User Parameters

All pycWB configuration lives in user_parameters.yaml, validated against a JSON Schema. This page organizes parameters by category and links to the detailed guides where each parameter is explained in context.

Parameter Categories

Category	Key Parameters	Detailed Guide
General / Network	ifos, gps_start, gps_end, inRate	Start Here
Frequency / Resolution	fLow, fHigh, l_low, l_high, levelR	Pipeline Lifecycle
Segment & Job	segLen, segMLS, segEdge, segOverlap	Job Control
Lags & Background	lagSize, lagStep, lagOff, lagMax, slagSize	Job Control
Data Conditioning	whiteMethod, whiteWindow, mesaOrder	Pipeline Lifecycle
Clustering	TFgap, Tgap, Fgap, subnet, subcut	Clustering Algorithm
Likelihood	netRHO, netCC, healpix, delta, cfg_gamma	Likelihood
Injection	injection, iwindow, simulation	Injection Infrastructure
Sky Mask	sky_mask, EFEC	Targeted Search
Batch / Cluster	cluster, conda_env, job_memory, accounting_group	Run on Clusters
Postproduction	Workflow YAML (separate file)	Postproduction

Parameters marked \(^*\) are auto-derived (rateANA, nRES, WDM_level, max_delay) — do not set them manually.

Parameter Quick Reference

Parameter	Default	Range	Description
ifos	[H1, L1]	—	List of interferometer names
fLow	64	≥ 0	Low frequency [Hz]
fHigh	2048	> fLow	High frequency [Hz]
inRate	16384	—	Input data sample rate [Hz]
l_low	3	1–10	Lowest WDM resolution level (2l_low Hz)
l_high	8	> l_low	Highest WDM resolution level (2l_high Hz)
levelR	2	—	Resampling level
segLen	600	> 0	Segment length [s]
segMLS	300	≤ segLen	Minimum segment after CAT1 [s]
segEdge	8	≥ 0	Wavelet boundary offset [s]
segOverlap	0	≥ 0	Overlap between jobs [s]
lagSize	1	≥ 0	Number of lags
lagStep	1.0	> 0	Time between lags [s]
lagOff	6	≥ 0	First lag index (0 = include zero-lag)
lagMax	150	≥ lagStep	Maximum lag distance [s]
slagSize	0	≥ 0	Number of super lags
whiteMethod	wavelet	wavelet/mesa/mixed	Whitening method
whiteWindow	60	> 0	Whitening time window [s]
Acore	1.414	≥ 0	Core pixel threshold (\(\sqrt{2}\))
netRHO	4.0	> 0	Coherent network SNR threshold
netCC	0.5	0–1	Network correlation threshold
delta	0.5	−1 to 1	2-detector sky regulator
cfg_gamma	0.5	−1 to 1	Polarization suppression regulator
healpix	7	1–12	Sky map HEALPix order
TFgap	6.0	≥ 0	TF pixel separation for cluster linking
Tgap	3.0	≥ 0	Defragmentation time gap [s]
Fgap	130	≥ 0	Defragmentation frequency gap [Hz]
subnet	0.7	0–0.7	Sub-network coherence threshold
subcut	0.33	0–1	Sub-network skyloop threshold
bpp	0.001	0–1	Black pixel selection probability
TDSize	12	2–20	Time-delay filter size
upTDF	4	≥ 1	TD filter upsample factor
iwindow	5.0	> 0	Injection time window half-width [s]
cluster	—	condor / slurm	Batch submission backend
nproc	1	≥ 1	CPUs per job
job_memory	6GB	—	Memory per job
Search	“”	“” / CBC / BBH / IMBHB	Enable chirp mass computation
xgb_rho_mode	false	—	Use \(\rho_0\) instead of \(\rho\)
EFEC	true	—	Earth-fixed/eclestial coordinates

Auto-Derived Fields

These are computed automatically from other parameters. Do not set manually.

Field	Derived From
rateANA	inRate ÷ 2levelR
nRES	l_high − l_low + 1
WDM_level	l_low … l_high (list)
max_delay	Detector geometry (baseline ÷ c)

Full Schema

The complete auto-generated parameter table:

