By Aditya Pandya
Desktop GUI for loading, fitting, and interactively inspecting X-ray spectral models produced by XSPEC. Takes an XSPEC .xcm session file as input and provides a PyQt6 interface for visualising spectra, residuals, and individual model components.
- Load any
.xcmsession file; run or skip a fit in a background thread - Interactive plot: source/background spectra, total model curve, and per-component curves
- Profile system: eROSITA (3-model layout) and Default (any single- or dual-spectrum setup), with auto-detection and easy extensibility
- Real-time parameter sliders — tweak any free XSPEC parameter and see the plot update live
- Built-in XCM editor — structured form or raw text, with Save & Refit in one click
| Package | Notes |
|---|---|
| Python ≥ 3.10 | |
| PyXSPEC | Bundled with HEASoft |
| PyQt6 | GUI framework |
| matplotlib | Plotting |
| numpy | Numerical arrays |
pip install -r requirements.txtgit clone <repo-url>
cd XiP
pip install -e .The -e flag installs in editable mode — file changes take effect immediately without reinstalling.
xip-gui
# or
python XiP_GUI.py- Browse… — select a
.xcmsession file - Set energy range, binning, and fit options in the sidebar
- Plot — XSPEC loads and fits in a background thread
- Toggle view modes with the View Mode checkboxes
- Drag Parameter sliders for live model exploration
- Switch to the XCM Editor tab to edit parameters and Save & Refit
XiP/
├── XiP_GUI.py # Entry point — run directly or via `xip-gui`
│
├── xip/ # Internal package
│ ├── backend.py # XSPEC session management, fitting, component extraction
│ ├── plotting.py # Shared matplotlib rendering logic
│ ├── xcm_editor.py # XCM parser, serialiser, and structured Qt editor widget
│ ├── xspec_model_db.json # XSPEC component names and default parameter values
│ └── profiles/ # View profile plugins and add new ones by dropping in a new .py file
│ ├── base.py # Abstract base class (XiPProfile)
│ ├── default.py # Default profile (1–2 model setups)
│ └── erosita.py # eROSITA profile (3-model: src, astro-bkg, inst-bkg)
│
├── Data/ # Example eROSITA spectra (FITS) and FWC XCM files
│
├── XiP_Notebook/ # Standalone Jupyter notebook version (Old implementation)
│ ├── XiP.py
│ ├── XiP_demo.ipynb
│ └── utils.py
│
├── pyproject.toml
└── requirements.txt
Create a new .py file in xip/profiles/ with a module-level PROFILE instance:
from xip.profiles.base import XiPProfile
class MyProfile(XiPProfile):
name = "My Instrument"
modes = [(1, "Source components"), (3, "Background components")]
default_modes = {1}
def detect(self, model_kind_map):
return "inst_bkg" not in model_kind_map # auto-select condition
def render_components(self, ax, component_curves, spec_lookup, modes, kind_styles):
... # draw curves onto ax
PROFILE = MyProfile()It will be discovered and listed in the GUI automatically — no registration needed.
- XSPEC is configured to
verncross-sections,wilmabundances, and C-statistic by default. Override inxip/backend.py→_configure_xspec(). - The eROSITA profile expects three model sources: (1) source emission, (2) astrophysical background, (3) instrumental background.
cddirectives in XCM files are handled automatically — data paths are resolved to absolute paths before loading.
Contributions are welcome! Please submit a pull request or open an issue for any bugs or feature requests.
This tool was built because I found it difficult to visualize the effects of different XSPEC models and their parameters. The original Jupyter-based prototype in XiP_Notebook is my own work; the desktop GUI was developed with the assistance of Claude AI (Sonnet 4.6).
I hope you find it useful for your spectral analysis needs. If you have any suggestions for improvements or new features, please feel free to reach out at my email id: aditya.pandya@astro.uni-tuebingen.de.
This tool is a work in progress and may have bugs or limitations. Please report any issues you encounter, and feel free to suggest improvements or new features.