Data Reduction Frequently Asked Questions

My flux-calibrated data do not agree with independent photometric measurements.

In order to have a true absolute flux calibration several requirements need to be fulfilled:

  1. The fraction of the total flux of an object that is contained in the slit depends on the shape of the object, the width and orientation of the slit, and the seeing. Absolute flux calibration requires that all the flux of both the object and the standard star has been collected.
  2. The flux that arrives at the telescope depends on the transparency of the sky. Absolute flux calibration requires the same transparency for the observations of the target and the standard star.

A change between the flux standard observation and the science object observations of any of the parameters mentioned above will change the flux scale in the final spectrum. To compare the flux calibrated spectrum to other measurements, differences in slit losses and atmospheric conditions have to be taken into account.

With respect to the faction of flux contained within the slit one should keep in mind that the flux standard stars are observed with a 5'' wide slit, while science data are typically observed with slit widths of 0.8'' to 1''. For a point source a slit width of 0.8''/1.0'' used with a seeing of 0.8'' means that some 33%/24%, respectively, of the target flux are lost. This results in a too low flux for the flux calibrated spectrum of the target. The slit losses usually vary between the three X-Shooter arms, as the seeing varies with wavelength and slit widths cannot be chosen arbitrarily.

If the standard star or the target or both are observed under non-photometric conditions (e.g. CLR or THN) their observed flux will be lower than it should be. If the standard star is observed under photometric conditions but the science target is not the flux in the flux calibrated target spectrum will be too low. The opposite happens if the target is observed under photometric conditions but the standard star is not. CLR/THN conditions allow for transparency variations of 10%/20%, respectively. Master response curves are derived from the upper envelope of individual response curves and should thus correspond to flux standard stars observed under photometric conditions.