Coordinated, Interactive Data Visualization for Neutron Scattering Data

TL;DR

This paper presents the design and implementation of the Integrated Spectral Analysis Workbench (ISAW), a highly interactive, coordinated visualization platform for neutron scattering data, enabling multi-view, multi-dimensional data analysis.

Contribution

It introduces a novel, extensible visualization system with coordinated views and interactivity for neutron scattering data analysis, including a proof-of-concept 3D reciprocal lattice viewer.

Findings

Developed a set of coordinated viewers for neutron data

Enabled interactive tracking across multiple views

Implemented a 3D reciprocal lattice visualization

Abstract

The overall design of the Integrated Spectral Analysis Workbench (ISAW), being developed at Argonne, provides for an extensible, highly interactive, collaborating set of viewers for neutron scattering data. Large arbitrary collections of spectra from multiple detectors can be viewed as an image, a scrolled list of individual graphs, or using a 3D representation of the instrument showing the detector positions. Data from an area detector can be displayed using a contour or intensity map as well as an interactive table. Selected spectra can be displayed in tables or on a conventional graph. A unique characteristic of these viewers is their interactivity and coordination. The position "pointed at" by the user in one viewer is sent to other viewers of the same DataSet so they can track the position and display relevant information. Specialized viewers for single crystal neutron diffractometers are being developed. A "proof-of-concept" viewer that directly displays the 3D reciprocal lattice from a complete series of runs on a single crystal diffractometer has been implemented.