Science ipt 24 August 2004 Lucas, Saito, Hogerheidje, Richer, Stirling, Laing, vanden Bout, Di Francesco, Myers * JAO Positions PS job description... (Wootten) * CCB APPROVED ALMA System Technical Requirements --------------------------------------------------------------------- Board response to ASAC: Similarly, the Board endorses ASAC’s requests that the project: a) assesses via simulations how the planned level of phase stability affects ALMA’s high-resolution imaging capability, and associated implications for the ALMA Calibration and Software efforts; and b) investigates whether there are useful tradeoffs between gain stability and sensitivity that could be made for the four total-power antennas. We further encourage the project to provide ASAC the revised technical requirements and simulations on polarization as soon as they are available. ASAC members themselves could work closely with ALMA to make maximal use of parallel efforts at other facilities in support of phase calibrator surveys, thereby creating an international team or network of knowledgeable astronomers preparing now for ALMA phase calibration. The Board thanks ASAC for clarifying during the oral presentation that, among its various recommendations and observations, ALMA should accord top priority for expenditure of ALMA’s capped resources on a) testing and improving the stability of four antenna systems to optimize for total power mapping; and on b) concentrating more resources on development and testing of amplitude calibration strategies. The Board endorses your recommendation regarding “…the development of “science demonstration projects” to exemplify ALMA scientific capability and public appeal.” Your further suggestion that some early science programs include observations coordinated with other facilities also has merit, although clearly priority has to be on demonstrating ALMA capabilities without unduly impacting upon construction or early operations development as a result of additional complex constraints that coordinated observations may impose. We concur that organizing the early science program is an appropriate activity for the ALMA Project Scientist, with input from the ASAC and the scientific community. The Board feels ASAC is wise to recommend that “…the project seek ways to involve experts from the community in the commissioning, science verification and early science operation activities,” for the reasons ASAC provided. Additionally, the Board encourages efforts by ALMA to ensure that “non black-belt radio astronomers” participate with the experts in the definition and interpretation of early science, as a means for bringing ALMA’s potential into broader community scientific activities. Finally, the Board welcomes ASAC’s observations (Summary, item 12) regarding the need to manage carefully community expectations for scientific productivity in the early years of science operations. The Board is asking the project to heed to the best of its ability ASAC’s advice regarding time allocations and array scheduling that maximize science while minimizing negative impact upon construction. We anticipate that the project will return to ASAC and the Board for more discussion as early science operations plans mature. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- News from Japan (Kawabe) There is no new news from Japan except for ALMA-J FY 2005 budget request and the internal review of operation plan(Draft H2) in NAOJ. The FY 2005 budget request is very promising; MEXT will submit almost our original request to Ministry of finance in Japan without descoping and the delay of construction plan. We will have the internal review of the operation plan on Sep. 15. Kaifu-san and two deputy directors of NAOJ will join, and we would like to send the comments of NAOJ to ALMA board and JAO (also to ASAC). In addition, Japanese radio community will also review the plan. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Charge for the Meeting of 27-28 September 2004, Charlottesville, Va. The ASAC is requested to consider the following topics, and make recommendations to the Board that include your recommended priority or time scale where your recommendations require expenditure of ALMA’s fixed resources: 1. Recommend clear, science-based criteria to be used by the Project in preparing tradeoff studies should budgetary constraints make it necessary to reduce planned activities in the baseline project following analysis of the responses to the antenna procurement process. 2. Following thorough assessment of the pros and cons of policies in use at existing ground- and space-based facilities, including those currently operated by the ALMA Executives, ASAC is invited to consider policy recommendations on: a. how to facilitate joint projects between scientists of different partners, b. how to handle large proposals with significant scientific duplication, and c. whether provision needs to be made at this time for legacy projects and, if so, what mechanisms should be used for such projects. These complex, often-contentious issues should be addressed in the spirit of demonstrating how ASAC believes their recommendations, if adopted, would maximize ALMA’s scientific impact. 3. Help the Science IPT to plan their study of the impact of calibration on a handful of the most challenging major science goals, in particular by providing ASAC’s views on the types of projects you feel are the most challenging from a calibration point of view. Review and comment on the Science IPT’s report when finished. 4. Consider in more detail how the choice of objects for demonstration science with ALMA might be made and in particular how to facilitate involvement by the broader community in that process. 5. Consider the project’s plans and progress towards a Science Verification Plan. Please deliver your written report to the ALMA Board by 15 November 2004. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * ARCs. Paul vanden Bout has begun to form the North American ALMA Science Center. * NRAO Communications Newsletter * ESO proto-communique Config Calib date change DRSP MH reported 2/3 of items have calibration requirements in now. Overall conclusion that the majority need 5% absolute calibration accuracy--70-80% of projects. Science drivers are usually determination of mass or column density, which appears to only need this accuracy. Since models limited to 10% accuracy or so, this is all that is needed. In the future, models may improve. For repeatability and relative calibration 1-3 % or 5% are required. Most of the science is inthe slope of the continuum energy distribution or in line ratios both between bands and within a single band. For repeatability a similar requirement so that data can be combined into mosaics or other combinations of data. Polarization accuracy has very little response. Phaswe calibration for astrometric projects and frequency calibration for some projects are also minor components of the calibration study. A rough draft will be posted on the email exploder over the next few days. Responses and statistics will be put onto the web. Imaging: Stirling. Finding an optimum way of calibrating phase by combining fast sswitching and WVR. Holdaway is working on an atmosphere, with a model to get temps, then do the simulation. Stirling is providing the three dimensional atmospheres, for daytime, nighttime and other conditions. Stirling will be going to Tucson. Lucas -- computing ipt report is now available. Response will be discussed by CIPT management. SSR will have duties in the Fall--slight changes to SSR document to comply with Ops Plan, Japanese contribution and other items. A detailed set of requirements for all subsystems will be needed by Fall. Face-to-face meeting planned later in October, possibly ESO. No site characterization report. Laing: CSV draft now being expanded. Circulate next draft around 5 September. Takes headings and beging expanding those to give some idea of dependencies and schedule. Determination of staffing one critical item. Some of these folks will come from Telecon end of week beginning 5 September. LO meeting: Tucson, sorting out technical aspects of the LO, meeting end of first week in September. Next meeting 21st September 1430 UT.