# Description¶

The photom step applies flux (photometric) calibrations to a data product to convert the data from units of countrate to surface brightness (or, in some cases described below, to units of flux density). The calibration information is read from a photometric reference file. The exact nature of the calibration information loaded from the reference file and applied to the science data depends on the instrument mode, as described below.

This step relies on having wavelength information available when working on spectroscopic data and therefore the assign_wcs step must be applied before executing the photom step. Pixels with wavelengths that are outside of the range covered by the calibration reference data are set to zero and flagged in the DQ array as “DO_NOT_USE.” Some spectroscopic modes also rely on knowing whether the target is a point or extended source and therefore the srctype step must be applied before executing the photom step.

Upon successful completion of this step, the status keyword S_PHOTOM will be set to “COMPLETE”. Furthermore, the BUNIT keyword value in the SCI and ERR extension headers of the science product are updated to reflect the change in units.

## Imaging and non-IFU Spectroscopy¶

### Photom Data¶

For these instrument modes the PHOTOM reference file contains a table of exposure parameters that define various instrument configurations and the flux conversion data for each of those configurations. The table contains one row for each allowed combination of exposure parameters, such as detector, filter, pupil, and grating. The photom step searches the table for the row that matches the parameters of the science exposure and then loads the calibration information from that row of the table. Note that for NIRSpec fixed-slit mode, the step will search the table for each slit in use in the exposure, using the table row that corresponds to each slit.

For these table-based PHOTOM reference files, the calibration information in each row includes a scalar flux conversion constant, as well as optional arrays of wavelength and relative response (as a function of wavelength). For spectroscopic data, if the photom step finds that the wavelength and relative response arrays in the reference table row are populated, it loads those 1-D arrays and interpolates the response values into the 2-D space of the science image based on the wavelength at each pixel.

For NIRSpec spectroscopic and NIRISS SOSS data, the conversion factors in the PHOTOM reference file give results in flux density (MJy). For point sources, the output of the photom step will be in these units. For extended sources, however, the values will be divided by the average solid angle of a pixel to give results in surface brightness (MJy/sr). The photom step determines whether the target is a point or extended source from the SRCTYPE keyword value, which is set by the srctype step. If the SRCTYPE keyword is not present or is set to “UNKNOWN”, the default behavior is to treat it as a uniform/extended source.

The combination of the scalar conversion factor and the 2-D response values are then applied to the science data, including the SCI and ERR arrays, as well as the variance (VAR_POISSON, VAR_RNOISE, and VAR_FLAT) arrays. The correction values are multiplied into the SCI and ERR arrays, and the square of the correction values are multiplied into the variance arrays.

The scalar conversion constant is copied to the header keyword PHOTMJSR, which gives the conversion from DN/s to megaJy/steradian (or to megajanskys, for NIRSpec and NIRISS SOSS point sources, as described above) that was applied to the data. The step also computes the equivalent conversion factor to units of microJy/square-arcsecond (or microjanskys) and stores it in the header keyword PHOTUJA2.

### Pixel Area Data¶

For all instrument modes other than NIRSpec the photom step loads a 2-D pixel area map when an AREA reference file is available and appends it to the science data product. The pixel area map is copied into an image extension called “AREA” in the science data product.

The step also populates the keywords PIXAR_SR and PIXAR_A2 in the science data product, which give the average pixel area in units of steradians and square arcseconds, respectively. For most instrument modes, the average pixel area values are copied from the primary header of the PHOTOM reference file. For NIRSpec, however, the pixel area values are copied from a binary table extension in the AREA reference file.

## NIRSpec IFU¶

The photom step uses the same type of tabular PHOTOM reference file for NIRSpec IFU exposures as discussed above for other modes, where there is a single table row that corresponds to a given exposure’s filter and grating settings. It retrieves the scalar conversion constant, as well as the 1-D wavelength and relative response arrays, from that row. It also loads the IFU pixel area data from the AREA reference file.

It then uses the scalar conversion constant, the 1-D wavelength and relative response, and pixel area data to compute a 2-D sensitivity map (pixel-by-pixel) for the entire science image. The 2-D SCI and ERR arrays in the science exposure are multiplied by the 2D sensitivity map, which converts the science pixels from countrate to either flux density or surface brightness. Variance arrays are multiplied by the square of the conversion factors.

## MIRI MRS¶

For the MIRI MRS mode, the PHOTOM reference file contains 2-D arrays of sensitivity factors and pixel sizes that are loaded into the step. As with NIRSpec IFU, the sensitivity and pixel size data are used to compute a 2-D sensitivity map (pixel-by-pixel) for the entire science image. This is multiplied into both the SCI and ERR arrays of the science exposure, which converts the pixel values from countrate to surface brightness. Variance arrays are multiplied by the square of the conversion factors.