Resources for analysis and interpretation

This webpage, edited by the NAASC, is a non-exhaustive list of available tools and codes developed in the community, which may be used to derive scientific information from ALMA and other sub-mm/radio interferometric data, including to:

  • analyze images and visibilities
  • produce models of line and continuum emission (radiative transfer) for different types of environments
  • compare ALMA data models and derive best fits

The list is provided as a resource to the community, and NRAO and the NAASC do not endorse the use of these tools nor are responsible for their accuracy and maintenance. With the exception of NRAO-developed tools, NRAO does not provide support regarding their installation/use.

To propose other codes or tools for inclusion in this list, please contact Arielle Moullet: [amoullet]@nrao.edu

 

General Purpose Tools/libraries

  • astropy  "common core package for Astronomy in Python"
  • specutils  "for representing, loading, manipulating, and analyzing astronomical spectroscopic data"
  • Spectral Cube  "easy way to read, manipulate, analyze, and write data cubes"
  • regions  "package for region handling"
  • Pyspeckit  "spectroscopic analysis toolkit for astronomy"
  • RadioAstro  "codes pertinent to the analysis of long-wavelength astronomical data in the radio, millimeter, and far-infrared regime"
  • Astrophysics code source library  "free online registry and repository for source codes of interest to astronomers and astrophysicists"

 

Visualization

  • CARTA  "Image visualization and analysis tool designed for ALMA, VLA, and SKA pathfinders"
  • glue  "library to explore relationships within and between related datasets"

 

ALMA Archive

  • ALMA archive notebooks for advanced queries
  • Archivequery  "telescope archive metadata search and cache tool”
  • Crimson-light  "visualize and slice metadata on the available archival observations of samples of astrophysical objects"
  • Astroquery for ALMA  "Retrieve and store metadata from multiple telescope archives"
  • ALMiner  "efficiently query, analyse, and visualize the ALMA Science Archive"

 

Analysis Tools

  • ALMA data tips and tricks
  • UVmultiFit  "fitting models directly to visibility data"
  • Stacker  "stack data in the uv or image domain"
  • LineStacker  "stacking of spectral lines"
  • Spectral Cube  "easy way to read, manipulate, analyze, and write data cubes"
  • PV extractor  "producing a position-velocity or position-frequency slice"
  • Signal ID  "Signal identification tools (masking and noise) for spectral line data"
  • Statcont  "determine the continuum emission level in line-rich spectral data"
  • Interferopy  "library of common tasks used in the observational radio/mm interferometry data analysis"
  • ESSENCE  "statistical significance of image analysis and signal detection under correlated noise in interferometric images"
  • PyBDSF  "decompose radio interferometry images into sources"
  • Datacomb  "combining radio interferometric and single dish observations"
  • Pyspeckit  "spectral analysis toolkit"
  • Astrodendro  "compute dendrograms of observed or simulated Astronomical data"

 

Data Modeling

 

Gravitational Lensing

 

Kinematics

  • 3DBarolo  "tool for fitting 3D tilted-ring models to emission-line data-cubes"
  • TiRiFiC  "construct simulated (high-resolution) astronomical spectroscopic 3d-observations (data cubes) of simple kinematical- and morphological models of rotating (galactic) disks"
  • KinMS  "simulate observations of arbitrary molecular/atomic cold gas distributions"
  • GalPak3D  "Galaxy Parameters and Kinematics from any 3-Dimensional data"
  • Radiowinds  "radio emission produced by the winds around stars"
  • Qubefit  "model the emission from high redshift galaxies"

 

Spectroscopy and Radiative Transfer 

  • Cloudy  "simulate conditions in interstellar matter"
  • Interstellarmedium.org "radiative transfer programs for the modelling of line emission and dust continuum emission. The programs are geared towards the study of the interstellar medium, especially at radio wavelengths"
  • XCLASS  "models the data by solving the radiative transfer equation for an isothermal object in one dimension"
  • Spectuner "automated spectral line identification of interstellar molecule" (based on XCLASS)
  • CASSIS  "interactive spectrum analyser "
  • ARTIST  "spectrum analyzer for young stellar objects, planet forming disks, or circumstellar shells"  - includes polarization
  • PDRToolBox  "determine the physical parameters of photodissociation regions from observations."
  • LIME  "3D molecular excitation and radiation transfer code"
  • Pymcfost  "python interface to the 3D radiative transfer code mcfost"
  • Pdspy  "fit Monte Carlo Radiative Transfer models for protostellar/protoplanetary disks to ALMA"
  • MADCUBA  "analyze astronomical datacubes and multiple spectra from the main astronomical facilities "
  • RADEX  "one-dimensional non-LTE radiative transfer code" and its many python interfaces:
  • DESPOTIC  "Derive the Energetics and SPectra of Optically Thick Interstellar Clouds"
  • Planetary spectrum generator  "radiative transfer model suite for synthesizing and retrieving planetary spectra"
  • McFine "complex, multi-component hyperfine spectra fitting "

 

Chemical networks

  • UCLCHEM  "gas-grain chemical code that propagates the abundances of chemical species through a network of user-defined reactions"

 

Dust and surfaces

  • Planetary spectrum generator  "radiative transfer model suite for synthesizing and retrieving planetary spectra"
  • Interstellarmedium.org "radiative transfer programs for the modelling of line emission and dust continuum emission. The programs are geared towards the study of the interstellar medium, especially at radio wavelengths"
  • DUSTY  "modeling "radiation which is scattered, absorbed and reemitted by the dust"
  • DiscJockey  "derives dynamical masses for T Tauri stars using the Keplerian motion"

 

Other

  • MAGIX model optimizer  "automatic minimizations to constrain model parameters and provide error estimates"
  • Solar System fluxes from SMA website, using CASA planetary models
  • Pylanetary  "data processing and modeling tools for ring, moon, and planet observations"
  • auto_selfcal  "Automated science target self-calibration for ALMA and VLA data, basis for pipeline automated self-calibration"

 

Lab data

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