RCT: Importing Spectral Line Lists

Syntax

The RCT uses rest frequencies and corresponding spectral line definitions when attempting to set up the WIDAR correlator and populate the subbands in the basebands. Filling out the line parameters takes some effort and has to be repeated for each new resource. Therefore, in the resource lines tab in the RCT, it has a feature to export and import line definitions using plain (editable) text files. Note that the main intended use is to export lines from one resource to import in another, not to create one from scratch (we give no guarantees that it will be parsed properly in that case). Another item to note is that the source position for Doppler setting is not retained in the text file export and thus cannot be defined for text file import. Note that we created a template at the bottom of this page.

Every line containing any spectral information in the file must use the following syntax:

lineName;restFreq;refFrame;convention;velocity;velRange;velSep;polProd;other

The text file should only contain lines formatted as above, or lines that are known to be ignored by the parser (i.e., empty or whitespace-only lines and comment lines starting with a #-hash). Every data line must have eight semi-colons (;), which means that there is none after the final field. Multi-value fields use commas as item separators.

Details and possible (predefined) values per field are described in the table below.

lineName

Mandatory, single value

  • Name for the setup definition, free-format text, e.g., SiO v=1. Note that there are prohibited characters listed here
restFreq

Mandatory, single value larger than zero, unit defaults to GHz

  • Rest frequency of the line to place, e.g., 43.122GHz. Note that a unit should not be separated from the value (i.e., no space between them).
  • A decimal number with a unit attached. Valid unit options: GHz, MHz, kHz, Hz
refFrame

Mandatory, single value, not case-sensitive

  • The reference frame in which the velocity below should be interpreted.
  • Valid options with abbreviations: Barycentric (Bary), LSR Kinematic (LSR or LSRK), Topocentric (Topo)
convention

Mandatory, single value, not case-sensitive

  • The frame definition in which the velocity should be interpreted.
  • Valid options: Optical, Radio, Redshift
velocity

Mandatory, single value, unit defaults to km/s

  • A decimal number, optionally preceded by the plus (+) or minus (−) sign, to express the source velocity in km/s (or m/s), or to express the source redshift in Z if the convention above is Redshift.
  • For Redshift, including the unit Z is required, e.g., 0.0443Z.
velRange

Mandatory, single value larger than zero, unit defaults to km/s, value defaults to 100 (i.e., 100.0km/s)

  • The minimum velocity range, in km/s (or m/s), that this line should cover when converted to a subband. Essentially this is the subband width, in units of Hz, that is the upper rounded power of two matching this velocity range.
velSep

Mandatory, single value larger than zero, unit defaults to km/s, value defaults to 1 (i.e., 1.0km/s)

  • The maximum spectral channel separation, in km/s (or m/s), that this line should sample when converted to a subband. Essentially this is the channel width in units of Hz, that is the lower rounded power of two matching this velocity sampling.
  • Note that a small value may not be possible without requesting recirculation, as the maximum number of channels per subband (of any width) is 256 divided by the number of polarization products.
polProd

Mandatory, multi-value, not case-sensitive

  • Number of polarization products recognized as FULL, DUAL, or a comma separated list of LL, RR, RL, LR.
  • For linear polarization use either FULL or DUAL.
other

Optional, multi-value, not case-sensitive

  • This is a grab-all for other pre-defined items that can be specified. Currently it is only used to specify whether the line setup tool should attempt to make use of recirculation or not. These options currently are parsed as USE_RECIRCULATION=true or USE_RECIRCULATION=false respectively. Using recirculation will put a smaller strain on the requirements for baseline board pairs.

To export a line list from a resource, navigate to the lines tab for the resource in the RCT. At the bottom of the tab, use the Download Spectral Lines button. Similarly, use the Import Spectral Lines button to attach line definitions to a resource. In the latter case do not forget to specify the source position used for Doppler setting.

Spectral Line List Example

This is a single line list as exported from the RCT. A text editor can be used to add lines using the same syntax to be loaded back in to a (new) resource. Note that there is no space between values and units, and that there is no hook to specify the Doppler position.

