I want to contribute simulated lisa data

Wonderful! SLDPs from any party are welcome. For those individuals interested in contributing LISA data, we recommend joining the tla-simulate and tla-announce mailing list where information and discussion takes place between developers and users of LISA simulators.

If you would like to contribute an SLDP to the archive, you will need to review the SLDP version 1.0 LISA Representation Document, which describes how LISA is represented (i.e., how we describe its position and orientation in space, and its response to gravitational waves) in a (version 1.0) SLDP. When you are ready to create an SLDP, we ask that you create the SLDP using one of the production APIs available on the Software page.


Anatomy of an SLDP data set

A complete SLDP dataset consists of four files (*.sldp, *.src, *.sim, *.txt) that we ask you to include upon submission to the archive:

  1. SLDP data file (foo.sldp): The SLDP file contains all of the information needed to perform LISA data analysis: the observables (i.e., the TDI variables), the constellation ephemeris, the constellation response function, and the statistical description of the noise. It also includes keyword information describing the nature of the approximations used in the simulation and about sources whose signal are impressed on the observables. Finally, the SLDP file includes contact information for the simulation author(s), citation information, which should be used to reference the dataset in publications and technical reports, and a unique identification number. We ask that all of the required fields be populated, with the exception of the identification number. We will populate that field upon receipt of the SLDP file in order to insure that all posted SLDPs have a unique id.
  2. Gravitational Wave Source(s) Description (foo.src): The Gravitational Wave Source(s) Description consists of a text file with the same name as the SLDP file and with the extension src (e.g., foo.src) that includes a complete description of the gravitational wave source(s) that are part of the simulation (including any approximations that go into the producing of the simulated waveforms). If appropriate or available, please include the name, version number and a link to the software package used to produce the waveforms.
  3. Observables Description (foo.sim): The Observables Description consists of a text file with the same name as the SLDP file and with the extension sim (e.g., foo.sim) that includes a complete description of the observables and the approximations that have gone into computing the ephemeris and response of the simulated LISA constellation: e.g., rigid adiabatic approximation, low-frequency approximation, second order eccentricy ephemeris, etc. If appropriate or available please include the name, version number and a link to the software packages used to procude the simulated observables.
  4. Extra Information (readme.txt): Any other pertinent information should be stored in a readme.txt file.

Submitting an SLDP

For individual file sizes less than 1 GB:
If each of the files (*.sldp, *.src, *.sim, *.txt) needed for submission to the archive are smaller than 1GB in size, then you may make them available on a web server for us to download them. We ask that you submit a TLA request for the new SLDP to be added to the archive via our TLA Request Form. Please be sure to include links to all of the files noted above.

Note: If you do not have web server space to host your SLDP files for us to download them, please see the postal mailing instructions below.

For individual files more than 1 GB:
If any of the files (*.sldp, *.src, *.sim, *.txt) are larger than 1 GB, we ask that you please put the four files on one or more DVDs and mail them to:

Hannah Williams
The Pennsylvania State University
Center for Gravitational Wave Physics
104 Davey Laboratory
Box 258
University Park, PA 16801

Please be sure to indicate that your are mailing an SLDP for submission to the archive by submitting a TLA request via the TLA Request Form.


SLDP Verification and Receipt

All TLA requests submitted through the TLA Request Form have an associated ticket number. You will receive an automated email confirmation from the RT system with your ticket number for the request. If you have provided a web link to your SLDP files, we will download the files; if you have mailed the SLDP files to us on a DVD, we will send you an additional note to confirm that we have received the DVD. Once we have the files, we will confirm the integrity of the SLDP, add an sldpId to your files, and post them to the archive. Should we have trouble reading or otherwise working with your SLDP, we will contact you immediately to try to resolve the matter.

With every newly submitted SLDP file to the archive, an email synoposis will be sent to the TLA-Announce mailing list so that users may begin working with the data set.