Pyxel 1.0: an open source Python framework for detector and end-to-end instrument simulation

Journal of Astronomical Telescopes Instruments and Systems, vol. 8, pp. 1–13

Abstract

Detector modeling is becoming more and more critical for the development of new instruments in scientific space missions and ground-based experiments. Modeling tools are often developed from scratch by each individual project and not necessarily shared for reuse by a wider community. To foster knowledge transfer, reusability, and reliability in the instrumentation community, we developed Pyxel, a framework for the simulation of scientific detectors and instruments. Pyxel is an open-source and collaborative project, based on Python, developed as an easy-to-use tool that can host and pipeline any kind of detector effect model. Recently, Pyxel has achieved a new milestone: the public release and launch of version 1.0, which simplified third-party contributions and improved ease of use even further. Since its launch, Pyxel has been experiencing a growing user community and is being used to simulate a variety of detectors. We give a tour of Pyxel’s version 1.0 changes and new features, including a new interface, parallel computing, and new detectors and models. We continue with an example of using Pyxel as a tool for model optimization and calibration. Finally, we describe an example of how Pyxel and its features can be used to develop a full-scale end-to-end instrument simulator.

Authors 9

1. Matej Arko

   European Space Agency · European Space Research and Technology Centre

   Affiliation as printed

   European Space Agency

   European Space Agency, ESTEC, Noordwijk, The Netherlands

2. Thibaut Prod’homme corresponding

   European Space Research and Technology Centre

   Affiliation as printed

   European Space Research and Technology Ctr

   European Space Research and Technology Ctr. (Netherlands)

3. Frédéric Lemmel

   European Space Research and Technology Centre

   Affiliation as printed

   European Space Research and Technology Ctr

   European Space Research and Technology Ctr. (Netherlands)

4. Benoît Serra

   European Southern Observatory · European Southern Observatory

   Affiliation as printed

   European Southern Observatory

   European Southern Observatory, Garching bei München, Germany

5. Elizabeth M. George

   European Southern Observatory · European Southern Observatory

   Affiliation as printed

   European Southern Observatory

   European Southern Observatory, Garching bei München, Germany

6. Bradley Kelman

   The Open University

   Affiliation as printed

   The Open Univ

   The Open University, Milton Keynes, United Kingdom

7. Thibault Pichon

   Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique · Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives · Université Paris-Saclay · Astrophysique, Instrumentation et Modélisation

   Affiliation as printed

   Univ. Paris-Saclay

   ,,-- -

   Université Paris-Saclay, CEA, CNRS, AIM, Gif-sur-Yvette, France

8. Enrico Biancalani Aachen Leiden Univ. (Netherlands)

   Leiden University

   Affiliation as printed

   Leiden Univ

   ,,-- -

   Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands

9. James Gilbert

   Australian National University

   Affiliation as printed

   The Australian National Univ

   The Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia