An automatic data-reduction pipeline for fixed-format Echelle spectrographs: First results

Our data-reduction pipeline is based on the NOAO Image Reduction and Analysis Facility (IRAF). It consists of a number of IRAF-CL scripts which are invoked by a master script (see Ritter & Washuettl 2002 for more details). The subtasks access a parameter file where all relevant IRAF parameters are stored. If a particular parameter is not found in the parameter file (or the parameter file itself is not present or accessible), standard parameters, which are stored in the subtasks, are used. Four reference files are needed for cleaning the images of bad pixels, for defining the position of the Echelle orders on the CCD, for identifying Th-Ar emission lines for the wavelength calibration and for the radial-velocity measurement (which is not implemented yet in the pipeline because of missing reference star spectra for the individual types of stars).