# README_3PC_ProfileData.txt
# Created by david.smith@u-bordeaux.fr on 2023 June 28.
# The file contents were prepared by lucas.guillemot@cnrs-orleans.fr, from which
# Paul.Ray@nrl.navy.mil generated the .fits and .asc files.
# Updated 2023 July 21 by psr
# Updated 2024 April 19 by psr to fix ascii formatting that caused some numerical columns to overflow to ****** in the .asc files

It describes the collection of pulsar light curve (pulse profile) files provided with
the Fermi LAT 3rd catalog of gamma-ray pulsars ("3PC"). The tar file unpacks
into the directory 3PC_ProfileData

The file names are e.g. J1420-6048_3PC_data.fits and J1420-6048_3PC_data.asc,
where J1420-6048 is the pulsar name (right ascension and declination).
The .fits files are in FITS format.
The text ("ascii") files were made using the "fdump" command on the FITS files.
("fdump" is one of the FTOOLS, see https://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/ftools/ .)

A simple python script, Example_3PC_PlotProfileData.py, provided with the online material,
shows how to unpack the fits files to plot the profiles.

The .fits files have at most 3 extensions.
The first is called 'GAMMA_LC' and contains the gamma-ray phase histograms,
both integrated in energy above 100 MeV, and for energy sub-bands.

If the pulsar is bright enough in gamma rays for its light curve to be fitted, the
fit is stored in the hdu called  'BEST_FIT_LC'.

If we have a radio profile for the pulsar, its phase-aligned pulse is
stored in the hdu called 'RADIO_PROFILE'.

*** Make sure to read them by HDU name, NOT number since not all of them are present for all pulsars!

The FITS file structure is as follows:

% fstruct 3PC_ProfileData/J1231-1411_3PC_data.fits
  No. Type     EXTNAME      BITPIX Dimensions(columns)      PCOUNT  GCOUNT
 
   0  PRIMARY                  8     0                           0    1
   1  BINTABLE GAMMA_LC        8     64(16) 400                  0    1
 
      Column Name                Format     Dims       Units     TLMIN  TLMAX
      1 Ph_Min                     E
      2 Ph_Max                     E
      3 GT100_WtCnt                E
      4 Unc_GT100_WtCnt            E
      5 50_100_WtCt                E
      6 Unc_50_100_WtCt            E
      7 100_300_WtCt               E
      8 Unc_100_300_WtCt           E
      9 300_1000_WtCt              E
     10 Unc_300_1000_WtCt          E
     11 1000_3000_WtCt             E
     12 Unc_1000_3000_WtCt         E
     13 3000_100000_WtCt           E
     14 Unc_3000_100000_WtCt       E
     15 10000_100000_WtCt          E
     16 Unc_10000_100000_WtCt      E
 
   2  BINTABLE BEST_FIT_LC     8     12(3) 400                   0    1
 
      Column Name                Format     Dims       Units     TLMIN  TLMAX
      1 Ph_Min                     E
      2 Ph_Max                     E
      3 Intensity                  E
 
   3  BINTABLE RADIO_PROFILE   8     12(3) 1024                  0    1
 
      Column Name                Format     Dims       Units     TLMIN  TLMAX
      1 Ph_Min                     E
      2 Ph_Max                     E
      3 Norm_Intensity             E