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(Hirayama) Those columns became "permanent" to avoid multiple variants of the FT1 definition. In fact, it is not recommended (by the HEASARC FITS Working Group members) for a tool to change a file format by adding those columns. (See also my comment for "5. MC_TRUTH keyword.") Personally I like it better if pulsar tools add those columns when necessary, but I also see their point, especially thinking about archiving those files for future use. So, if we need/want to drop them, probably we should talk to them about our plan.
(Digel) I think that we should consider the FT1 format to define what the data servers deliver. The PULSE_PHASE and ORBITAL_PHASE columns are specific to an analysis, and would be wasted space in the server. These columns should be added to files by the pulsar tools that fill them, just as gtdiffresp adds a column for each diffuse source in the particular source model under consideration. None of these analysis-specific columns is fundamentally part of the FT1 data.
12. SKYX/Y issue
(Digel) The Guidelines for Science Tools Design page lists one outstanding issue for the definition of the events file, whether to add columns that give the coordinates of the events in some coordinate projection.
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