# Line name ; Rest frequency ; Rest frame ; Velocity convention ; Velocity ; Minimum range ; Channel separation ; Polarization products ; Additional specifications
Google X; 14.99GHz; Barycentric; Optical; 87801.0km/s; 303.0km/s; 0.07km/s; DUAL; USE_RECIRCULATION=true

As a service, we have compiled a list of important lines (according to the IAU), supplemented with lines commonly observed with the VLA below. Copy/paste the lines of your interest (or the whole list) in a text editor to modify according to your specific requirements. Then upload the modified lines, after creating a new 8-bit or 3-bit resource in the RCT, using the resource Lines tab and "Import Spectral Lines" at the bottom of that tab.

IAU Line Frequency List Formatted for the VLA OPT/RCT

#The IAU list of important spectral lines (www.craf.eu/iaulist.htm) below 120 GHz, supplemented by selected
#lines from the Lovas catalog (physics.nist.gov/cgi-bin/micro/table5/start.pl) below 50 GHz.
#Other lines can be obtained from the web pages above or e.g. the Splatalogue (www.cv.nrao.edu/php/splat/)
#
# Line name ; Rest frequency ; Rest frame ; Velocity convention ; Velocity ; Minimum range ; Channel separation ; Polarization products ; Additional specifications
#
#  --  P band  --
D;       327.384MHz; Topo; Redshift; 0.01Z; 10km/s; 5km/s; Dual; USE_RECIRCULATION=true
#  --  L band  --
H;      1420.406MHz; Topo; Redshift; 0.01Z; 10km/s; 5km/s; Dual; USE_RECIRCULATION=true
OH;     1612.2310MHz; LSR; Radio;    0km/s; 10km/s; 5km/s; Dual; USE_RECIRCULATION=true
OH;     1665.4018MHz; LSR; Radio;    0km/s; 10km/s; 5km/s; Dual; USE_RECIRCULATION=true
OH;     1667.3590MHz; LSR; Radio;    0km/s; 10km/s; 5km/s; Dual; USE_RECIRCULATION=true
OH;     1720.5300MHz; LSR; Radio;    0km/s; 10km/s; 5km/s; Dual; USE_RECIRCULATION=true
#  --  S band  --
CH;     3263.794MHz;  LSR; Radio;    0km/s; 10km/s; 5km/s; Dual; USE_RECIRCULATION=true
CH;     3335.481MHz;  LSR; Radio;    0km/s; 10km/s; 5km/s; Dual; USE_RECIRCULATION=true
CH;     3349.193MHz;  LSR; Radio;    0km/s; 10km/s; 5km/s; Dual; USE_RECIRCULATION=true
#  --  C band  --
OH;     4660.242MHz;  LSR; Radio;    0km/s; 10km/s; 5km/s; Dual; USE_RECIRCULATION=true
OH;     4750.656MHz;  LSR; Radio;    0km/s; 10km/s; 5km/s; Dual; USE_RECIRCULATION=true
OH;     4765.562MHz;  LSR; Radio;    0km/s; 10km/s; 5km/s; Dual; USE_RECIRCULATION=true
H2CO;   4829.6639MHz; LSR; Radio;    0km/s; 10km/s; 5km/s; Dual; USE_RECIRCULATION=true
OH;     6016.746MHz;  LSR; Radio;    0km/s; 10km/s; 5km/s; Dual; USE_RECIRCULATION=true
