Which detectors can I use to analyze this flare?

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Three examples are given below to illustrate how to interpret the plots in the three possible attenuator states - A0 when no attenuators are in place above the detectors, A1 when the thin attenuators are above the detectors, and A3 when both the thick and thin attenuators are above the detectors. (Note that the A2 state with just the thick attenuators above the detectors is not used.)
Three examples are given below to illustrate how to interpret the plots in the three possible attenuator states - A0 when no attenuators are in place above the detectors, A1 when the thin attenuators are above the detectors, and A3 when both the thick and thin attenuators are above the detectors. (Note that the A2 state with just the thick attenuators above the detectors is not used.)
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You can easily remake these plots yourself in IDL, either for the same or different times, using the following procedure: detector_plots.pro. This is useful to determine if the detector response matrices may have been changed since these quicklook plots were created (shown in the lower right corner).  Changes to the response matrices and energy calibrations have been infrequent in the past but continue to happen as we learn more about variations in detector response with time.
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You can easily remake these plots yourself in IDL, either for the same or different times, using the following procedure: detector_plots.pro. This is useful to determine if the detector response matrices may have been changed since these quicklook plots were created (shown in the lower right corner).  Changes to the response matrices and energy calibrations have been infrequent in the past but continue to be necessary as we learn more about variations in detector response with time.
[[Image:Hsi_sepdet_spectrum_20140502_005436to005536.png|300px|thumb|left|text-top|'''Figure 2''': Total count and photon flux spectra for individual detector front segments during a flare on 02 May 2014 at 00:54:36 UT.]]
[[Image:Hsi_sepdet_spectrum_20140502_005436to005536.png|300px|thumb|left|text-top|'''Figure 2''': Total count and photon flux spectra for individual detector front segments during a flare on 02 May 2014 at 00:54:36 UT.]]

Revision as of 15:21, 9 September 2014


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Number: 23?
1st Author: Brian Dennis
2nd Author: Kim Tolbert
Published: September, 2014
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Contents

Introduction

Figure 1: Total count and photon flux spectra for individual detector front segments during the M-class flare on 03 September 2014 at 13:40 UT.

This is the most common question we are asked by people trying to analyze RHESSI data for spectroscopy and/or imaging. The answer is not always straightforward and it is becoming more difficult as the individual detectors respond differently to radiation damage and to the four anneals completed so far (Nov. 2007, Mar. 2010, Jan. 2012, and 26 June to 13 August 2014). The issue is now particularly important because some of the detectors did not separate electronically into a front and rear segment after the two most recent anneals. Following the Jan. 2012, anneal, detectors 2 and 4 failed to segment, although detector 4 did segment about a year later. Following the most recent anneal completed in August, 2014, detectors 2, 4, 5, 7, and 8 have not segmented. The unsegmented detectors still operate as single large-volume detectors and have similar sensitivity to that of segmented detectors. However, their background rates are higher and their energy resolutions are worse but they are still perfectly adequate for spectroscopy and imaging above ~20 keV.

We have generated quicklook front-segment spectral plots for times throughout the mission that can help answer the question - Which detectors can I use to analyze this flare?. The plots show the count-flux spectrum and the corresponding 'semi-calibrated' photon spectrum for the nine detector front segments for a one minute interval centered on the peak time of every contiguous event in the RHESSI flare catalog. An example is shown in Figure 1 for the recent M-class flare on 03 September. These plots can help you decide which detectors are OK to use for the analysis of data for a specific flare for various applications such as light curves, spectroscopy, and imaging. They are available in Browser via the 'Detector Spectra' check-box under the 'Flare Quicklook' option (click the magnifying glass to expand). Use the flare-seeking button on Browser to step through the data by flare.

Description of Plots

As the example in Figure 1 shows, each plot for a given flare is divided into two sections - an upper panel with the count-flux spectrum between 1 and 100 keV for each of the nine detector front segments, and a lower panel with the corresponding 'semi-calibrated' photon flux spectra.

The count flux spectra are in units of counts cm-2 s-1 keV-1 corrected for decimation and live time but with no background subtracted. The energy bin widths are 0.3 keV below 10 keV and increase logarithmically to 3 keV at 100 keV to give a total of 138 bins.

