ACIS Instrument Support - Monthly Progress Report for October 2011

1.  ACIS Characterization

1.1 Characterize and model radiation damage in ACIS CCDs

  ...  Provided links to documentation of ACIS CTI correction software
  and modeling to XMM EPIC-MOS team member.

1.3 Monitor scientific on-orbit performance of ACIS

  ...  Continued monitoring of ACIS CTI, gain, trailing pixel
  pulseheight, detector efficiency, corner pixel distribution,
  spectral line centroid and width, and focal plane temperature.
  Updated monitoring web pages.
  (http://space.mit.edu/~cgrant/monitor.html)

  ...  Working on a new paradigm for instrument monitoring with
  increasingly low ECS count rates.  Some parameters require ObsID
  level monitoring, while some are better served by accumulating data
  over longer time periods.

  ...  Updated web page examining bias data before and after Crab
  observations to include the most recent one (ObsID 13210).  In
  addition examined recent bias with warm focal plane temperature
  where hot pixels should be more obvious.  No changes observed.

  ...  Continued work on a paper combining CTI, FWHM and background
  monitoring results from ACIS and Suzaku.  Continued work on A&A paper.


2.  Engineering

2.1 Instrument hardware engineering performance

  ...  Continue to monitor long term ACIS instrument performance.  A
  review of the past 60 days of ACIS engineering data indicates all is
  well.

2.2 Flight software maintenance

  ...  The new flight software patches, which include the txings patch
  to enable ACIS to monitor the radiation environment, was succesfully
  loaded on November 7.

2.3 Instrument science performance

  ...  Participated in monthly ACIS operations meeting.  Topics
  included recent shutdowns for radiation and for a spacecraft CTU
  telemetry processor reset, and the upcoming thermal briefing.

  ...  Reviewed parameter blocks updated with the new fepVideoOffset
  values.

  ...  Continued investigation into whether ACIS can act as it's own
  radiation monitor, prompted by action from the thermal working group
  which is concerned about the continued degradation of EPHIN.  Patch
  was uploaded in November and output will be examined carefully
  for the next few months to confirm proper function.

  ...  Continued daily quick-look processing of ACIS telemetry and
  maintained Web interface to ACIS real-time data.

  ...  Continued to publish the "annotated DOT" timeline reports.


3.  CXC Support

3.1 Provide user support

  ...  Updated ACIS memo listing calibration ObsIDs and observation
  characteristics (ACIS Memo #165).

3.2 Provide data analysis support

  ...  Participated in CXC Cal/Ops modeling discussion group.
  Discussion included CC mode CTI calibration.

  ...  Reviewed new text on ACIS QE residuals around the Si-K edge for
  the Chandra POG.

  ...  Provided high energy reject data for background section in the
  Chandra POG.

  ... Answered CXC Cal questions about the change in CC mode bias
  algorithm parameters in 2005.  Results are being incorporated in the
  upcoming CC mode CTI correction script.

  ... Reviewed results from a run of the new afterglow/hot pixel tool
  which found some observations with excessive numbers of hot pixels.
  All of the observations have known properties that explain the
  excess hot pixels (focal plane temperature above -100C, squeegee
  mode, known commanding errors, etc.)

  ...  Continued to maintain ACIS calibration database of ground and
  flight data products.  Ran backups of ACIS flight and ground
  databases.  Restored some lost files from tape.


4.  OCC Support

4.1 Use of MIT/ACIS EGSE at OCC

  ...  Continued support and maintenance of ACIS EGSE software and
  hardware at the OCC.



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