Linking the X3D Pathway to Integral Field Spectrographs: YSNR 1E 0102.2-7219 in the SMC as a Case Study

Abstract

The concept of the x3d pathway was introduced by Vogt et al. as a new approach to sharing and publishing three-dimensional structures interactively in online scientific journals. The core characteristics of the x3d pathway are that: (1) it does not rely on specific software, but rather a file format (x3d), (2) it can be implemented using fully open-source tools, and (3) article readers can access the interactive models using most main stream web browsers without the need for any additional plugins. In this article, we further demonstrate the potential of the x3d pathway to visualize data sets from optical integral field spectrographs. We use recent observations of the oxygen-rich young supernova remnant 1E 0102.2-7219 in the Small Magellanic Cloud to implement additional x3dom tools & techniques and expand the range of interactions that can be offered to article readers. In particular, we present a set of javascript functions allowing the creation and interactive handling of clip planes, effectively allowing users to take measurements of distances and angles directly from the interactive model itself.