1) Introduction

The ISOPHOT Interactive Analysis (PIA) is a scientific and calibration data analysis tool for ISOPHOT data reduction. Based on the language IDL under Xwindows, PIA offers a full context sensitive graphical interface for retrieving, accessing and analysing ISOPHOT data. Therefore no knowledge of IDL is required at all.  However, IDL experts can make an advanced use of all PIA data structures and routines extending PIA's functionality and tailoring the data reduction optimally to their own needs.

The PIA software was designed both as a tool for the use of the instrument team for calibration of the PHT instrument during and after the ISO mission and as an interactive tool for ISOPHOT data analysis for general observers. Therefore there are two versions of PIA, which are almost identical. In the 'general observers version' only the calibration sequences are not contained.

The ISOPHOT Interactive Analysis (PIA) Homepage, can be used for obtaining the package, its documentation, as well as for communicating with the PIA Development Team. Publications on PIA are also accessible via the homepage, describing the package (used for referencing), describing its development, etc.

The use of PIA requires neither a deep knowledge of ISOPHOT observation modes, nor of detector properties. However, it is an advantage for the user to be familiar with:

For details on the first three points the user is referred to the ISOPHOT Observer's Manual and  to the ISO Data User Manual (IDUM), on the last point to the ISO Data Product Document (IDPD).

The PIA User's Manual contains the following chapter types:

    Learning Chapters

    for a quick introduction to PIA: the Basic Description (2.1) and the Guided Tour (2.2).

    Reference Chapters

    for each of the PIA graphical interfaces. They are grouped into:
    Top Menu (3.1)
    Selecting the Data (3.2)
    Processing the Data (3.3)
    Astrophysical Applications (3.5)
    Plot and Print Facilities (3.4)

    Specific chapters on:

      Automatic modes - AOT/Batch Processing (Chapter  4.)

      describing the automatic procedures for reducing data without interactive intervention.

      Processing Algorithms (Chapter 5.)

      explaining how all the data reduction steps and data corrections are implemented in PIA.

      Advanced PIA use (Chapter 6.)

      showing how to access the internal PIA buffers in order to allow the user to work with his/her own routines.

    Appendix Chapters

    for miscellaneous information on data structures, installation and trouble shooting .
PIA has been jointly developed by the ESA Astrophysics Division, responsible for planning, development and implementation, and the ISOPHOT consortium (the ISOPHOT consortium is headed by the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, Heidelberg, Germany). Contributing ISOPHOT consortium institutes are DIAS (Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, Ireland), MPIK (Max-Planck-Institut fuer Kernphysik, Heidelberg, Germany), RAL (Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Chilton, UK), AIP (Astronomisches Institut Potsdam) and MPIA.
 

Acknowledgements:

It is a pleasure to thank Detlef Skaley (MPIfR) for his collaboration in writing the original chapter on PIA mapping software and Deborah Levine (IPAC), Alison Rushworth (MPIA) and Kirsten Kunkel (MPIA) for intensive proof-reading of the manual.


 
Chapter history:
Date  Author  Description 
04/07/1995  Ingolf Heinrichsen (MPIK)  First Version 
13/05/1996  Martin Haas (MPIA) / Carlos Gabriel (ESA)  General Update
19/07/1996 Carlos Gabriel (ESA-SAI) Update
12/02/1998 Carlos Gabriel (ESA-SAI) Update (V7.0)
15/08/1999 Carlos Gabriel (ESA-SAI) Update (V8.0)