Parameter	Type	Description	Default
outputDir	string	output directory	"output"
logDir	string	log directory	"log"
catalog_dir	string	catalog directory	"catalog"
trigger_dir	string	trigger directory	"trigger"
plot_trigger	boolean	plot triggers	false
cwb_compare	boolean	if true, export raw (injected) data as GWF files and generate an equivalent user_parameters.C for each sub_job_seg so the run can be reproduced with cWB ROOT. The comparison workdir is placed under <working_dir>/cwb_compare/.	false
cwb_compare_dir	string	base directory for cWB comparison working directories (default: <working_dir>/cwb_compare)	""
save_waveform	boolean	save waveform from triggers	false
save_waveform_format	enum	format to save waveform from triggers, options are: ‘txt’ and ‘hdf’	"hdf"
plot_waveform	boolean	plot waveform from triggers	false
save_injection	boolean	save injected waveform	false
plot_injection	boolean	plot injected waveform	false
save_cluster	boolean	save cluster to json	true
save_sky_map	boolean	save sky maps to json	false
plot_sky_map	boolean	plot sky maps	false
compress_output_json	boolean	compress output json	false
segment_processer	string	main segment processer function for the analysis, the arguments for the function are: func(working_dir, config, job_seg, **kwargs)	"pycwb.workflow.subflow.process_job_segment_native.process_job_segment"
use_root_supercluster	boolean	use cwb supercluster, if false use python version	true
nproc	integer	number of processes	1
cluster	string	cluster type for batch processing (condor or slurm)	""
conda_env	string	conda environment name for batch jobs	""
additional_init	string	additional initialization commands for batch jobs	""
accounting_group	string	accounting group for HTCondor batch jobs	""
job_per_worker	integer	number of jobs per worker in batch processing	1
job_memory	string	memory allocation for batch jobs (e.g., ‘6GB’)	"6GB"
job_disk	string	disk allocation for batch jobs (e.g., ‘8GB’)	"8GB"
container_image	string	container image for HTCondor batch jobs	""
should_transfer_files	boolean	whether to transfer files in HTCondor batch jobs	false
job_walltime	string	wall-clock time limit per SLURM job (e.g., ‘72:00:00’)	"72:00:00"
slurm_constraint	string	SLURM –constraint value (e.g., ‘skylake’)	""
slurm_partition	string	SLURM –partition value (e.g., ‘ligo’)	""
n_retries	integer	number of application-level retries per job (SLURM) or DAG retries (HTCondor)	5
skip_no_injection	boolean	skip jobs without injection	false
parallel_injection_trail	boolean	flatten job segments by injection trial index for parallel processing	false
parallel_lag_workers	integer	number of background lags to compute concurrently inside one native segment worker	1
parallel_lag_inner_threads	['integer', 'null']	Numba threads per threaded background lag worker; null derives from nproc / parallel_lag_workers	null
max_energy_backend	enum	backend used by coherence setup for time-delay max-energy maps; auto uses numba for middle WDM resolutions and JAX for endpoint resolutions	"jax"
injection	object	injection parameters	{}
sky_mask	object	Restrict the likelihood sky scan to a sub-region of the sky. Uses the same format as the injection sky_distribution config. Supported types: UniformAllSky (no restriction), Patch (circular cap — requires patch.center.phi, patch.center.theta, patch.radius, patch.unit), Fixed (nearest single direction — requires coordinates.sky_loc.phi/theta, coordinates.unit), Custom (HEALPix map threshold — requires custom.healpix_map, custom.nside, optional custom.threshold). If omitted, all sky directions are evaluated.	null
gps_start	number	start gps time, used together with gps_end for generating job segments
gps_end	number	end gps time, used together with gps_start for generating job segments
gps_center	number	center gps time, used together with time_left and time_right for generating job segments
time_left	number	left time offset from gps_center, used together with gps_center and time_right for generating job segments
time_right	number	right time offset from gps_center, used together with gps_center and time_left for generating job segments
superevent	string	superevent name, used together with time_left and time_right for generating job segments
gwdatafind	object	If the gwdatafind is set, the framefiles can be pulled from the LIGO data server, the support keys are: site, frametype, host. Example:
WDM_beta_order	integer	WDM default parameters: beta function order for Meyer	6