OH;     6030.747MHz;  LSR; Radio;    0km/s; 10km/s; 5km/s; Dual; USE_RECIRCULATION=true
OH;     6035.092MHz;  LSR; Radio;    0km/s; 10km/s; 5km/s; Dual; USE_RECIRCULATION=true
OH;     6049.084MHz;  LSR; Radio;    0km/s; 10km/s; 5km/s; Dual; USE_RECIRCULATION=true
CH3OH;  6668.5192MHz; LSR; Radio;    0km/s; 10km/s; 5km/s; Dual; USE_RECIRCULATION=true
OH;     7761.747MHz;  LSR; Radio;    0km/s; 10km/s; 5km/s; Dual; USE_RECIRCULATION=true
OH;     7820.125MHz;  LSR; Radio;    0km/s; 10km/s; 5km/s; Dual; USE_RECIRCULATION=true
#  --  X band  --
OH;     8135.870MHz;  LSR; Radio;    0km/s; 10km/s; 5km/s; Dual; USE_RECIRCULATION=true
OH;     8189.587MHz;  LSR; Radio;    0km/s; 10km/s; 5km/s; Dual; USE_RECIRCULATION=true
3HeII;  8665.650MHz;  LSR; Radio;    0km/s; 10km/s; 5km/s; Dual; USE_RECIRCULATION=true
#  --  Ku band  --
CH3OH; 12178.593MHz;  LSR; Radio;    0km/s; 10km/s; 5km/s; Dual; USE_RECIRCULATION=true
OH;    13434.596MHz;  LSR; Radio;    0km/s; 10km/s; 5km/s; Dual; USE_RECIRCULATION=true
OH;    13441.4173MHz; LSR; Radio;    0km/s; 10km/s; 5km/s; Dual; USE_RECIRCULATION=true
H2CO;  14488.4801MHz; LSR; Radio;    0km/s; 10km/s; 5km/s; Dual; USE_RECIRCULATION=true
#  --  K band  --
SiS;   18154.888MHz;  LSR; Radio;    0km/s; 10km/s; 5km/s; Dual; USE_RECIRCULATION=true
C3H2;     18.343GHz;  LSR; Radio;    0km/s; 10km/s; 5km/s; Dual; USE_RECIRCULATION=true
CH3OH; 19967.396MHz;  LSR; Radio;    0km/s; 10km/s; 5km/s; Dual; USE_RECIRCULATION=true
H2O;   22235.1204MHz; LSR; Radio;    0km/s; 10km/s; 5km/s; Dual; USE_RECIRCULATION=true
CH3OH; 23121.024MHz;  LSR; Radio;    0km/s; 10km/s; 5km/s; Dual; USE_RECIRCULATION=true
NH3;   23694.4700MHz; LSR; Radio;    0km/s; 10km/s; 5km/s; Dual; USE_RECIRCULATION=true
NH3;   23722.6336MHz; LSR; Radio;    0km/s; 10km/s; 5km/s; Dual; USE_RECIRCULATION=true
NH3;   23870.1296MHz; LSR; Radio;    0km/s; 10km/s; 5km/s; Dual; USE_RECIRCULATION=true
NH3;   24139.4169MHz; LSR; Radio;    0km/s; 10km/s; 5km/s; Dual; USE_RECIRCULATION=true
NH3;   24532.9887MHz; LSR; Radio;    0km/s; 10km/s; 5km/s; Dual; USE_RECIRCULATION=true
CH3OH; 25018.123MHz;  LSR; Radio;    0km/s; 10km/s; 5km/s; Dual; USE_RECIRCULATION=true
NH3;   25056.025MHz;  LSR; Radio;    0km/s; 10km/s; 5km/s; Dual; USE_RECIRCULATION=true
CH3OH; 25124.872MHz;  LSR; Radio;    0km/s; 10km/s; 5km/s; Dual; USE_RECIRCULATION=true
NH3;   25715.182MHz;  LSR; Radio;    0km/s; 10km/s; 5km/s; Dual; USE_RECIRCULATION=true
#  --  Ka band  --
NH3;   26518.981MHz;  LSR; Radio;    0km/s; 10km/s; 5km/s; Dual; USE_RECIRCULATION=true
