ISIS: An Interactive Spectral Interpretation System for High Resolution X-Ray Spectroscopy

The Interactive Spectral Interpretation System (ISIS) is designed to facilitate the interpretation and analysis of high resolution X-ray spectra like those obtained using the grating spectrographs on Chandra and XMM and the microcalorimeter on Astro-E. It is being developed as an interactive tool for studying the physics of X-ray spectrum formation, supporting measurement and identification of spectral features, and interaction with a database of atomic structure parameters and plasma emission models. The current version uses the atomic data and collisional ionization equilibrium models in the Astrophysical Plasma Emission Database (APED) of Brickhouse et.al.. and also provides access to earlier plasma emission models including Raymond-Smith and MEKAL. Although the current version focuses on collisional ionization equilibrium plasmas, the system is designed to allow use of other databases to provide better support for studies of non-equilibrium and photoionized plasmas. To maximize portability between Unix operating systems, ISIS is being written entirely in ANSI C using free-software components (CFITSIO, PGPLOT and S-Lang).