ALMA and the Call for Early Science

1. ALMA and the Call for Early Science The Atacama Large (Sub)Millimeter Array (ALMA) is now under construction on the Chajnantor plain of the Chilean Andes. When it is completed in 2013, ALMA will be a complete imaging and spectroscopy instrument that will revolutionize the study of the millimeter sky. Starting this year, ALMA will be available to the community in limited form even as construction progresses. Even in this early state, ALMA is among the most powerful submillimeter telescopes in the world. The call for Early Science was issued this March, with proposals due 30 June, 2011. Documentation, including the call for proposals, can be accessed via the ALMA Science Portal at http://almascience.org. The science portal also offers tools for preparing proposals, simulating observations, and calculating sensitivities. Users will need to register with the science portal in order to participate in Early Science. Milestones and Capabilities from Early to Full Science March 2011 30 June 2011 October 2011 2013 Call for Early Science Early Science Proposal Due Early Science Begins Full Science (66 Antennas) Band Frequency (GHz) Wavelength (mm) ALMA Test Data Test observations obtained with small sets of antennas already reveal ALMA’s potential. Using only a fraction of the Early Science capabilities, commissioning scientists have imaged dust and excited molecular gas in a nearby starburst, taken rich molecular spectra from a forming star, mapped the potentially planet-forming disk around a young star, and detect redshifted CII emission from a gravitationally lensed quasar. These test data demonstrate ALMA’s ability to make astronomical measurements. Examples in the Early Science Primer explore ALMA’s capabilities in Early Science. Science verification data will be released to the community shortly, allowing a chance for astronomers to experiment with ALMA data. 3 mm Continuum: 670 GHz; 450 μm Contours: CO(6-5) CO(2-1): 220 GHz; 1.3mm BRI 0952-0115 Photo: ESO ESO 3.6m ADONIS ALMA 870 μm The heart of a star forming galaxy: NGC253 Spectral line forest from a Galactic massive protostar Dust in a possibly planet-forming disk: Beta Pictoris Ionized Carbon (CII @ 158 μm) at z=4.43 A Checklist for an Early Science Proposal Follow these steps to propose your own program for Early Science. All of the tools and documentation referenced here are available from http://almascience.org • Full Science with ALMA and the ALMA Regional Centers • Construction and commissioning will continue during Early Science with the goal of beginning full ALMA science in 2013. At this point, ALMA will consist of at least 54 12-m telescopes and 12 7-m telescopes with the capabilities listed above. These specifications will allow ALMA to meet its “level one” science goals: • Detect CO or C+ line emission from a normal galaxy at z=3 in less than 24 hours. • Image the gas kinematics in a solar mass proto-planetary/stellar disk at 150 pc. • Provide precise images at an angular resolution of 0.1”. • Throughout Early and Full Science, users will interact with ALMA through the ALMA Regional Centers (ARCs) located at NAOJ in Mitaka, Japan, for the East Asian partnership, at ESO in Garching, Germany, for the European partnership, and at NRAO in Charlottesville, USA, for the North American partnership. All of the ARCs can be accessed via the ALMA Science Portal at http://almascience.org • Read the Early Science Primer and Proposer’s Guide • Create an ALMA account by registering at the Science Portal • All users will need to register in order to be PI or co-I on a proposal or to use the Helpdesk. • Download the Observing Tool, try the Sensitivity Calculator • (Optional) Download CASA 3.2 (early May release), try simdata • The CASA package includes a powerful tool to simulate interferometer measurements. • Prepare your Science & Technical Justifications • Prepare Science Goals within the Observing Tool • Specify your targets, spectral setup, and required sensitivity using the Observing Tool. • (Optional) Make use of the Helpdesk & the Knowledgebase • Submit your proposal to the ALMA Archive via the Observing Tool! The Atacama Large Millimeter/sub-millimeter Array (ALMA), an international astronomy facility, is a partnership of Europe, North America and East Asia in cooperation with the Republic of Chile. ALMA is funded in Europe by the European Organization for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere (ESO), in North America by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) in cooperation with the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) and the National Science Council of Taiwan (NSC) and in East Asia by the National Institutes of Natural Sciences (NINS) of Japan in cooperation with the Academia Sinica (AS) in Taiwan. ALMA construction and operations are led on behalf of Europe by ESO, on behalf of North America by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO), which is managed by Associated Universities, Inc. (AUI) and on behalf of East Asia by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ). The Joint ALMA Observatory (JAO) provides the unified leadership and management of the construction, commissioning and operation of ALMA.