MMA Imaging and Calibration Group
Minutes for meeting Tuesday, 15 Oct 2002 at 12:00pm EDT.
Date: 15 Oct 2002
Time: 4:00 pm EDT
(2:00 pm Socorro, 1:00 pm Tucson)
Phone: (434)296-7082 (CV SoundStation Premier Conference phone 3rd floor).
Past minutes, etc on MMA
Imaging and Calibration Division Page
The Vizchaca Buddha (Image courtesy Tucker Freismuth)
Agenda
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Science IPT News - Wootten
News from my point of view.
Draft Level 3 Milestones have been presented to the Science IPT
for discussion.
The VertexRSI antennais up!
John Webber asks: 'When the prototype 2-antenna, full-IF ALMA correlator is delivered
to the VLA site, what modes of operation are needed?
'This question has arisen in the context of planning the firmware
and software checkout; for example, there would seem to be no need
to support sub-arrays--but is there a need to support separate
autocorrelator modes for each of 2 antennas? Do we need every
possible bandwidth?'
The purpose of the prototype interferometer is to test ALMA
components, so the correlator should provides modes useful for those tests.
Although I have not seen a detailed plan, my understanding is that a pacing
item for the interferometer is the availability of ALMA frontends. There
is a problem that the first prototype Band 6 receivers are not due at the
prototype interferometer until mid-2005 (I do not know the schedule for
others). If the prototype interferometer is to be used with
the evaluation receivers from 1Q2004-3Q2005 it may be necessary to design
some equipment to interface them. I don't think this will impact the
autocorrelator modes, however. Some interferometric holography
will be done, using SiO masers, so at least one narrow band mode will be
needed to support this. Wideband modes will be useful for evaluating
standing wave patterns, for instance with the calibration devices.
The widest wideband modes will be useful for the prototype
receivers, so they should be available. Modes matched to the IF of the
evaluation receivers may be useful, depending on the poorly defined
prototype interferometer plan.
I'll go through this more throroughly this week. However, right now
I can think of no essential test which requires separate autocorrelator
modes operating independently for the two antennas.
Project News -
JAO-only Configuration Final Review -- Grenoble 30 Sept - 8 Oct 2002.
NRAO Director's ALMA Frontend Review 2002 October 3-4 NRAO Charlottesville.
Science IPT Lead Telecon 1400 UT 8 October 2002
JAO/IPT Teleconference 1430 UT 15 October
Mitsubishi at ATF 17 October
ALMA/JP meeting Tucson 20 October
ALMA/Cal meeting Tucson 21 October 9-noon 505A????
ALMA Science IPT Telecon 1500 UT October 22
ALMA Site Infrastructure Requirements Review 2002 October 22-24 NRAO Tucson
ALMA Antenna Transporter Requirements Review 2002 October 22-24 NRAO Tucson
ACC or ALMA Board meeting 2002 29-30 October Santiago.
ESO Workshop: Science Operations with ALMA, ESO, Garching 8 Nov 2002
ALMA Frontend/LO Reviews 18-22 November Charlottesville.
Carla Beaudet and Galen Watts of NRAO/GB conduct RFI tests at Chajnantor 3 - 20 December 2002
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Calibration - All
Milestones
with descriptions as submitted to the JAO.
John Payne notes the interesting report in Electronics Letters
V. 38, No. 15, p 798 on a device similar to plans for the photonic calibration
device.
Update on this: John has gotten an NRAO-NTT contract to pursue this.
There will be tests at SRON, and with Moseley's Herschel device TBD.
Telecon minutes from last week.
List of the status of the reviews/reviewers. The key is: "C" - already
submitted a review; "U" = submitted an unsolicited review; "Y" = agreed
to review the memo; "N" - declined to review the memo; "NR" - no
response. Links are provided to reviews; please consult the archive for
subsequent discussions.
1 - Memo 423 - Steve Myers (Y), Matt Carter (N), Geoff Blake (Y)
2 - Memo 422 - Douglas Bock (Y), Lee Mundy (NR), Jeff Mangum (C),
Dave Woody (U) (Memo withdrawn)
3 - Memo 427 - Robert Lucas (C), Ed Fomalont (NR), Craig Walker (C)
4 - Memo 372 - Jeff Mangum (C), Larry D'Addario (C), Mark Gurwell (N),
Bryan Butler (U)
5 - Memo 415 - Jose Cernicharo (NR), Mark Holdaway (C), John Richer (Y)
6 - Memo 404 & 403 - Mel Wright (N), Dave Woody (Y&C), John Richer (Y)
8 - Memo 402 - Richard Hills (Y), Peter Napier (NR)
9 - Memo 352 - Dave Woody (C), Chris Wilson (C), Dick Plambeck (N)
10 - Memo 434 - Stephane Guilloteau (C)
so, as yet no response from:
Lee Mundy - 422
Ed Fomalont - 427
Jose Cernicharo - 415
Peter Napier - 402
and awaiting agreed upon reviews from:
Steve Myers - 423
Geoff Blake - 423
Douglas Bock - 422
John Richer - 415, 404, 403
Richard Hills - 402
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AIPS++ -
A report for the ASAC was conveyed to them. Comments? Flagging looks like
it wasn't done. Reports of difficulties reproducing these results by
one member of the science IPT. Has anyone else tried?
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Configuration - Holdaway
Please see Holdaway's Conway ASAC presentation.
The JAO approved the configuration plan.
The JAO Summary is available.
During the TUNA talk today I showed some configuration slides, and mentioned
that the longest baseline had grown somewhat in the Y+ array, to around
18 km. John Webber said he was worried that if we grew it too much we'd
outstrip the delay capacity of the correlator. He checked that and reported:
"Although the specification in the Project Book is for Maximum Baseline
Delay Range of 30 km (which really should be stated as Maximum
Differential Delay in time units), the hardware will accommodate
up to a differential delay of 1 msec, which is about 6 times the
maximum for an 18 km baseline including maximum possible fiber
optic cable delay. Thus, there is no problem."
Mark's reply:
OK, pretty good for our *20 km* longest baseline!
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Meetings Past and Future - Wootten
Presentations for ASAC Face-to-face.
The ASAC held a telecon on 9 October. Its report is to be
submitted by 14 October.
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Other
A
monthly
report for September has been submitted to the Science IPT. A
monthly
report for September monthly report was submitted to the JAO by the
Science IPT. A bimonthly report was submitted by the NA Science IPT to
the Project Management for inclusion in its report to NSF. (Whew!).
In two weeks, another report will be due the Science IPT and the JAO.
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SMA News...
Laurie Strommer is scheduled to ask a question on NPR Car Talk. Catch
her on SAT, OCT 12, at 11 am on WBUR, 90.9 MHz. [Al was listening while
driving back from Green Bank and didn't hear her...]
Novel idea ALMA should adopt Dept:
TUE, OCT 8
16:00 End-of-fiscal year celebration, M340.
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Upcoming Meetings - Wootten
JAN 5/9, 2003 201st Meeting of the American Astronomical Society
JUL 13-26, 2003 Twenty-Fifth General Assembly of the IAU
JUL 22/25, 2003 IAU Symposium (221): Star Formation at High Angular Resolution, Sydney, Australia. Tyler
Bourke is a co-chair of the scientific
organizing committee. Good opportunity to show ALMA capabilities.
SEP 22-26, 2003 4th Cologne-Bonn-Zermatt-Symposium on The Dense Interstellar Medium in Galaxies
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Travel
Oh, always
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