WDM_precision	integer	WDM default parameters: wavelet precision	10
MIN_SKYRES_HEALPIX	integer	minimun skymap resolution used for subNetCut	4
MIN_SKYRES_ANGLE	integer	minimun skymap resolution used for subNetCut	3
REGRESSION_FILTER_LENGTH	integer	regression parameters	8
REGRESSION_MATRIX_FRACTION	number	regression parameters	0.95
REGRESSION_SOLVE_EIGEN_THR	number	regression parameters	0.0
REGRESSION_SOLVE_EIGEN_NUM	integer	regression parameters	10
REGRESSION_SOLVE_REGULATOR	string	regression parameters	"h"
REGRESSION_APPLY_THR	number	regression parameters	0.8
analysis	enum	true/false -> online/offline	"2G"
cfg_search	enum	see description below	"r"
Search	enum	2G pipeline: If equals ‘’ then it is ignored by the 2G pipeline (default, back compatibility), Available values are: ‘’/CBC/BBH/IMBHB. If equals CBC/BBH/IMBHB then the chirp line is added to the CED l_tfmap_scalogram, moreover when netRHO<0 (rho0.XGB) than the chirp mass is computed only if Search=CBC/BBH/IMBHB	""
online	boolean	true/false -> online/offline	false
optim	boolean	true -> optimal resolution likelihood analysis	false
fLow	number	low frequency of the search	64.0
fHigh	number	high frequency of the search	2048.0
ifo	array	ifo[] can be redefined by user	["L1", "H1", "V1", "I1", "J1", "G1"]
nIFO	integer	number of interferometers	8
refIFO	string	reference IFO	"L1"
select_subrho	number	subrho netcluster select function threshold (coherence)	5.0
select_subnet	number	subnet netcluster select function threshold (coherence)	0.1
bpp	number	probability for black pixel selection (netpixel)	0.001
fResample	number	if zero resampling is not applied	0
inRate	integer	input data rate	16384
dcCal	array	DC corrections	[1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0]
EFEC	boolean	Earth Fixed / Selestial coordinates	true
precision	number	set parameters for big clusters events management	0.0
pattern	integer	select pixel pattern used to produce the energy max maps for pixel’s selection patterns: “/” - ring-up, “" - ring-down, “|” - delta, “-” line, “*” - single pattern = 0 - “*” 1-pixel standard search pattern = 1 - “3|” 3-pixels vertical packet (delta) pattern = 2 - “3-” 3-pixels horizontal packet (line) pattern = 3 - “3/” 3-pixels diagonal packet (ring-up) pattern = 4 - “3” 3-pixels anti-diagonal packet (ring-down) pattern = 5 - “5/” 5-pixels diagonal packet (ring-up) pattern = 6 - “5” 5-pixels anti-diagonal packet (ring-down) pattern = 7 - “3+” 5-pixels plus packet (plus) pattern = 8 - “3x” 5-pixels cross packet (cross) pattern = 9 - “9p” 9-pixels square packet (box) pattern = else - “*” 1-pixel packet (single) ———————————————————————————— pattern==0 Standard Search : std-pixel selection + likelihood2G pattern!=0 && pattern<0 Mixed Search : packet-pixel selection + likelihood2G pattern!=0 && pattern>0 Packed Search : packet-pixel selection + likelihoodWP	0
BATCH	integer	max number of pixel to process in one loadTDamp batch	10000
LOUD	integer	number of pixel per cluster to load TD amplitudes	200
nSky	integer	if nSky>0 -> # of skymap prob pixels dumped to ascii if nSky=0 -> (#pixels==1000 || cum prob > 0.99) if nSky<0 -> nSky=-XYZ… save all pixels with prob < 0.XYZ…	0
subnet	number	[0,0.7] sub network threshold (supercluster)	0.7
subcut	number	[0,1] sub network threshold in the skyloop (supercluster)	0.33
subnorm	number	[0,2*num_resolution_levels] sub network norm threshold, enabled only if >0 (supercluster)	0.0
subrho	number	sub network threshold in the skyloop subNetCuts, if <=0 then subrho=netRHO (supercluster)	0.0
subacor	number	sub network threshold in the skyloop subNetCuts, if<=0 then subacor=Acore (supercluster)	0.0
netRHO	number	[>4.0] coherent network SNR (supercluster, likelihood). Deprecated: setting netRHO < 0 was the legacy way to activate XGBoost statistics mode; use xgb_rho_mode instead.	4.0
xgb_rho_mode	boolean	If True, use XGBoost rho0 statistics (XGB.rho0 mode) instead of the original 2G coherent SNR statistic. Replaces the deprecated convention of setting netRHO < 0.	false
netCC	number	network correlation (supercluster, likelihood)	0.5
Acore	number	threshold of core pixels (supercluster, likelihood)	1.4142135623730951
Tgap	number	defragmentation time gap between clusters (sec)	3.0
Fgap	number	defragmentation frequency gap between clusters (Hz)	130.0
TFgap	number	threshold on the time-frequency separation between two pixels	6.0
