|
|
|
Observations to be carried out with Chandra during the 12 months of Cycle 11 science operations will be selected from proposals submitted to the CXC in response to this CfP.
There are seven types of proposals that may be submitted in response to this CfP; they are detailed in the following sections. In addition, Director’s Discretionary Time (DDT) proposals for observations that cannot be completed in, or cannot wait for, the usual proposal cycle may be submitted at any time, see Section 4.8.
The CXC reserves the right to reject any approved observation that is in conflict with safety or mission assurance priorities or schedule constraints, or is otherwise deemed to be non-feasible.
There are no restrictions regarding the amount of observing time or the number of targets that may be requested in this category. Proposals may be submitted for single targets with a relatively short observation time, or for larger programs involving multiple targets or significant amounts of observing time. All proposals will be reviewed, and a mix of large and small programs will be selected. Proposals requesting observations distributed over multiple proposal cycles will not be considered. Observations allocated time in this category will have one year of proprietary time unless a shorter proprietary-time interval is requested by the PI.
Large Projects are defined as requiring 300 ksec of observing time or more, regardless of whether they include long-duration observations of single targets or shorter duration observations of many targets. Large Projects must be designated as such by the PI and are encouraged. Up to 6 Msec of the observing time in this Cycle is reserved for Large and Very Large Projects, subject to the submission of proposals of high scientific merit.
The observations proposed for Large Projects must be completed within the 12-month period covered by this CfP. In the case of target conflicts with a small proposal, the Selecting Official, based on the recommendation of the peer review, may award the target in question to the smaller proposal. In this case, the proposer of the Large Project may always make use of data taken for another project once they are made public.
Large Projects are evaluated differently from other proposals. A Large Project is first evaluated and graded along with the other observing proposals by two independent “Topical Science” panels. The graded Large Projects are then passed to the “Big Project” panel that allocates time to the LPs and VLPs and develops an integrated observing plan involving all top-rated proposals to fill the observing time available through this solicitation. Although the Big Project panel may recommend shortening a Large Project under exceptional circumstances, it is intended that a Large Project be an all-or-nothing proposition. Observations allocated in this category will be allocated one year of proprietary time unless a shorter time is requested by the PI.
Very Large Observing Projects are defined as requiring 1 Msec of observing time or more, regardless of whether they include long-duration observations of single targets or shorter duration observations of many targets. This category is open to all science topics and must be designated as such by the PI. Up to 6 Msec of the observing time in this cycle is reserved for Large and Very Large Projects, subject to the submission of proposals of high scientific merit.
The observations proposed for Very Large Projects must be completed within the period covered by this CfP. Very Large Projects will be evaluated as described for Large Projects in Section 4.2. Target conflicts will also be treated similarly.
Observations approved as part of a Very Large Project will have no proprietary time associated with them, and the data will be made public immediately.
Projects that plan to deliver products, such as source catalogs, high fidelity data products, or software to the community are encouraged to outline these plans in the proposal. A modest funding allocation may be requested in the Stage 2 Cost proposal to facilitate the delivery of such products.
Proposals are also solicited for Pre-Approved Targets of Opportunity (TOOs). These are defined to be observations of unanticipated astronomical events, such as a supernova or a gamma-ray burst that must take place in order to trigger the observation. The number of times the Observatory can be used to respond to a TOO is limited by operational considerations with difficulty increasing with rapidity of response. Given the limited availability and high operational impact of TOOs, proposers are asked to carefully consider whether Chandra is the optimal observatory for their particular target(s) and to justify this choice in their proposal. Other X-ray missions, e.g., SWIFT, have comparable capabilities and at times are more flexible for performing TOO observations on medium/bright targets. SWIFT TOO application information either pre-approved (by peer review) or unanticipated, can be found on the SWIFT website at: http://www.swift.psu.edu/too.html.
For this Cycle’s GO programs (including Large and Very Large Projects), it is estimated that the Observatory can support a maximum of:
|
# obsvns (Note a) |
response time (days) |
|
8 |
<1-4 |
|
20 |
4-12 |
|
26 |
12-30 |
|
26 |
>30 |
Note: Follow-up observations count against this allocation if they have a rapid response. If they have a slower response, they count as time-constrained observations.
Once a TOO has been selected, the observing time is awarded but not scheduled until the triggering event takes place. It is the responsibility of the PI to alert the CXC to the occurrence of the triggering event. Proposals may not contain a mixture of TOO and non-TOO targets.
Given the high operational impact of TOOs, no constraints or follow-up observations over and above those included in the proposal RPS forms and recommended by the peer review will be accepted. All follow-up observations whose timing depends on events close to the trigger need to be included in the original proposal forms and will be counted as separate TOOs with category determined by the requested time delay between the event and the observation. All trigger criteria must be specified in the appropriate fields on the RPS form. Follow-up observations that have a longer lead time (> 12 days) are classified as constrained observations.
