XMM-Newton SSC: Science Analysis Software (SAS)
About SAS
The XMM-Newton Survey Science Centre (SSC) plays a key role in the development of the science analysis software (SAS) for XMM-Newton.
The SSC SAS task developers are spread widely amongst the SSC institutes. They are responsible for the tasks that perform the scientific preparation, reduction and analysis of data taken by the EPIC PN (MPE) and MOS (Saclay) instruments and the Optical monitor (MSSL). EPIC source detection software is maintained by the group at the AIP. The above teams also produce the wrapper scripts that users can employ to pipeline process their own data.
A collection of essential supporting software is also produced by the SSC SAS team (Leicester, Santander, Toulouse, Brera, the above institutes and also the XMM-Newton Guest Observer Facility at the Goddard Space Flight Center in the US). This includes plotting, screening and catalogue production utilities. The Leicester SAS team develops and maintains all the software for the main SSC pipeline processing system (PPS) and is responsible for a number of important tasks.
Almost all of the RGS SAS software is currently maintained by the Science Operations Centre (SOC) team at ESAC, though the original software was developed by Columbia University in the US and SRON in the Netherlands. The SOC team is responsible for the SAS infrastructural tasks, calibration and data access routines and SAS integration.
Software for the cross-correlation of XMM-Newton source lists with archival catalogues is the responsibility of the Strasbourg team at OAS.
For more information please see the Science Operations Centre at the European Space Astronomy Centre (ESAC) SAS page .
All queries or comments relating to the XMM-Newton SAS should be directed to the ESA XMM-Newton helpdesk (http://xmm.esac.esa.int/xmmhelp) in the first instance.
Bulk Reprocessing / 2XMM
The processing of observations for the 2XMM catalogue was conducted as part of the bulk-reprocessing of all available XMM-Newton observations up to the 1st of May 2007. This processing used SAS 6.9.2. As this SAS version was superseded by the public release of SAS 7.1 before the publication of the 2XMM catalogue we provide access to the documentation from this version of the SAS for reference.
Here is the SAS 6.9.2 documentation.