The 'semi-calibrated' photon flux spectra are in units of photons cm-2 s-1 keV-1. They are computed by multiplying the corresponding count flux spectrum by the diagonal elements of the detector response matrix for the attenuator state at that time [2]. Since no background was subtracted, this is equivalent to assuming that all the counts were from solar photons and that the off-diagonal elements are negligible. Photon spectra determined in this way approximate the actual solar spectrum only in the energy range where the solar counts are significantly above background and the off-diagonal elements are small (This is typically between ~10 and 100 keV for large flares). These photon plots serve primarily to show the relative sensitivity of the front segments and how well the detector response matrices correct for the known sensitivities of the different detectors. More accurate spectral analysis with background subtraction and using all elements of the detector response matrix for each detector requires the use of OSPEX OSPEX. OSPEX also allows for the inclusion of albedo, and corrections for such instrumental effects as pulse pile-up and changes in the energy resolution and energy calibration for individual detectors.

Interpreting these plots depends on the attenuator state at the time the spectrum was obtained. (Attenuators are aluminum disks that can be automatically brought into the field of view of the detectors to reduce the effects of pulse pile-up during the largest flares <ref>The RHESSI Spectrometer, Smith et al. 2002, Sol. Phys. 210: 33-60)</ref> The RHESSI Spectrometer.) The attenuator-state dependent hatched energy range on each plot indicates the lower energy range that generally should not be used for further data analysis. The upper energy limit (not shown on these plots) depends on the flare intensity and the energy at which the solar flux dips below the background level.

Three examples are given below to illustrate how to interpret the plots in the three possible attenuator states - A0 when no attenuators are in place above the detectors, A1 when the thin attenuators are above the detectors, and A3 when both the thick and thin attenuators are above the detectors. (Note that the A2 state with just the thick attenuators above the detectors is not used.)

You can easily remake these plots yourself in IDL, either for the same or different times, using the following procedure: detector_plots.pro. This is useful to determine if the detector response matrices may have been changed since these quicklook plots were created (shown in the lower right corner). Changes to the response matrices and energy calibrations have been infrequent in the past but continue to be necessary as we learn more about variations in detector response with time.

Figure 2: Total count and photon flux spectra for individual detector front segments during a flare on 02 May 2014 at 00:54:36 UT.

A0 Attenuator State (no attenuators)

An example of these plots is shown in Figure 2 for a small flare in the A0 attenuator state. As is usual in this attenuator state, the count-flux spectrum from the flare peaks at ~7 keV. The plots for the different detectors show immediately which ones have recorded an increase in count rate from the flare and show the the solar signal peaking at this energy and falling off at lower energies down to 3 keV and at higher energies up to ~25 keV where it merges with the background spectrum at higher energies.

An estimate of the photon spectrum can be made down to ~3 keV, the approximate energy of the electronic lower threshold level for each detector and the effective cutoff energy from the absorption of material in front of the detectors including the thermal blankets and the beryllium windows on the cryostat. Counts recorded below ~3 keV are electronic noise and should not be used in the determination of the photon spectrum.

Here is a breakdown of what you can determine about each of the nine detectors from these two plots:


Figure 3: Similar to Figure 1 during a C-class flare on 03 September 2014 at 02:52 UT.

A1 Attenuator State (thin attenuators)

The solar count flux spectrum peaks at ~11 keV and falls dramatically below 6 keV due to the overlying material, which now includes the thin attenuator. Counts below ~6 keV should not be used.

An example of a flare in the A1 attenuator state after the June 2014 anneal is shown in Figure 3.

After this anneal, only five detectors were segmented. Consequently, the spectrum of solar photons can only be seen for those five detectors - 1F, 3F, 6F and 8F, and 9F. The Fe-line complex peak at 6.7 keV can be seen in the spectra from the detectors with the best energy resolution. The background spectrum dominates at energies above ~25 keV in this example.


Figure 4: Similar to Figure 1 during an X-class flare on 20 January 2005 at 06:50:40 UT.

A3 Attenuator State (thin and thick attenuators)

An example of an intense flare in the A3 attenuator state on 20 January 2005 is shown in Figure 4.

The solar count flux spectrum peaks at ~18 keV and extends above background to >100 keV. The strong attenuation at low energies is such that almost all counts below ~6 keV are from K-escape events (i.e. photons above the germanium K-edge at 11 keV that have photoelectric interactions that result in the escape of the K-shell photon from the detector - see <ref>Sampaio et al., Phys. Rev. A 89,012512 (2014)</ref>K-shell decay rates and fluorescence yields in Ge).). Counts below ~6 keV should not be used.

The close alignment of the photon spectra for all detectors indicates that they can all be used above ~6 keV although there are still small differences between detectors as indicated below. As with the example in attenuator state A1, counts below ~6 keV are almost all K-escape events and should not be used.

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