The hitchhiker's guide to the IXPE data analysis

Abstract

This chapter provides an almost comprehensive guide to the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) data analysis. The chapter briefly introduces the IXPE spacecraft and the instrument onboard; subsequently, the strategies adopted to extract polarimetric information and to optimize the response are given. Moreover, the data formats and processing steps to avoid potential systematic errors and to achieve the best results from the IXPE data are reported. Both the model-independent and the model-dependent analyses are summarized, as the instrument response functions and their different available flavors. The idea behind this chapter is to collect suggestions and answers to questions that are typically raised by users, aiming to enable researchers to maximize the scientific return from IXPE observations.

arXiv commentInvited chapter for the edited book "X-ray Polarimetry: Detection, Observations, Modeling and the Future" (Eds. Honghui Liu and Adam Ingram), Springer Singapore, expected in 2026