GX Simulator Help

Introduction

GX_Simulator is an interactive IDL widget application intended to provide a flexible tool that allows the user to generate spatially resolved radio and/or X-ray spectra. The object-based architecture of this application provides full interaction with local 3D magnetic field extrapolation models that may be embedded in a global coronal model. By the use of various mouse tools provided, the user is allowed to explore the magnetic connectivity of the model by generating magnetic field lines originating in user-specified volume voxels. Such lines may be selected to create magnetic flux tubes, which are further populated with user-defined analytical thermal/non thermal particle distribution models. By default, the application integrates IDL callable DLL and Shared libraries containing fast GS emission codes developed in FORTRAN and C++ based on the newly developed Fleishman–Kuznetsov approximation, and IDL X-ray codes developed by Eduard Kontar. However, the interactive interface allows interchanging these default libraries with any user-defined IDL or external callable codes designed to solve the radiation transfer equation in the same or other wavelength ranges of interest.

Key Features

• The application provides 3D interaction with a Sun object that serves as container for an arbitrary number of local 3D models that may be embedded in a global built-in coronal model.
• The default coronal model is analytically defined through an adjustable set of predefined parameters. However the user has the ability to add an arbitrary number of additional parameters that may be used to modify the default coronal model.
• A 3D magnetic field model may be imported from a standard IDL sav file, provided that the file data structure complies with a set of predefined conventions.
• Interactive tools are provided for generating an arbitrary number of field lines originating in any voxel of the data cube model.
• Interactive tools are provided for defining magnetic flux tubes associated with a central field line.
• Interactive tools are provided for populating the flux tube volume with user adjustable thermal and nonthermal electron distributions
• A predefined set of user adjustable electron energy distributions is provided.
• A predefined set of user adjustable electron angular distributions is provided.
• Ability to save the final model configuration for future use is provided.
• Interactive tools for choosing an adjustable field of view are provided.
• Predefined fast gyrosynchrotron (GS) and X-ray codes are provided for computing the imaging maps in the wavelength interval of interest.
• A built in calling convention provides the means of integrating alternative codes designed to solve the radiation transfer equation in the same or other wavelength ranges of interest based on the line of sight (LOS) information provided by the simulator.
• Ability to save the imaging data output as well as the full LOS information used to compute the maps is provided.
• A widget interface, namely GX_Explorer, compliments the GX_Simulator package by providing fast means for interactive inspection of the output data files.
• An integrated Plotman object that provides means for model to data comparison
• A built-in magnetic field extrapolation engine that may be used to produce potential fied extrapolation (PFE) or linear force free field extrapolation (LFFF) models based on inut magnetic fied maps.

Getting Started

• Install GX Simulator
• Start SSWIDL or SSWIDLDE
• Start GX Simulator by issuing the gx or gx_simulator IDL console commands
• Customize (if needed) the built-in analytical coronal model
• Import or create a magnetic field model
• Add/Remove model components
• Calculate emission
• Explore and save the output image datacube