NH3;   27477.943MHz;  LSR; Radio;    0km/s; 10km/s; 5km/s; Dual; USE_RECIRCULATION=true
NH3;   28604.737MHz;  LSR; Radio;    0km/s; 10km/s; 5km/s; Dual; USE_RECIRCULATION=true
CH3OH; 36169.290MHz;  LSR; Radio;    0km/s; 10km/s; 5km/s; Dual; USE_RECIRCULATION=true
SiS;   36309.627MHz;  LSR; Radio;    0km/s; 10km/s; 5km/s; Dual; USE_RECIRCULATION=true
CH3OH; 37703.696MHz;  LSR; Radio;    0km/s; 10km/s; 5km/s; Dual; USE_RECIRCULATION=true
CH3OH; 38293.292MHz;  LSR; Radio;    0km/s; 10km/s; 5km/s; Dual; USE_RECIRCULATION=true
CH3OH; 38452.653MHz;  LSR; Radio;    0km/s; 10km/s; 5km/s; Dual; USE_RECIRCULATION=true
#  --  Q band  --
SiO;   42519.375MHz;  LSR; Radio;    0km/s; 10km/s; 5km/s; Dual; USE_RECIRCULATION=true
SiO;   42820.570MHz;  LSR; Radio;    0km/s; 10km/s; 5km/s; Dual; USE_RECIRCULATION=true
SiO;   42879.941MHz;  LSR; Radio;    0km/s; 10km/s; 5km/s; Dual; USE_RECIRCULATION=true
SiO;   43122.090MHz;  LSR; Radio;    0km/s; 10km/s; 5km/s; Dual; USE_RECIRCULATION=true
SiO;   43423.853MHz;  LSR; Radio;    0km/s; 10km/s; 5km/s; Dual; USE_RECIRCULATION=true
CH3OH; 44069.476MHz;  LSR; Radio;    0km/s; 10km/s; 5km/s; Dual; USE_RECIRCULATION=true
CS;    48990.955MHz;  LSR; Radio;    0km/s; 10km/s; 5km/s; Dual; USE_RECIRCULATION=true
#  --  Only Redshifted lines  --
DCO+;     72.039GHz; Topo; Redshift; 2.00Z; 10km/s; 5km/s; Dual; USE_RECIRCULATION=true
SiO;      86.243GHz; Topo; Redshift; 2.00Z; 10km/s; 5km/s; Dual; USE_RECIRCULATION=true
H13CO+;   86.754GHz; Topo; Redshift; 2.00Z; 10km/s; 5km/s; Dual; USE_RECIRCULATION=true
SiO;      86.847GHz; Topo; Redshift; 2.00Z; 10km/s; 5km/s; Dual; USE_RECIRCULATION=true
C2H;      87.300GHz; Topo; Redshift; 2.00Z; 10km/s; 5km/s; Dual; USE_RECIRCULATION=true
HCN;      88.632GHz; Topo; Redshift; 2.00Z; 10km/s; 5km/s; Dual; USE_RECIRCULATION=true
HCO+;     89.189GHz; Topo; Redshift; 2.00Z; 10km/s; 5km/s; Dual; USE_RECIRCULATION=true
HNC;      90.664GHz; Topo; Redshift; 2.00Z; 10km/s; 5km/s; Dual; USE_RECIRCULATION=true
N2H;      93.174GHz; Topo; Redshift; 2.00Z; 10km/s; 5km/s; Dual; USE_RECIRCULATION=true
CS;       97.981GHz; Topo; Redshift; 2.00Z; 10km/s; 5km/s; Dual; USE_RECIRCULATION=true
CO;      109.782GHz; Topo; Redshift; 2.00Z; 10km/s; 5km/s; Dual; USE_RECIRCULATION=true
CO;      110.201GHz; Topo; Redshift; 2.00Z; 10km/s; 5km/s; Dual; USE_RECIRCULATION=true
CO;      112.359GHz; Topo; Redshift; 2.00Z; 10km/s; 5km/s; Dual; USE_RECIRCULATION=true
CO;      115.271GHz; Topo; Redshift; 2.00Z; 10km/s; 5km/s; Dual; USE_RECIRCULATION=true

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