Summary release note for ppsdev-15.23
======================================

Pipeline Version: 15.23_20160428_1630
Pipeline name: ppsprod
Release Date: 2016-04-28
SAS Manifest: xmmsas_20160428_1130



Summary
=======

This new version of the pipeline is based on SAS15.0 public release
and includes two important changes with respect to previous version: a
new algortithm is used to define the spatial region to estimate the pn
background in EPIC source products and OM source detection has been
extended to stacked images. There are other changes but they
correspond to updates in the methods with minor or no impact in the
final products or to the introduction of new graphical products.

List of most relevant changes:

i) Background regions for pn spectra and light-curves of EPIC sources
are now selected within the same pn chip where the source is
found. The regions are defined geometrically as the largest circle
within the CCD that does not include the columns with out-out-time
events from the source and are closest to the source extraction circle
within some margins that depend on the source brightness. Details of
the method can be found in the description of the SAS task
ebkgreg. There has been no change in the method to estimate the
background regions for MOS source products.

ii) Source detection in OM stacked images per mode and filter is now
included in the pipeline processing. As a consequence there are new
products for the sources detected in each mosaiced image and for the
combined list with the information from the different filters. It is
important to remark that the final OM source list with all the sources
detected in individual exposures and in stacked images is still found
with the same identifier OBSMLI. If this FITS file contains sources
detected only in stacked images they can be identified by a non-NULL
value in the new column SRCMOS.

Other changes with less impact on PPS products are:

-) Since the processing for the generation of the 3XMM catalogue, the
 EPIC flaring background is estimated within energy range 0.5-7.5keV
 and for the whole instrument field of view after masking out
 prominent sources. The same method is applied in this pipeline
 version but sources are searched for in images created in detector
 coordinates. 

-) This new pipeline is ready to produce PPS products with the Sky
 coordinates referred to the location of a moving object in the Solar
 System (SSO). The only two differences with regular pipeline
 processing are the use of a SSO Ephemeris File to modify the ODF
 attitude history file via attmove task and the masking of detector
 areas where prominent point-like sources are found.

-) The columns SPECTRA and TSERIES in the final EPIC source lists
 (EPX*OBSMLI) are now set to True if the corresponding source products
 do exist.

-) Plots with RGS light curves are generated in the same format as the
plots with EPIC sources light curves.

-) Graphical images for OM Fast Mode Windows including source region
 are now produced.

-) From this version default and non-default OM windows are not
 treated as different modes in pipeline processing. 


The version of SAS being used is a pipeline-specific manifest
xmmsas_20160428_1130. This is based on the public SAS release 15.0.0,
described at
http://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/xmm-newton/sas-release-notes-1500



Documentation
=============

Documentation for this pipeline can be found at:

http://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/xmm-newton/pipeline

and links therein.