Those proposing for a Pre-Approved TOO should be aware that any such observations awarded for a given observing Cycle, but not accomplished, cannot be carried over to the next Cycle, although they may be re-proposed. Since the CfP is being released prior to the end of this Cycle, there may be a set of selected and Pre-Approved TOOs for this Cycle that have not been triggered. Proposers may choose to assume that these will not have been triggered by the time the next Cycle starts (about December 2009). If the current cycle TOO is triggered, the PI/observer should indicate on the trigger form (RfO) whether or not the observation should cancel the TOO observation proposed/accepted for the new Cycle.
Joint Observing Projects may be proposed as follows with the intent to address those situations where data (not necessarily simultaneous) from more than one facility are required to meet the scientific objectives of the proposal. In addition to time on Chandra, time may be requested and awarded via this CfP on one or more of the five facilities described below. It is the proposer’s responsibility to provide a technical justification for all observing facilities included in the proposal. A request for simultaneous or otherwise time-constrained observations must be scientifically justified, and the technical justification must include consideration of the relative visibility of the target by all requested facilities. Please note that coordination with ground-based observatories other than NRAO is only available as a preference and will be carried out on a best-effort basis. No time on other facilities will be allocated without accompanying Chandra time on the same target, except where noted.
This CfP
solicits proposals to allow observers interested in using both the Hubble Space
Telescope (HST) and the CXO to achieve their scientific objectives to submit a
single proposal in response to either HST or Chandra CfPs. The only
criteria above and beyond the usual review criteria are that the project must
be fundamentally of a multi-wavelength nature and that both sets of data are
required to meet the science goals. Simultaneous Chandra and HST observations should be requested only if necessary
to achieve the scientific goals. Proposers responding to this CfP may request, and be awarded, HST
observing time in conjunction with their Chandra
observations. One hundred orbits of HST observing time are available for this
opportunity. Conversely, up to 400 ksec of Chandra
observing time are available for award as part of the response to HST research
opportunities. However, the Chandra
project can award no more than one HST Target of
Proposers wishing to take advantage of the CXO-HST arrangements
are encouraged to submit their proposal to the Observatory announcement that
represents the prime science. The expertise required to best appreciate and
evaluate the proposals will be weighted toward the wavelength band of the
primary observatory. Demonstration of the technical feasibility for both
observatories to produce the necessary data is required, including
consideration of the relative visibility of the target(s) to both facilities
for the case of time-constrained observations. Technical information about HST
is available at http://www.stsci.edu/. General policies for HST observations are
described in the latest HST Call for Proposals, available at http://www.stsci.edu/hst/proposing/documents/cp/cp_cover.html.
The Space Telescope Science Institute is prepared to assist observers proposing
in response to this opportunity. Questions should be addressed to help@stsci.edu.
Proposers should carefully consult the status of HST observing capabilities at http://www.stsci.edu/hst/. In the event that the proposed HST instruments are not available, in their science justification, proposers should explain backup plans and/or the impact on their science program.
If a science project requires observations with both XMM-Newton, sponsored by the European Space Agency, and the Chandra X-ray Observatory, then a single proposal may be submitted to request time on both Observatories to either the most recent XMM-Newton Announcement of Opportunity or to this Chandra CfP so that it is unnecessary to submit proposals to two separate reviews.
By agreement with the Chandra Project, the XMM-Newton Project may award up to 400 ksec of Chandra observing time. Similarly, the Chandra Project may award up to 400 ksec of XMM-Newton time. The time will be awarded only for highly ranked proposals that require use of both observatories and shall not apply to usage of archival data. The only criterion above and beyond the usual review criteria is that both sets of data are required to meet the primary science goals. Proposers should take special care in justifying both the scientific and technical reasons for requesting observing time on both missions. Simultaneous Chandra and XMM-Newton observations should be requested only if necessary to achieve the scientific goals. No Targets of Opportunity, either pre-Approved or unanticipated, will be considered for this cooperative program. For this CfP, no XMM-Newton time will be allocated without the need for Chandra time to complete the proposed investigation.
Establishing technical feasibility is the responsibility of the observer, who should review the Chandra and XMM-Newton (http://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/xmm/xmmgof.html) documentation or consult with the CXC HelpDesk.
If your science project requires observations from both the Spitzer Space Telescope and the Chandra X-ray Observatory, you can submit a single proposal to request time on both observatories to the Chandra Cycle-11 review. This avoids the “double jeopardy” of having to submit proposals to two separate reviews.
