Reference Files

The background image subtraction step uses reference files only when processing Wide-Field Slitless Spectroscopy (WFSS) exposures. Two reference files are used for WFSS mode: WFSSBKG and WAVELENGTHRANGE. The WAVELENGTHRANGE reference file is used in the process of determining the locations of source spectra in the image, and conversely the image areas that contain only background signal.

WFSS Background reference file

REFTYPE:

WFSSBKG

Data model:

WfssBkgModel

The WFSS background reference file contains a “master” image of the dispersed background produced by a particular filter+grism combination.

Reference Selection Keywords for WFSSBKG

CRDS selects appropriate WFSSBKG references based on the following keywords. WFSSBKG is not applicable for instruments not in the table.

Instrument

Keywords

NIRCam

INSTRUME, EXP_TYPE, DETECTOR, FILTER, PUPIL, DATE-OBS, TIME-OBS

NIRISS

INSTRUME, EXP_TYPE, DETECTOR, FILTER, PUPIL, DATE-OBS, TIME-OBS

Standard Keywords

The following table lists the keywords that are required to be present in all reference files. The first column gives the FITS keyword names. The second column gives the jwst data model name for each keyword, which is useful when using data models in creating and populating a new reference file. The third column gives the equivalent meta tag in ASDF reference file headers, which is the same as the name within the data model meta tree (second column).

FITS Keyword

Data Model Name

ASDF meta tag

AUTHOR

model.meta.author

author

DATAMODL

model.meta.model_type

model_type

DATE

model.meta.date

date

DESCRIP

model.meta.description

description

FILENAME

model.meta.filename

N/A

INSTRUME

model.meta.instrument.name

instrument: {name}

PEDIGREE

model.meta.pedigree

pedigree

REFTYPE

model.meta.reftype

reftype

TELESCOP

model.meta.telescope

telescope

USEAFTER

model.meta.useafter

useafter

NOTE: More information on standard required keywords can be found here: Standard Required Keywords

Type Specific Keywords for WFSSBKG

In addition to the standard reference file keywords listed above, the following keywords are required in WFSSBKG reference files, because they are used as CRDS selectors (see Reference Selection Keywords for WFSSBKG):

Keyword

Data Model Name

DETECTOR

model.meta.instrument.detector

EXP_TYPE

model.meta.exposure.type

FILTER

model.meta.instrument.filter

PUPIL

model.meta.instrument.pupil

Reference File Format

WFSSBKG reference files are FITS files with 3 IMAGE extensions and 1 BINTABLE extension. The FITS primary HDU does not contain a data array. The characteristics of the FITS extensions are as follows:

EXTNAME

XTENSION

NAXIS

Dimensions

Data type

SCI

IMAGE

2

ncols x nrows

float

ERR

IMAGE

2

ncols x nrows

float

DQ

IMAGE

2

ncols x nrows

integer

DQ_DEF

BINTABLE

2

TFIELDS = 4

N/A

The DQ_DEF extension contains the bit assignments used in the DQ array. It contains the following 4 columns:

TTYPE

TFORM

Description

BIT

integer

The bit number, starting at zero

VALUE

integer

The equivalent base-10 value of BIT

NAME

string

The mnemonic name of the data quality condition

DESCRIPTION

string

A description of the data quality condition

NOTE: For more information on standard bit definitions see: Data Quality Flags.

WAVELENGTHRANGE Reference File

REFTYPE:

WAVELENGTHRANGE

Data model:

WavelengthrangeModel

The WAVELENGTHRANGE reference file contains information on the minimum and maximum wavelengths of various spectroscopic modes, which can be order-dependent. The reference data are used to construct bounding boxes around the spectral traces produced by each object in the NIRCam and NIRISS WFSS modes. If a list of GrismObject is supplied, then no reference file is necessary.

Reference Selection Keywords for WAVELENGTHRANGE

CRDS selects appropriate WAVELENGTHRANGE references based on the following keywords. WAVELENGTHRANGE is not applicable for instruments not in the table. All keywords used for file selection are required.

Instrument

Keywords

MIRI

INSTRUME, EXP_TYPE, DATE-OBS, TIME-OBS

NIRCam

INSTRUME, EXP_TYPE, DATE-OBS, TIME-OBS

NIRISS

INSTRUME, EXP_TYPE, DATE-OBS, TIME-OBS

NIRSpec

INSTRUME, EXP_TYPE, DATE-OBS, TIME-OBS

Standard Keywords

The following table lists the keywords that are required to be present in all reference files. The first column gives the FITS keyword names. The second column gives the jwst data model name for each keyword, which is useful when using data models in creating and populating a new reference file. The third column gives the equivalent meta tag in ASDF reference file headers, which is the same as the name within the data model meta tree (second column).

FITS Keyword

Data Model Name

ASDF meta tag

AUTHOR

model.meta.author

author

DATAMODL

model.meta.model_type

model_type

DATE

model.meta.date

date

DESCRIP

model.meta.description

description

FILENAME

model.meta.filename

N/A

INSTRUME

model.meta.instrument.name

instrument: {name}

PEDIGREE

model.meta.pedigree

pedigree

REFTYPE

model.meta.reftype

reftype

TELESCOP

model.meta.telescope

telescope

USEAFTER

model.meta.useafter

useafter

NOTE: More information on standard required keywords can be found here: Standard Required Keywords

Type Specific Keywords for WAVELENGTHRANGE

In addition to the standard reference file keywords listed above, the following keywords are required in WAVELENGTHRANGE reference files

Keyword

Data Model Name

EXP_TYPE

model.meta.exposure.type

These keywords are used as CRDS selectors

Reference Selection Keywords for WAVELENGTHRANGE

CRDS selects appropriate WAVELENGTHRANGE references based on the following keywords. WAVELENGTHRANGE is not applicable for instruments not in the table. All keywords used for file selection are required.

Instrument

Keywords

MIRI

INSTRUME, EXP_TYPE, DATE-OBS, TIME-OBS

NIRCam

INSTRUME, EXP_TYPE, DATE-OBS, TIME-OBS

NIRISS

INSTRUME, EXP_TYPE, DATE-OBS, TIME-OBS

NIRSpec

INSTRUME, EXP_TYPE, DATE-OBS, TIME-OBS

Reference File Format

WAVELENGTHRANGE reference files are in ASDF format, with the format and contents specified by the WavelengthrangeModel data model schema. The exact content varies a bit depending on instrument mode, as explained in the following sections.

MIRI MRS

For MIRI MRS, the WAVELENGTHRANGE file consists of two fields that define the wavelength range for each combination of channel and band.

channels:

An ordered list of all possible channel and band combinations for MIRI MRS, e.g. “1SHORT”.

wavelengthrange:

An ordered list of (lambda_min, lambda_max) for each item in the list above

NIRSpec

For NIRSpec, the WAVELENGTHRANGE file is a dictionary storing information about default wavelength range and spectral order for each combination of filter and grating.

filter_grating:
order:

Default spectral order

range:

Default wavelength range

NIRCam WFSS, NIRCam TSGRISM, NIRISS WFSS

For NIRCam WFSS and TSGRIM modes, as well as NIRISS WFSS mode, the WAVELENGTHRANGE reference file contains the wavelength limits to use when calculating the minimum and maximum dispersion extents on the detector. It also contains the default list of orders that should be extracted for each filter. To be consistent with other modes, and for convenience, it also lists the orders and filters that are valid with the file.

order:

A list of orders this file covers

wavelengthrange:

A list containing the list of [order, filter, wavelength min, wavelength max]

waverange_selector:

The list of FILTER names available

extract_orders:

A list containing the list of orders to extract for each filter