STATCONT: Statistical continuum level determination method for line-rich sources

STATCONT determines the continuum emission level in line-rich spectral data by inspecting the intensity distribution of a given spectrum by using different statistical approaches. The sigma-clipping algorithm provides the most accurate continuum level determination, together with information on the uncertainty in its determination; this uncertainty is used to correct the final continuum emission level. In general, STATCONT obtains accuracies of < 10 % in the continuum determination, and < 5 % in most cases. The main products of the software are the continuum emission level, together with its uncertainty, and data cubes containing only spectral line emission, i.e. continuum-subtracted data cubes. STATCONT also includes the option to estimate the spectral index or variation of the continuum emission with frequency.