The CHIANTI database is freely-accessible and the data can be stored on a machine with less than 5 Mbytes of free disk space. To run the CHIANTI routines it is necessary to be able to use the Interactive Data Language (IDL). This document provides a description of how to install CHIANTI.

The CHIANTI database and IDL procedures can also be downloaded from the WWW at NRL (USA) or from Arcetri, Italy .

The Data

1. CHIANTI_3.0_data_lite.tar.Z
   Version 3.0 of the CHIANTI atomic database, a reduced database that is appropriate and recommended for most users. Contains everything you need to use CHIANTI 3.0. (2.6 MB)

2. CHIANTI_3.0_data.tar.Z
   Version 3.0 of the CHIANTI atomic database. This is the complete version and contains much of the original atomic data (.upsdat and .omdat files) not included in the lite version below (4.2 MB). Recommended only if you are interested in the original, unfitted collisional data.

The programs

HOW TO UNPACK THE CHIANTI FILES

The CHIANTI files have been archived and compressed and so it is neccessary to reverse these operations once the files have been downloaded. To do this put the _data files into a (preferably new) directory (/data1/chianti, say) and then do the following:

> uncompress [file_name].tar.Z
> tar xvf [file_name].tar

for each file. This will copy all the CHIANTI files into a new directory tree. For example, the file c_4.elvlc will be /data1/chianti/c/c_4/c_4.elvlc.

To unpack the IDL routines, first create a directory (say /data1/chianti/pro ) and move the compressed tar file CHIANTI_3.0_pro.tar.Z to that directory. Then,

> uncompress CHIANTI_3.0_pro.tar.Z 
> tar xvf CHIANTI_3.0_pro.tar 

HOW TO RUN THE CHIANTI IDL PROCEDURES

In order to begin using the IDL routines it is first necessary to set some environment variables. Put the following 2 statements into your .cshrc file or its equivalent.

> setenv IDL_PATH {$IDL_PATH}:/data1/chianti/pro
> setenv IDL_STARTUP ~/idl_startup

The second statement tells IDL that you have an IDL startup file named idl_startup in your home directory. If you already have one, use that. Then, include the next two statements in your idl_startup file:

defsysv,'!xuvtop','/data1/chianti'
defsysv,'!ioneq_file','arnaud_rothenflug.ioneq'

The second statement defines the default ionization equilibrium file and you can change this to others in the 'xuvtop/ioneq' directory. If you did not previously have an idl_startup file, you should create one which would consist of a text file containing these two statements and any others that you might want to add. Remember that you should substitute the proper directory name for '/data1/chianti' in all these steps.

To run IDL, first make sure that these environment variables have been set. Either open a new window or source ~/.cshrc. You can check the environment variables with commands such as printenv or env. You should be ready to run IDL:

> idl

Examples of running CHIANTI IDL Procedures.

Return to the CHIANTI Home Page at DAMTP