solo_L3_rpw-hfr-surv-flux data provide E-field spectrum, measured in survey normal and burst modes over the HFR receiver frequency range of the Solar Orbiter/RPW instrument.
Radio flux density is fully calibrated in physical units (W/m^2/Hz or SFU) (calibration takes already account of the harness + pre-amplifiers + antennas gain/phase contributions).

RPW antenna calibration method is described in this paper.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.57780/esa-3xcjd4w

Data product key facts
Type of data Spectrum
Intensity units W/m^2/Hz or SFU
Max Frequency range 375 to 16375 kHZ
Max Frequency number 321
Min Frequency step 50 kHz (HF1) and 100 kHz (HF2)
Frequency scale Linear
Time resolution 0.1 sec to 5.4 seconds
Data format CDF (3.9.0)
Granularity 1 file per day

Data organization

Table below gives the name, data type, units and description of the zVariables stored in the CDF file.

Each CDF record contains data for a given HFR frequency spectrum (also called sweep hereafter). Epoch times correspond to the acquisition time of the first data sample in the current HFR sweep. Acquisition times for next data samples in the sweep can be computed using the offset values (in seconds) in the TIMING zVariable. Missing/bad data samples are interpolated.

In the the “TYPE” column, the expected size (i.e., number of elements along each dimension) of the zVariable for a CDF record is given between bracket (e.g., “[1]”).

Non-record-variant zVariables are indicated by a “(NRV)” additional label in the “TYPE” column.

NAMETYPEUNITDESCRIPTION
Epoch CDF_TIME_TT2000 [1] ns Epoch time of the record
Taken at the acquisition time of the first data sample in the current HFR sweep
INTERPOL_FLAG CDF_UINT1[1] Flag to indicate if the current EPOCH value is computed from an interpolated time or actual time as returned in the packet (0=actual, 1=interpolated)
QUALITY_FLAG CDF_UINT1[1] Flag to indicate the quality of the data
CHANNEL CDF_UINT1[321] Channel number
TIMING CDF_FLOAT[321] s Temporal offset of each antenna channel configuration
PSD_V2 CDF_FLOAT[321] V^2/Hz Power spectral density before 1% background subtraction and antenna calibration
PSD_FLUX CDF_FLOAT[321] W/m2/Hz Power spectral density after 1% background subtraction and antenna calibration
PSD_SFU CDF_FLOAT[321] sfu Power spectral density after 1% background subtraction and antenna calibration in solar radio flux unit normalized to 1 au
SC_POS_HCI CDF_FLOAT[3] km Spacecraft position in the Heliocentric Inertial (HCI) system

Rules of use

Please read the text of the Rules_of_use global attribute in the CDF files.
See also in https://rpw-datacenter.obspm.fr/spip.php?article4.

Caveats and known issues

Table below gives the list of main known issues and the actions taken to mitigate them.
Please read the CAVEATS global attribute entries in the CDF files to be aware of the possible issues and limitations concerning data.

ISSUEMITIGATION(S)
RPW MY (3) electrical antenna signal was lost intermittently between November 13th and March 15th. TNR acquisitions were impacted when measurements were performed on this antenna. Specific entry added for the global attribute CAVEATS and QUALITY_FLAG zVariable set to 1 for impacted records.

Release notes

See MODS global attribute in the CDF files for an history of the data modifications.

Authors

Vratislav Krupar, Antonio Vecchio, Milan Maksimovic, Xavier Bonnin and Quynh Nhu Nguyen

References

• The Solar Orbiter Radio and Plasma Waves (RPW) instrument, Maksimovic et al., A&A, 2020 (https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201936214)
• Solar Orbiter/RPW antenna calibration in the radio domain and its application to type III burst observations, Vecchio et al., A&A, 2021 (https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202140988)
• THR-Calibration Procedures, A. Vecchio, (REF TO BE ADDED)
• Metadata Definition for Solar Orbiter Science Data, Helen R. Middleton
• RPW Data Product Description Document (DPDD)
• NASA CDF Web portal

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