Atacama Large Millimeter Array Science IPT Review

1
Atacama Large Millimeter ArrayScience IPT Review

• Bilateral Project Scientists
• Al Wootten, NRAO
• Tom Wilson, ESO
• Ryohei Kawabe ALMA-J Lead
• ALMA Cost Review
• October 13-15 2005

2
Overview

• History MMA Science group began formal life
  June 1998,
• NA Group holds weekly (usually) telecons.
• Joined with LSA science group June 1999.
• Groups very dispersed but with centers in NAOJ,
  Garching, Cambridge, IRAM, Tucson, AOC and NAASC.
• Pan-ALMA (including JP) telecons monthly.
• Detailed agendas and minutes available on web of
  meetings since June 1998.

3
Work Description

• Charged with setting high level science
  specifications and requirements
• Delivered high level Science Specifications and
  Requirements document
• Continuing interplay with rest of project
• Attend project reviews, often writing reports.
• Make certain that these are transmitted to other
  IPTs
• Check on flow downs and help develop
  alternatives, if needed
• Set up meetings of ALMA Science Advisory
  Committees
• Interaction with Management IPT, JAO, Board
• ASAC-tending, as an ALMA Board Committee is a
  Project Scientist dutydissemination of Reports,
  Agendas, Minutes
• Regional Project Scientists tend regional SACs
• ANASAC in North America
• ESAC in Europe
• JSAC in Japan
• Community outreach
• Development and dissemination of presentation
  material
• Production and distribution of community reports,
  newsletters, websites
• Workshop development and execution
• Design Reference Science Plan
• More than ten dozen proposals from 80
  astronomers, populating 3 years of possible
  science experiments for ALMA spanning all
  disciplines

4
RD Involvement

• Develop and commission calibration strategies for
  ALMA
• Site characterization, design of weather stations
  for site
• Corrections for phase fluctuations due to
  atmospheric water vapor
• Description of Water Radiometer (WVR) and
  software for these corrections
• Simulations including WVR and Fast Switching (FS)
  techniques
• Amplitude calibration device assessment, with SE,
  FE IPTs
• Design the ALMA configuration, with consultation
  from Management, SE, Site, Antenna IPTs
• Design imaging strategies and simulators

5
Commissioning

• The JAO Project Scientist will commission ALMA as
  a scientific instrument with Science IPT
  resources
• Experience gained by team at ALMA Test Facility
  working with SE, Computing, Antenna, FE and other
  IPTs
• With JAO, SE and other IPTs, developing
  Commissioning Plan
• Commences with arrival of third antenna to high
  site
• Gradual handover to Operations staff
• Deeply involved with development of the
  Operations Plan, with MIPT
• Now providing turno Project Scientist to the
  JAO in Santiago.

6
Near-term Deliverables

• Configuration Extended configuration design
• Strawman available, redesign planned to
  accommodate environmental concerns, road and
  fiber design
• Draft delivered end of year, ground truthed (with
  Site IPT), then final early next year
• Concern availability of personnel should antenna
  complement further decrease
• Requirements
• Clarifications on major items as a result of
  System Requirements Review
• Continuing discourse with other IPTs
• Documents on subsidiary items under development
  RF Membrane, Solar Filter, Quarter-Wave plate,
  Amplitude Calibration Device

7
Near-term Deliverables (2)

• The IPT will support Prototype System Integration
  activities at the ATF with evaluation of the
  prototype ALMA interferometer.
• Begin implementation of the ALMA Calibration Plan
  at the ATF facility.
• Further development of commissioning plan for
  Chile
• Evaluation of ALMA Water Vapor Radiometer, to be
  installed on SMA
• Mitigation plan owing to late availability of ATF
• Uses two prototype instruments
• Purchase, use of OSF weather station, purchase of
  AOS instruments
• Instruments defined (basically duplication of
  instruments commissioned at ATF already)
• ICD with Site drafted, imminent submission

8
Rebaselining Changes

• Scope IPT costs are mostly personnel
• Site Characterization is BCP item
• Commissioning WBS evolved from Science WBS
  several positions shift to Commissioning as AIV
  proceeds.
• Budget is determined by level of effort
• Testing of prototype two element interferometer
  with prototype electronics at ATF by Science IPT
  staff assisted by other IPTs
• Schedule dependencies
• Schedule of prototype deliveries at ATF
• AIV schedule in Chile

9
Issues

• Phase correction remains challenging
• Science is top of the food chain schedule can
  get set back by any item below which is late

10

• www.alma.info
• The Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) is an
  international astronomy facility. ALMA is a
  partnership between Europe, North America and
  Japan, in cooperation with the Republic of Chile.
  ALMA is funded in North America by the U.S.
  National Science Foundation (NSF) in cooperation
  with the National Research Council of Canada
  (NRC), in Europe by the European Southern
  Observatory (ESO) and Spain. ALMA construction
  and operations are led on behalf of North America
  by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory
  (NRAO), which is managed by Associated
  Universities, Inc. (AUI), on behalf of Europe by
  ESO, and on behalf of Japan by the National
  Astronomical Observatory of Japan.