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FLITS

FLITS, the Fast-Look Interactive Transient Suite, is browser-based software for interactive FRB burst analysis. It brings burst inspection, masking, measurement, DM optimization, temporal/spectral diagnostics, optional model-based fitting, and export into one workflow-oriented tool. Input formats include SIGPROC filterbank (.fil), PSRFITS search/fold data (.fits, .sf), and CHIME/FRB HDF5 (.h5, .hdf5) including public catalog waterfalls and beamformed BBData power files, extensible via a plugin-based reader framework.

FLITS aligned viewer showing a GBT burst, its time profile, dynamic spectrum, frequency profile, event and off-pulse windows, and selected spectral band.

The aligned viewer in the GBT guided workflow. Blue marks the event and off-pulse time windows; purple lines mark the selected frequency range. The three plots share the same selection state.

Why FLITS exists

Measuring a detected burst involves selecting an event window and noise reference, masking interference, choosing a frequency range, and refining the dispersion measure (DM). These choices affect the resulting measurements and must be preserved to interpret and reproduce them.

FLITS was built for a repeater campaign spanning GBT at L and P band, Nançay, Westerbork, Onsala, Stockert, and CHIME. A common reader interface and configurable telescope presets support analysis across their formats and calibration conventions. The session retains the selected state so collaborators can reopen it and recompute supported measurements from the original data.

FLITS builds on specialist search, data-processing, and analysis packages. It connects measurements through a shared session model with explicit calibration and uncertainty metadata. Flux and fluence estimates without a supplied SEFD uncertainty are flagged as having an incomplete uncertainty budget.

Not a search pipeline

FLITS starts from a burst you already have. Candidate generation and detection are out of scope.

What FLITS is good at

  • Loading local SIGPROC, PSRFITS, or CHIME/FRB HDF5 files into a browser-based analysis session.
  • Interactively defining crop windows, event windows, off-pulse regions, and spectral windows.
  • Masking problematic channels before running measurements.
  • Reporting burst measurements together with provenance and exportable state.
  • Comparing DM metrics and inspecting residual arrival-time diagnostics.
  • Running temporal-structure and spectral analyses on the current selection.
  • Exporting structured results, plots, and session snapshots.

Quickstart

pip install flits
flits --data-dir /path/to/filterbanks --host 127.0.0.1 --port 8123

Then open http://127.0.0.1:8123.

If you want optional selected-event model fitting as well:

pip install "fitburst @ https://github.com/CHIMEFRB/fitburst/archive/3c76da8f9e3ec7bc21951ce1b4a26a0255096b69.tar.gz"

Start here

  • Use Quickstart if you want the shortest path from install to first session.
  • Use Guided Workflow for a concrete GBT burst example with fixed selections, reference measurements, a residual DM sweep, and a downloadable session for replay.
  • Use Installation and Deployment if you need Docker, Apptainer, or remote/HPC usage.
  • Use Session Workflow once the interface is open and you want to know how to work through a burst.
  • See Supported Formats for the full reader matrix and detection rules.

Analysis areas

Developer docs

References

Methods implemented in FLITS are attributed on the References page.