This task manipulates FITS files. elcbuild reads between 2 and 9 time series, which must contain the columns RATE, ERROR, BACKV, BACKE, FRACEXP. Such a FITS file can be obtained from the task epiclccorr. elcbuild stores the columns: RATE; ERROR; BACKV; BACKE; and FRACEXP, in a matrix of dimensions (NTimeSeries:nRates), and then writes the matrix into the RATE extension of the output time series. This output file can then be plotted by the task lcplot. lcplot generates a plot of both net and background count rates, for each time series.
elcbuild reads each input file and takes the values of the keywords E_MIN, E_MAX from their RATE extension. For file number i, it writes the values into the keywords E_MINi, E_MAXi of the output file. A keyword NUMBAND, whose value is the number of input files, is also added to the header of the RATE extension of the output file.
elcbuild will raise an error if the number of input time series is less than 2, and if the time series 1) do not cover the same time interval (TIMEZERO, TSTART, TSTOP) or 2) do not have the same binning time (TIMEDEL), or equivalently the same number of rates (nRates).
XMM-Newton SOC/SSC -- 2014-11-04