Nuclear Multi-Messenger Astronomy
Light-curve fitting

Terms of Service for the NMMA API

Effective Date: 2026-05-18

These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your access to and use of the NMMA API ("Service") operated by the Astro-COLIBRI team ("we," "us," or "our"). The Service exposes a thin web layer around the open-source NMMA light-curve fitting code and is offered to the astronomy community for non-commercial research purposes. By submitting a fit request you agree to these Terms.

The Service is offered as part of the broader Astro-COLIBRI platform. The platform-wide Astro-COLIBRI Terms of Service apply in addition to these Terms; in case of conflict on points specific to the NMMA fitting service, the present Terms prevail.

1. Scope of the Service

The Service accepts a publicly-accessible photometric light-curve URL plus a set of fitting parameters (model, priors, observatory/filter selection) and returns:

  • a best-fit light-curve plot and corner plot of the posterior,
  • the best-fit parameter values and Bayesian evidence,
  • a job identifier referencing the stored fit record.

The Service does not perform alert distribution, archival data hosting, account management, or any of the other functions of the main Astro-COLIBRI platform.

2. Acceptable Use

2.1. Permitted Use

We grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable right to call the Service for non-commercial scientific research, education, and personal study.

2.2. Prohibited Use

You may not:

  • resell or repackage the Service or its outputs as a commercial offering without prior written permission;
  • submit requests at a rate that could disrupt the Service for other users, or attempt to circumvent any applied rate limits;
  • share or transfer your user identity in order to bypass per-user quotas;
  • submit light-curve URLs you do not have the right to share;
  • use the Service for any unlawful, harmful, or fraudulent activity.

2.3. Rate Limits

To keep the Service responsive for everyone, fit submissions are subject to a per-user daily quota. Requests beyond the quota are rejected with HTTP 429 and a reset timestamp; the quota then refills automatically. The current default and, where applicable, your individual limit are exposed in the API documentation. If you have a legitimate research need for a higher limit, contact us.

3. Submitted Inputs

You retain ownership of the light-curve data you submit. By submitting a fit request, you grant us the right to fetch the referenced light-curve file, process it through NMMA, store the resulting fit record (inputs, fit settings, plots, best-fit parameters), and associate it with your Firebase user identifier so that you can later retrieve, list, or delete it.

You are responsible for ensuring you have the right to share any light-curve data referenced by a fit request.

4. Outputs and Attribution

Fit outputs (plots, best-fit parameters, evidence values) are produced by the open-source NMMA code on light-curve data you supply. When using fit outputs in a publication or presentation we ask, as a matter of scientific courtesy, that you cite NMMA (see the NMMA documentation for the canonical reference list) and acknowledge the Astro-COLIBRI NMMA Service. The Service itself makes no claim of authorship over your scientific results.

5. Availability and Disclaimer

The Service is provided "as is" and "as available". Fits run on best-effort compute and can fail, time out, or return non-converged results — especially for sparse or noisy light curves. We make no warranty as to availability, scientific correctness, or fitness for any particular purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law we accept no liability for indirect, incidental, or consequential damages arising from your use of the Service.

6. Suspension and Termination

We may suspend or terminate access to the Service for any user at any time, in particular in response to abuse, excessive load, or violation of these Terms.

7. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms; the current version is always the one published at this URL. Continued use of the Service after a change constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms.

8. Governing Law

These Terms are governed by the laws of France. Any dispute that cannot be resolved amicably shall be brought before the competent courts of Paris, France.

9. Contact

For questions about these Terms, contact us at astro.transients@gmail.com.