time and...
1sigma error (s)
peak flux and ...
1sigma error (c/s/cm2)
fluence and ...
1sigma error (c/cm2)
difference of new and previous burst onset time (s)
arbitrary index number
chi2-red of exponential fit
input file name

Preliminary work on the cross-calibration matching via cross_calibrate.pro incomplete

Todo:

copy the light curve fit parameters in the table to the minbar database
copy the light curve fit plots to the appropriate burst directory

Previous version of the table (modified slightly for use with TOPCAT) was minbar_table_jean_vs17jan14_topcat.txt; corresponding plots are in the directory minbar_lightcurveplots_jean_vs17jan14. I'd reported some issues to Jean:

There are 13 entries in the table with the source name "4U 1850-086" and instr=1, but the file name "NGC1851_…" These don't appear in my sample (but do under the name 4U 0513-40). I'm assuming the name was just listed incorrectly here, and the correct source is 4U 0513-40, right? (did SAX detect any bursts from 4U 1850-086?)

There are a couple of bursts from SAX that just don't seem to be in MINBAR;

1A 1742-294 SW 52173.05724 (nearest burst from this source is 5 days later, from PCA)
4U 1636-536 SW 50524.27683 (nearest burst from this source is 22 days earlier, from PCA)

The first entry here also seems to be duplicated, with another burst from 4U 1728-34 having the same parameters.

I am having some other issues matching the bursts in my list, to yours. Can you remind me where you got your list of events to run the analysis of?

and he responded,

...those NGC1851 files are simply misnamed (even I get confused between NGC1851 and 4U1850-083). These should be 0513.

The two bursts you don't see and perhaps other mismatches: I found the error. I used a WFC burst list that was version too old. I will have to go through it again to sift out the wrong ones and give you everything again... The list of WFC bursts you have is the correct one.

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