delta	number	[-1:1] regulate 2 Detector sky locations. delta=0 : regulator is disabled, delta<0 : select Lo as skystat instead of Lr	0.5
cfg_gamma	number	[-1:1] regulate |fx|<<|f+| and |f+|<<1 sky locations. gamma=0 : regulator is disabled, gamma<0 : sky prior is applied	0.5
Theta1	number	start theta	0.0
Theta2	number	stop theta	180.0
Phi1	number	start phi	0.0
Phi2	number	stop phi	360.0
cedRHO	number	cedRHO	4.0
skyMaskFile	string	sky mask file	""
skyMaskCCFile	string	sky mask file	""
segLen	number	Segment length [sec]	600.0
segMLS	number	Minimum Segment Length after DQ_CAT1 [sec]	300.0
segTHR	number	Minimum Segment Length after DQ_CAT2 [sec] (to disable put segTHR=0)	30.0
segEdge	number	wavelet boundary offset [sec]	8.0
segOverlap	number	overlap between job segments [sec]	0.0
lagSize	integer	number of lags (simulation:1)	1
lagStep	number	[sec] time interval between lags	1.0
lagOff	integer	first lag id (lagOff=0 - include zero lag )	6
lagMax	number	0/>0 - standard/extended lags	150
lagMode	enum	w/r - write/read lag list	"w"
lagSite	integer	site index starting with 0	null
lagFile	string	slag file list	null
slagSize	integer	number of super lags (simulation=1) - if slagSize=0 -> Standard Segments	0
slagMin	integer	select the minimum available slag distance : slagMin must be <= slagMax	0
slagMax	integer	select the maximum available slag distance	0
slagOff	integer	first slag id (slagOff=0 - include zero slag )	0
channelNamesRaw	array	channel names for raw data	[]
channelNamesMDC	array	channel names for MDC data	[]
frFiles	array	No description provided	[]
DQF	array	No description provided	[]
nDQF	integer	No description provided	8
iwindow	number	injection time window (Tinj +/- iwindow/2)	5.0
gap	number	alias of iwindow	5.0
analyze_injection_only	boolean	If true, only analyse time periods around injected signals (signal duration + injection_padding). Incompatible with lag_size > 1.	false
injection_padding	number	Padding in seconds added to each side of the injection signal window when analyze_injection_only is enabled.	1.0
l_low	integer	low frequency resolution level (2^l_low Hz)	3
l_high	integer	high frequency resolution level (2^l_high Hz)	8
l_white	integer	whitening frequency resolution level (2^l_white Hz), if 0 then l_white=l_high	0
whiteWindow	number	[sec] time window dT. if = 0 - dT=T, where T is segment duration. If whiteMethod=’mesa’, controls the MESA nRMS estimate (no values other than 60 have been tested in this context)	60.0
whiteStride	number	[sec] noise sampling time stride. If whiteMethod=’mesa’, controls the MESA nRMS estimate (no values other than 20 have been tested in this context)	20.0
mesaSolver	string	method used to solve Levinson Recursion [‘Fast’] or [‘Standard’]. Only needed if whiteMethod is ‘MESA’	"Fast"
mesaOrder	number	Maximum Autoregressive order for the Lenvinson Recursion	800.0
mesaHalfSeg	number	half - 1 size of the number of PSD over which the median over which the median is computed. If < 1, no median is applied	4
mesaWindow	number	window length [sec] used to compute MESA PSD estimates	15
mesaStride	number	stride length [sec] between two consecutive MESA PSD estimates. Should be mesaWindow / 3	5
whiteMethod	string	Sets what type of whitening has to be used. if ‘wavelet’ WDM time-frequency domain is applied. if ‘mesa’, it whitens with a PSD estimate given by mesa in the frequency domain. If ‘mixed’, the whitening is performed in time frequency domain but the nRMS is substitued with a MESA estimate for the coefficients	"wavelet"
mesaReindex	boolean	If True, Computes possible PSDs outliers that might affect PSDs via Isolation Forest and substitute them with closest in time estimate	true
simulation	string	No description provided	null
nfactor	number	number of simulation factors	0
factors	array	array of simulation factors (when sim=4 factors[0] is used as offset [must be int])	[]
levelR	integer	resampling level : inRate[fResample]/(2^levelR) Hz	2
healpix	number	if not 0 use healpix sky map (number of sky pixels = 12*pow(4,healpix))	7
plugin	string	No description provided	""
configPlugin	string	No description provided	""
filter_dir	string	filter directory, defaults to environment HOME_WAT_FILTERS	""
wdmXTalk	string	WDM cross-talk file	"wdmXTalk/OverlapCatalog_Lev_8_16_32_64_128_256_iNu_4_Prec_10.bin"
upTDF	integer	upsample factor to obtain rate of TD filter : TDRate = (inRate>>levelR)*upTDF	4
TDSize	integer	time-delay filter size (max 20)	12