User's Guide: Baseline Removal

PSRCHIVE implements two high-level strategies for removing the off-pulse baseline from folded profiles
  1. RemoveBaseline::Total - a common baseline mask is applied to all sub-integrations and frequency channels; and
  2. RemoveBaseline::Each - a unique baseline mask is computed for each sub-integration and frequency channels.
The various algorithms that are available to compute the baseline mask are described under Configurable Algorithms and Options.

RemoveBaseline::Total

Assuming that the recorded dispersion measure accurately describes the relationship between pulse phase and radio frequency and that the phase model accurately predicts pulse phase in every sub-integration, this strategy includes the following steps
  1. compute the total intensity integrated over all polarizations, frequency channels, and sub-integrations;
  2. compute the common baseline mask; i.e. identify the phase bins to be included in the baseline using the current off-pulse estimation algorithm; and
  3. for each polarization, frequency channel, and sub-integration, use the common baseline mask to compute and subtract the mean of the off-pulse phase bins

RemoveBaseline::Each

This strategy includes the following steps
  1. for each frequency channel and sub-integration, compute a unique baseline mask;
  2. for each polarization, use the unique baseline mask to compute and subtract the mean of the off-pulse phase bins