@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ SRCTYPE keyword value, which is set by the :ref:`srctype <srctype_step>` step.
6262If the SRCTYPE keyword is not present or is set to "UNKNOWN", the default behavior
6363is to treat it as a uniform/extended source.
6464
65- The combination of the scalar conversion factor and the 2-D response values are
65+ The combination of the scalar conversion factor, and the 2-D response values are
6666then applied to the science data, including the SCI and ERR arrays, as well as
6767the variance (VAR_POISSON, VAR_RNOISE, and VAR_FLAT) arrays.
6868The correction values are multiplied into the SCI and ERR arrays, and the square
@@ -76,14 +76,6 @@ The step also computes the equivalent conversion factor to units of
7676microJy/square-arcsecond (or microjanskys) and stores it in the header
7777keyword PHOTUJA2.
7878
79- MIRI Imaging
80- ^^^^^^^^^^^^
81- For MIRI imaging mode, the reference file can optionally contain a table of
82- coefficients that are used to apply time-dependent corrections to the scalar
83- conversion factor. If the time-dependent coefficients are present in the
84- reference file, the photom step will apply the correction based on the
85- observation date of the exposure being processed.
86-
8779NIRSpec Fixed Slit Primary Slit
8880^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
8981The primary slit in a NIRSpec fixed slit exposure receives special handling.
@@ -165,7 +157,7 @@ Variance arrays are multiplied by the square of the conversion factors.
165157
166158MIRI MRS data have a time-variable photometric response that is significant at
167159long wavelengths. A correction has been derived from observations of calibration standard stars.
168- The form of the correction uses an exponential function that asymptotically approaches a
160+ The form of the correction uses a power law function that asymptotically approaches a
169161constant value in each wavelength band. A plot of the count rate loss in each MRS
170162band, as a function of time, is shown in Figure 1.
171163
@@ -182,3 +174,51 @@ The MRS photom reference file contains a table of correction coefficients
182174for each band in which a correction has been determined. If the time-dependent
183175coefficients are present in the reference file for a given band, the photom step will
184176apply the correction to the exposure being processed.
177+
178+ Time-Dependent Corrections
179+ --------------------------
180+
181+ For any mode other than MIRI MRS (described above), the reference file can
182+ optionally contain tables of coefficients that are used to apply time-dependent
183+ corrections to the scalar conversion factor, based on the observation date of
184+ the exposure being processed. Each table present describes a different functional
185+ form for the time-dependent sensitivity loss: exponential, linear, or
186+ power law. If multiple tables are present, the corrections are multiplied together
187+ before being applied. If no tables are present, no time correction is applied.
188+ These coefficient tables also contain the descriptive exposure parameters present in
189+ the photometric data table (e.g. filter, pupil, grating), and the rows present
190+ must match the length and order of the photometric table.
191+
192+ The correction factor described in all cases is defined as the fractional amount
193+ of light recorded now divided by the light recorded on the zero-day MJD (t0).
194+ The scalar conversion factor is divided by the correction factor to account for
195+ the sensitivity loss.
196+
197+ For a linear correction, the correction factor (*corr *) is defined as:
198+
199+ .. math ::
200+ corr = 1 - lossperyear * (t-t0 ) / 365
201+
202+ where *lossperyear * (fractional loss of throughput per year, e.g., 0.1 is 10% in 1 year)
203+ and *t0 * (reference day in MJD) are stored as coefficients in the TIMECOEFF_LINEAR
204+ extension of the PHOTOM reference file.
205+
206+ For an exponential correction:
207+
208+ .. math ::
209+ corr = amplitude * exp(-(t-t0 )/tau) + const
210+
211+ where *amplitude *, *t0 * (reference day in MJD), *tau * (e-folding time constant), and
212+ *const * (long-term asymptote) are stored as coefficients in the TIMECOEFF_EXPONENTIAL
213+ extension.
214+
215+ For a power law correction:
216+
217+ .. math ::
218+ norm = (365 + tsoft)^{alpha} / year1 value
219+
220+ corr = (t - t0 + tsoft)^{alpha} / norm
221+
222+ where *year1value * (relative throughput one year after t0), *t0 * (reference day in MJD),
223+ *tsoft * (softening parameter for the initial decline), and *alpha * (loss coefficient)
224+ are stored as coefficients in the TIMECOEFF_POWERLAW extension.
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