Memorandum to EVLA/VLBA Proposers and Observers

News

General announcements and news for investigators proposing to use the EVLA, VLBA, HSA, and other VLBI facilities for the 2011 August 1 deadline will be available in a forthcoming eNews issue. EVLA configuration plans are available here.

Current Regular and Large Proposals

General

Information about the status of all current proposals on which your name appears has been e-mailed to you, in a format described under Static Information below. That e-mailing (a) includes proposals just considered for trimester 2011a plus those waiting for future semesters, whatever their date of submission; and (b) does not include proposals submitted earlier that are waiting in the dynamic scheduling queues.

EVLA Scheduling

This can take two forms, dynamic and fixed date. Rare proposals, particularly those requiring coordination with other facilities, will be scheduled on fixed dates with notification to the observers about six weeks in advance. Most approved proposals will be accepted for insertion into the EVLA dynamic scheduling queue. Starting in trimester 2011a, dynamic allocations are based on two priorities. First, a scientific priority in the range 0 (highest) through 9 (lowest) is assigned to the proposal. Then, taking into account the time available, this is converted to an observational priority according to the likelihood that an observation will occur (A = will almost certainly be observed; B = will likely be observed; C = might be observed; D = filler, or unlikely to be observed).

EVLA Statistics

There were 149 active EVLA proposals for trimester 2011a. We approved 62 for insertion into the EVLA dynamic queue, with 38 at observational priority A, 6 at observational priority B, 10 at observational priority C, and 8 at observational priority D. There are 11 proposals waiting to trigger on an impending event (9 held over from previous trimesters, 2 new). We approved 8 proposals for 74 MHz observations, which will occur on fixed dates in the B, BnA, and A configurations. We approved three other proposals for fixed date observations in the A configuration. For trimester 2011a, the ratio of the total time requested to the total time available was 2.0. A forthcoming eNews article will include information about approved proposals.

EVLA Dynamic Queue

To gauge the pressure on dynamic time as a function of EVLA LST, consult the pressure histogram below for the A configuration from June 10 to September 12. This histogram for trimester 2011a excludes triggered transient proposals. The histogram encodes pressure by observational priority A through D, as well as by frequencies above 10 GHz (crosshatched) and below 10 GHz (clear). The time available per LST hour is shown by the thick black line. The EVLA is oversubscribed at most LSTs. Engineering and commissioning activities, plus approved fixed-date proposals, cause the thick black line to be less than the total number of LST days in the configuration. Moreover, engineering and commissioning activities dominately occur during daytime, causing the thick black line to dip severely near 10 hours LST. OSRO restrictions are evolving with time, so we recommend that trimester 2011a observers wait until May to prepare their scheduling blocks. We also remind observers of the shared-risk nature of early science with the EVLA during trimester 2011a.

VLBA Scheduling

This can take two forms, dynamic and fixed date. Most approved proposals will be accepted for insertion into the VLBA dynamic scheduling queue. The dynamic allocation is described by a scientific priority in the range 1 (highest) through 3 (lowest). A Guide to VLBA Dynamic Scheduling is available. Rare proposals, particularly those requiring other resources such as a non-VLBA antenna, will be scheduled on fixed dates with notification to the observers about six weeks in advance.

VLBA Statistics

There were 38 active VLBA proposals for trimester 2011a. We approved 14 proposals for insertion into the VLBA dynamic queue. Two proposals were approved for fixed date scheduling. We rejected 13 proposals. We have approved three large, multi-trimester proposals, totalling 1026 hours; eleven others totalling 675 hours; and have arranged a very low priority filler project to use otherwise unusable time. There were 3274 hours requested. There were four new proposals for EVN/Global VLBI, and six new proposals for the Global Millimeter VLBI Array. A forthcoming eNews article will include information about approved proposals.

VLBA Dynamic Queue

This is generally oversubscribed. Trimester 2011a begins in mid-January and ends in mid-May. It is in the observers' interests to submit their key files early in the trimester.

Related Postings

Information from the EVLA/VLBA Scheduling Officers is available. Postings for the trimester-based era include the NRAO Proposal Referees' Guide, a complete description of the EVLA/VLBA Time Allocation Process, and the proposal process for Rapid Response Science. Revised postings for the semester-based era will be available early in 2011.

Static Information

Proposal Summary

The first line contains the proposal's code and legacy ID. The second line contains the proposal's title. The next few lines inform you of the proposal's status. This is followed by comments from the RSRO/ECSO Review (if applicable) and from the EVLA/VLBA Proposal Selection Committee. The authors of the proposal are then listed. For proposals for which we have allocated EVLA or VLBA time, a summary of this time appears. We also list the times requested in the proposal. The reports from the referees follow and they contain a numerical rating. The referees use any numerical system with which they are comfortable, subject only to the convention that the smaller the rating, the better the proposal. We include the median of the ratings given us by that particular referee in order to judge the relative rating of your proposal. The referee ratings are strongly advisory to the Committee, which, however, may also apply considerations of similar archival observations, logistics, resources used, etc., to decide which proposals to approve. Some referees also provide a value for a percent of time recommended, in comparison to the time requested in the proposal.

VLBI Global Network Proposals

NRAO evaluates these but the final choice of proposals for scheduling, for either the centimeter or the 3mm sessions, is done by negotiation between the US and European schedulers.

Modifications

Unless stated otherwise, any time allocated is only for the proposal given, and no substantial modification in the program should be made without consulting with schedsoc@nrao.edu (and R. Porcas for VLBI Global Network proposals) before doing so.

Public Outreach

The NRAO can help observers and their home institution prepare joint press releases, and/or help prepare enhanced graphics for publications. The NRAO encourages observers to submit images from their research to its on-line image gallery. Contact: mtadams@nrao.edu.

Copyright © 2009 Associated Universities, Inc.
The National Radio Astronomy Observatory is a facility of the National Science Foundation operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc.

Modified on Wednesday, 18-May-2011 14:05:06 MDT