About

This flint package is trying to get a minimum start-to-finish calibration and imaging workflow. While initially written for RACS style ASKAP data a variety of support for larger measurement sets and different imaging modes have been added.

Flint is made up of normal python functions that perform specialised operations, which are then turned into pipeline stages using prefect.

Most of the python routines have a CLI that can be used to test them in a piecewise sense. These entry points are installed as programs available on the command line. They are listed below with a brief description:

  • flint_skymodel: derives a sky-model using a reference catalogue suitable to perform bandpass calibration against. Note that it is not “science quality” as it assumes an ideal primary beam response and the reference catalogues do not incorporate spectral information.

  • flint_aocalibrate: Performs amplitude and phase calibration against a sky-model, intended for bandpass calibration, and leverage’s Andre Offringa’s calibrate program.

  • flint_flagger: Performs basic flagging on an input measurement set.

  • flint_bandpass: A small workflow to bandpass calibrate ASKAP measurement sets that have observed PKS B1934-638.

  • flint_ms: Utility functions related to inspecting and pre-processing an ASKAP measurement set.

  • flint_wsclean: Uses wsclean to image and clean an ASKAP measurement set with pre-defined options.

  • flint_gaincal: Uses the casa task gaincal and applysolutions to perform self-calibration of an ASKAP measurement set.

  • flint_convol: Convols a collection of images to a common resolution.

  • flint_yandalinmos: Will co-add a collection of images of a single field together, optionally including holography measurements.

  • flint_config: The beginnings of a configuration-based scheme to specify options throughout a workflow.

  • flint_aegean: Simple interface to execute BANE and aegean against a provided image. These tools are expected to be packaged in a singularity container.

  • flint_validation_plot: Create a simple, quick look figure that expresses the key quality statistics of an image. It is intended to be used against a full continuum field image, but in-principal be used for a per beam image.

  • flint_potato: Attempt to peel out known sources from a measurement set using potatopeel. Criteria used to assess which sources to peel is fairly minimumal, and at the time of writing only the reference set of sources packaged within flint are considered. -flint_archive: Operations around archiving and copying final data products into place. -flint_catalogue: Download reference catalogues that are expected by flint.

  • flint_leakage: Basic plotting and visualisation of leakage surfaces give Stokes I and V source catalogues amd corresponding images.

  • flint_addmodel: Predict model visibilities given a BBS style model file using the addmodel program.

  • flint_crustalball: Predict model visibilities given a BBS style model file using the crystalball program.

The following commands use the prefect framework to link together individual tasks together (outlined above) into a single data-processing pipeline.

  • flint_flow_bandpass_calibrate: Executes a prefect flow run that will calibrate a set of ASKAP measurement sets taken during a normal bandpass observation sequence.

  • flint_flow_continuum_pipeline: Performs bandpass calibration, solution copying, imaging, self-calibration and mosaicing.

  • flint_flow_subtract_cube_pipeline: Subtract a continuum model and image the residual data.

  • flint_flow_polarisation_pipeline: Perform Stokes I/Q/U imaging of an existing set of calibrated (and self-calibrated) measurement sets.