All SINFONI raw files carry the FITS keyword 'HIERARCH ESO OBS PROG ID'. Depending on its content, two cases are distinguished concerning the distribution of files in the Service Mode package:

• SCIENCE files: here a strict check on the PROG_ID is made. You will receive all files which carry your PROG_ID, and only those.
• CALIB files: you will receive all the files which carry your PROG_ID, but in most cases your set is dominated by shared files, i.e. those ones which were produced by the Observatory as part of the daily calibration plan. So in general the selection of calibration files is not driven by the PROG_ID, but by the instrument settings.

• archive file name (FITS keyword: ARCFILE): this is the unique name of a raw file which consists of the parent instrument name and the timestamp of its generation. Raw files always have extension '.fits'. SINFONI ARCFILE names always start with 'SINFO'.
• original file name (FITS keyword: ORIGFILE): this is the name of a raw file generated by the instrument workstation. In case of SINFONI , it consists of:
  - the name of the parent instruments which is SINFONI,
  - the tag IFS
  - the category (e.g. WAVE, FLAT, OBS, or SKY),
  - the day sequence number within the year,
  - and a sequence number counted within the night. Original file names are not unique (they will often repeat after a year).
• data product file name (FITS keyword: PIPEFILE): this is the name of any pipeline product. It is composed by the prefix 'r,', the ARCFILE of the parent raw file stripped off by the extension, and a sequence number '_0000' etc. (since there may be multiple pipeline products per raw file). Product files have the extension '.fits' if they are frames, or '.tfits' if they are tables. In case that more than one raw file has been used to generate the product, the ARCFILE of the first one is used.
• calibration file name: this is a name of calibration data products which has been chosen to have explicit information about the type of file, the date of creation, its version and the instrument parameters in the file name. It is generated after the pipeline product has been created. The FITS keyword PIPEFILE is preserved and can be used to map the two naming conventions. Find here more information about the naming scheme of SINFONI master calibration files.

The association of raw files of different types (CALIB and SCIENCE) is a non-trivial task. To support in this task, we have created the list files which you find in each data directory.

The SINFONI association scheme is described here.

General policy of data distribution

Check out here.

Do I have to submit a request to receive my Service Mode data package?

No. Service Mode programmes are declared completed by the Users Support Group. This signal is sent to the Data Flow Operations Group which then prepares the SINFONI package. The data are copied onto media and sent to the PI as soon as possible.

When can I expect to receive my SINFONI data package?

Information about the status of your particular Service Mode run can be found here:

• Service Mode run status

Once you find your SINFONI SM run being finished, the following series of steps can be expected:

• SINFONI Data are shipped from Paranal to Garching headquartes twice a week.
• They are packed by QC Garching as quickly as possible.
• Once all data for a specific programme have been processed, a signal is sent to the archive group to copy these data on media (presently DVDs or CDs).
• The complete set of data is mailed to the PI.

In total this chain of events is finished on average a few weeks after the last frames have been measured. Usually this time span is dominated by the shipping time.

General information about ServiceMode Observing can be found here.

Under which conditions will my data be reduced?

Since 13 March 2005 (= begin of operations), SINFONI data are pipeline-processed, and usually SM packages receive both processed calibration data and reduced science data. If you do not receive pipeline-reduced data, this may be due to the following reasons:

• Some or all of the setups you have used are not yet pipeline-supported. Find more information about the support status here.
• The pipeline may have failed for other reasons. These are reported to you in a separate file.
• SPIDER mode was used, that is not supported.
• DITHER mode was used, that is not supported.