Contents

• Introduction
  • XSPEC
  • New in Version 10
  • How to contact us
  • Relationship to FTOOLS
  • History
  • Acknowledgements
• Spectral Fitting and XSPEC
  • Introduction
  • The Basics of Spectral Fitting
  • The XSPEC implementation
    • C(I): The Observed Spectrum
    • R(I,E): The Instrumental Response
    • f(E): The Model Spectrum
    • Fits and Confidence Intervals
  • Helpful Hints
    • Scripts and the Save command
    • How to return to the XSPEC> prompt
    • Simulations
    • Plotting Devices and Hardcopy
    • Data groups
    • What to do when you have small numbers of counts
    • Binning and Grouping data
    • How to shut XSPEC up (somewhat)
    • Saving data or models to an ascii file
    • References
• An overview of XSPEC
  • Command syntax
  • Reading data
  • Defining models
  • Fitting
  • Plotting
  • Getting help
  • Simulated data
  • Fluxes, luminosities, and equivalent widths
  • Miscellaneous
• Walks through XSPEC
  • Introduction
  • Brief Discussion of XSPEC Files
  • Fitting Models to Data: An Example from EXOSAT
  • Simultaneous Fitting: Examples from Einstein and Ginga
  • Using XSPEC to Simulate Data: an Example from ASCA
  • Producing Plots: Modifying the Defaults
• XSPEC commands
  • Summary of Commands
  • Description of Syntax

    abund	addcomp	arf	autosave	backgrnd	chatter
    corfile	cornorm	cosmo	cpd	data	delcomp
    diagrsp	dummyrsp	dump	editmod	eqwidth	error
    exit	exec	fakeit	fit	flux	freeze
    gain	goodness	harcopy	help	ignore	improve
    iplot	log	lumin	method	model	newpar
    notice	plot	query	quit	readline	recornrm
    renorm	response	save	script	setplot	show
    statistic	source	steppar	suggest	syscall	systematic
    thaw	thleqw	time	uncertain	untie	weight
    xhistory

• XSPEC V10 Models
  • Summary of Models
  • Model descriptions

    absori	ascac	atable	bbody	bbodyrad	bknpower
    bremss	c6mekl	c6pmekl	c6pvmkl	c6vmekl	cabs
    cemekl	cevmkl	cflow	compls	compst	comptt
    constant	cutoffpl	cyclabs	disk	diskbb	diskline
    diskm	disko	dust	edge	etable	expabs
    expfac	gaussian	grbm	gsmooth	highecut	hrefl
    laor	meka	mekal	mkcflow	mtable	notch
    nteea	pcfabs	pegpwrlw	pexrav	pexriv	phabs
    plabs	plcabs	posm	powerlaw	raymond	redge
    smedge	spline	SSS ice	step	tita_a	tsabs
    useradd1	usermul1	uvred	varabs	vbremss	vmeka
    vmekal	vmcflow	vphabs	vraymond	wabs	wndabs
    zbbody	zbremss	zedge	zgauss	zhighect	zpcfabs
    zphabs	zpowerlw	zvarabs	zvfeabs	zvphabs	zwabs
    zwndabs

• Associated programs
  • Introduction
  • FTOOLS reading tasks
    • FDUMP
    • DMPRMF
  • FTOOLS manipulation tasks
    • GRPPHA
    • RBNPHA
    • RBNRMF
    • FPARKEY
    • MATHPHA
    • ADDARF
    • ADDRMF
    • MARFRMF
  • FTOOLS conversion tasks
    • SF2PHA
    • RSP2RMF
    • STW2PHA
  • FTOOLS subroutines
• Overview of PLT
  • Command summary
  • XSPEC graphics
  • Getting started with PLT
• Fitting with few counts/bin
  • Theory
  • Practice
• Adding models to XSPEC
  • Standard models
    • Unix
    • VMS
  • User models under VAX/VMS
    • Example
  • Table models
• The User Interface
  • Introduction
  • Tcl
    • Command Syntax
    • Command Recall
    • logging
      • Example:
    • Command Completion
    • Script Files
    • Shell Commands
    • Aliases
    • Initialization Script
    • XSPEC command result
    • Unknown Procedure
  • The XSPEC Parser
    • Basics
    • Delimiting arguments
    • Comments
    • Quotes
    • The infinite skip
    • The continuation character
    • The terminator
    • Matching keyword arguments
• XSPEC v9 bugs fixed in v10