Iris

VO Spectral Energy Distribution Analysis Tool

Iris is a spectral energy distribution (SED) analysis tool that allows the astronomer to build, edit, visualize and model SEDs across a broad spectral range.

New beta version: Iris v3.0b1

New beta release: Iris v3.0b1
Iris has undergone a round of plastic surgery, with a full overhaul on the Visualizer, Metadata Browser, and Fitting Tool. The Visualizer now uses the STILTS plotting API as its plotting backend. Iris internals, in particular the new Metadata Browser and the Visualizer, are now heavily based on STIL -- the library both TOPCAT and STILTS use. Our thanks go to Mark Taylor for providing the STILTS plotting API and for all the top quality Java code Iris now relies on.

With the changes, high-resolution spectra can now be plotted. Users can easily pan the viewport of the Visualizer, and view the SED points in the Metadata Browser in the same units as the plot. The Fitting Tool encapsulates the models, parameter values, fitting options, and fit statistics in one window. A dedicated client for the VizieR photometry service in Strabourg has also been added.

Please visit the Iris v3.0b1 Release Page for download directions and a full list of the changes introduced in Iris 3.0b1.

Iris is a Virtual Observatory downloadable application for analysis of 1-D astronomical spectral energy distributions (SEDs). Iris allows the astronomer to build a SED of a source from multiple, separate data segments or photometric points, gathered from various observatories across a wide spectral range, and fit the aggregate SED with emission and/or absorption spectral models; individual data segments may also be separately analyzed. SED data may be uploaded into the application from IVOA-compliant VOTable and FITS format files, or imported directly from the NASA Extragalactic Database and Italian Space Agency Science Data Center (ASDC); data written in non-native formats may be converted using the SED Builder portion of the tool. Iris can save SED data files in one of the aforementioned supported file formats, as well as files for restoring custom fitting sessions.

Iris seamlessly combines key features of several existing astronomical software applications to streamline and enhance the SED analysis process; these are Specview for data visualization, Sherpa for spectral model fitting, and the NASA Extragalactic Database (NED) for data access. We strongly encourage you to provide feedback on your experience with the tool by sending your comments, suggestions, and questions to the CXC HelpDesk.

Citing Iris in a Publication

If you are writing a paper and wish to cite Iris, we recommend the following papers and presentations:

Iris: An Extensible Application for Building and Analyzing Spectral Energy Distributions [PDF]: Laurino, Omar; Budynkiewicz, Jamie; D'Abrusco, Raffaele; Bonaventura, N.; Busko, I.; Cresitello-Dittmar, M.; Doe, S.; Ebert, R.; Evans, J.; Norris, P.; Pevunova, O.; Refsdal, B.; Thomas, B.; Thompson, R., 2014, Astronomy & Computing, DOI: 10.1016/j.ascom.2014.07.004.
Iris: The VAO SED Application [PDF]: Doe, Stephen; Bonaventura, N.; Busko, I.; D'Abrusco, R.; Cresitello-Dittmar, M.; Ebert, R.; Evans, J.; Laurino, O.; McDowell, J.; Pevunova, O.; Refsdal, B., 2012, ADASS XXI, ASP Conference Series, 461, 893.
Constructing and Analyzing Spectral Energy Distributions with the Virtual Observatory [PDF]: Laurino, Omar; Busko, I.; Cresitello-Dittmar, M.; D'Abrusco, R.; Doe, S.; Evans, J.; Pevunova, O.; Norris, P., AAS Meeting #221, #240.38, Jan 2013.
Extending Iris: The VAO SED Analysis Tool [PDF] | [PDF (poster)]: Laurino, O.; Busko, I.; Cresitello-Dittmar, M.; D'Abrusco, R.; Doe, S; Evans, J. D.; Pevunova, O., 2013, ADASS XXII, ASP, 475, 295.