New version (1.2.0), see ChangeLog

ChangeLog

@@ -1,3 +1,31 @@
+- Jul 19, 2017  (ver. 1.2)
+
+	+ QSFit now defines a global variable upon initialization, named
+	`!QSFIT_OPT`, containing several settings to customize the fitting
+	behavior.  Check the qsfit_prepare_options for further details;
+
+	+ The default host galaxy template is now SWIRE_ELL5
+	(http://www.iasf-milano.inaf.it/~polletta/templates/swire_templates.html);
+
+	+ By default, the continuum is now modeled with a single power law
+	instead of a smoothly broken power law.  To restore the old
+	behaviour set `continuum.dalpha.fixed = 0`;
+
+	+ The four parts of the UV iron template are now joined in a
+	single component;
+
+	+ QSFit now estimates the equivalent widths for the iron and
+	emission line components;
+
+	+ A Monte Carlo resampling method has been implemented to
+	accurately estimate the parameter uncertainties.  See the
+	corresponding section in the reference paper;
+
+	+ A new component to model the Balmer continuum and
+	pseudo-continuum (blending of high order Balmer lines) has been
+	added.
+
+
 - May 29, 2017  (ver. 1.1)
 	Minor updates to improve performances, accuracy of results and
 	functionalities:
@@ -16,6 +44,5 @@
 	+ Default gnuplot terminal is qt (in ver. 1.0 was wxt);
 
 
-
 - Dec. 5, 2016 (ver. 1.0)
 	First commit of QSFit package

README.md

@@ -4,16 +4,15 @@
 
 **QSFit** (Quasar Spectral Fitting) is a software package written in
 IDL to automatically perform the analysis of Active Galactic Nuclei
-(AGN) optical spectra. The software provides estimates of: AGN
-continuum luminosities and slopes at several restframe wavelengths;
-luminosities, widths and velocity offsets of 20 emission lines
-(Halpha, Hbeta, Mgii, [Oiii], Civ, etc.); luminosities of iron blended
-lines at optical and UV wavelengths; host galaxy luminosities at 5500A
-(for sources with z . 0.8).  The ultimate purpose of **QSFit** is to
-allow astronomers to run standardized recipes to analyze the AGN data,
-in a simple, replicable and shareable way. The whole fitting process
-is customizable for specific needs, and can be extended to analyze
-spectra from other data sources.
+(AGN) optical spectra. The software provides luminosity estimates for
+the AGN continuum, the Balmer continuum, both optical and UV iron
+blended complex, host galaxy and emission lines, as well as width,
+velocity offset and equivalent width of 20 emission lines (Halpha,
+Hbeta, Mgii, [Oiii], Civ, etc.).  The ultimate purpose of **QSFit** is
+to allow astronomers to run standardized recipes to analyze the AGN
+data, in a simple, replicable and shareable way. The whole fitting
+process is customizable for specific needs, and can be extended to
+analyze spectra from other data sources.
 
 The main website is: [http://qsfit.inaf.it](http://qsfit.inaf.it).
 

USAGE

@@ -2,18 +2,18 @@ To use QSFit you should have IDL (ver >= 8.1) and Gnuplot (ver. >=5.0)
 installed.
 
 Start an IDL session and change to the directory where you stored the
-QSFit files, e.g.,
+QSFit files, e.g.:
 
-IDL> CD, 'C:\the\path\where\qsfit\code\is\located'   (on windows)
+  IDL> CD, 'C:\the\path\where\qsfit\code\is\located'   (on windows)
 
 or 
 
-IDL> CD, '/the/path/where/qsfit/code/is/located'   (on Linux)
+  IDL> CD, '/the/path/where/qsfit/code/is/located'   (on Linux)
 
 
 ______________________________________________________________________
-Compile the QSFit procedures and dependencies
-IDL> compile
+Compile the QSFit procedures and dependencies:
+  IDL> compile
 
 The "compile" procedure and QSFit routines can not be used within the
 same procedure.  Best practice is to call "compile" manually, at the
@@ -48,9 +48,9 @@ directory.  This can be used to quickly test the QSFit procedures (see
 below).
 
 ______________________________________________________________________
-Run the analysis for a specific source.
+Run the analysis for a specific source:
 
-IDL> res = qsfit('data/spec-0752-52251-0323.fits', z=0.3806, ebv=0.06846)
+  IDL> res = qsfit('data/spec-0752-52251-0323.fits', z=0.3806, ebv=0.06846)
 
 Parameters are:
  - the path to a SDSS-DR10 FITS file
@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ ______________________________________________________________________
 If you want the results to be saved in a directory (which must have
 been previously created) use the OUTDIR keyword, e.g.
 
-IDL> res = qsfit('data/spec-0752-52251-0323.fits', z=0.3806, ebv=0.06846, outdir='output')
+  IDL> res = qsfit('data/spec-0752-52251-0323.fits', z=0.3806, ebv=0.06846, outdir='output')
 
 This will save all the logs in a file named
 output/spec-0752-52251-0323.log and the results in
@@ -82,16 +82,16 @@ re-run the analysis you should manually delete that file.
 
 ______________________________________________________________________
 Plot the results:
-IDL> qsfit_plot, res
+  IDL> qsfit_plot, res
 
 To plot the data rebinned by a factor of 5:
-IDL> res.gfit.plot.(0).main.rebin = 5
-IDL> qsfit_plot, res
+  IDL> res.gfit.plot.(0).main.rebin = 5
+  IDL> qsfit_plot, res
 
 
 ______________________________________________________________________
-To save the gnuplot files in a specific path
-IDL> qsfit_plot, res, filename='output/spec-0752-52251-0323'
+To save the gnuplot files in a specific path:
+  IDL> qsfit_plot, res, filename='output/spec-0752-52251-0323'
 
 Note that the directory "output" must have been previously created and
 that the file name must not have any extension.  Two files will be
@@ -118,3 +118,34 @@ with
   set output 'filename.pdf'
 
 and reload the file in gnuplot.
+
+
+______________________________________________________________________
+Monte Carlo resampling:
+
+To run the Monte Carlo reampling method (see corresponding section in
+the reference paper) simply add the RESAMPLE= keyword in the qsfit
+call, e.g.:
+
+  IDL> res = qsfit('data/spec-0752-52251-0323.fits', z=0.3806, ebv=0.06846, resample=1000)
+
+The result variable will be an array of 1000 elements (or whatver
+number you set with the RESAMPLE keyword) where the first is the
+actual analysis on the real data, while the remaining ones will be the
+analysis on the mock data generated from the best fit model of the
+actual analysis.
+
+
+______________________________________________________________________
+QSFit Customization:
+
+Some details of QSFit behavior can be customized through the
+!QSFIT_OPT global variable.  Check the qsfit_prepare_options
+procedure for a list of default values and their meaning.
+
+For instance, to enable/disable the Balmer continuum component set 
+`!qsfit_opt.balmer` to 1/0 respcetively.
+
+Further customization can be performed by modifying the source code in
+qsfit.pro.  Check the documentation in the reference paper and in the
+code itself.