NASA has directed the Spitzer project to plan for approximately two years of ‘warm’ Spitzer observations using the 3.6 and 4.5 micron channels of the IRAC instrument after Spitzer's cryogen runs out in spring 2009. For Chandra Cycle 11, the CXC will be able to award up to 100 hours of Spitzer time to highly rated proposals. The only criteria above and beyond the usual review criteria are that the project is fundamentally of a multi-wavelength nature and that both sets of data are required to meet the science goals. Simultaneous Chandra and Spitzer observations should be requested only if necessary to achieve the scientific goals. Spitzer General Observer time will only be awarded in conjunction with Chandra observations and should not be proposed for in conjunction with an Archival Research or Theory/Modeling Proposal.
In the Chandra Cycle 11 review, no more than 50 hours of the 100 hours of Spitzer observing time available will be awarded to an individual proposal. No TOOs will be approved. Evaluation of the technical feasibility is the responsibility of the observer, who should review the Spitzer documentation (http://ssc.spitzer.caltech.edu/propkit) or consult with the Spitzer Science Center (SSC) HelpDesk (help@spitzer.caltech.edu). For proposals that are approved, the SSC will perform detailed feasibility checks. The SSC reserves the right to reject any previously approved observation that proves to be non-feasible, impossible to schedule, and/or dangerous to the Spitzer instruments. Any Spitzer observations that prove infeasible or impossible could jeopardize the overall science program and may cause revocation of the corresponding CXO observations. Duplicate Spitzer observations may also be rejected by the SSC.
Proposers requesting joint Chandra-Spitzer observations must provide a full and comprehensive technical justification for the Spitzer portion of their program. This justification must include:
· The requested IRAC observing time, justification for the requested time, target fluxes, required sensitivity, and assumptions made in the derivation of these quantities.
· Information on whether the observations are time-critical; indicate whether the observations must be coordinated in a way that affects scheduling of either Chandra or Spitzer observations.
Technical documentation about the Spitzer Space Telescope is available from the Spitzer Science Center (SSC) website, which also provides access to the Spitzer HelpDesk (email: help@spitzer.caltech.edu). The primary document is the Spitzer Observer's Manual, available, together with other relevant documents, from the Proposal Kit Web Page. Spitzer strongly recommends that observers proposing Spitzer observations estimate the required observing time using Spot, the Spitzer proposal planning software, also available from the online proposal kit
(http://ssc.spitzer.caltech.edu/propkit).
Proposers requesting joint CXO-Spitzer observations must specify whether they were awarded Spitzer time in a previous cycle for similar or related observations.
By agreement with NOAO, proposers interested in making use of observing facilities available through NOAO (except Keck and Magellan) as part of their Chandra science may submit a single observing or archival research proposal in response to this CfP. The award of NOAO time will be made to highly ranked Chandra proposals and will be subject to approval by the NOAO Director.
The primary criterion for the award of NOAO time is that both Chandra and NOAO data are required to meet the scientific objectives of the proposal. Both observing and archival research proposals are eligible. The highest priority for the award of NOAO time will be given to programs that plan to publicly release the optical data in a timely manner (shorter than the usual 18-month proprietary period) and that create databases likely to have broad application. NOAO plans to make up to 5% of the time available for this opportunity. NOAO observing time will be divided roughly equally between the Fall and Spring semesters covered by the Chandra cycle.
Proposers wishing to make use of this opportunity must provide the following additional NOAO-related information as part of their Chandra proposal:
Demonstration of the technical feasibility of the
proposed NOAO observations is the responsibility of the proposer. Detailed
technical information concerning NOAO facilities may be found at http://www.noao.edu.
If approved for NOAO time, successful PIs will be required to submit the standard NOAO forms providing detailed observing information appropriate to the telescope and instrument combination(s) awarded. NOAO will perform feasibility checks on the proposed observations and reserves the right to reject any observation determined to be unfeasible for any reason. Such a rejection could jeopardize the entire proposed science program and impact the award of the Chandra observing time as well.
In addition, for NOAO time on Gemini (only), successful PIs will be required to submit a full scientific justification to NOAO on the standard NOAO proposal form. This justification will be reviewed by the regular NOAO Time Allocation Committee in order to determine into which Gemini queue band the observations will be placed.
By agreement with NRAO, proposers interested in making use of the NRAO Very Large Array (VLA), Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) and Green Bank Telescope (GBT) facilities as part of their Chandra science may submit a single proposal in response to this CfP. The award of NRAO time will be made to highly ranked Chandra proposals and will be subject to approval by the NRAO Director.
The primary criterion for the award of NRAO time is that both Chandra and NRAO datasets are essential to meet the scientific objectives of the proposal. No NRAO time will be allocated without Chandra time.
NRAO plans to make up to 3% of VLA, VLBA and GBT observing
time available for this opportunity with a maximum of 5% in any
configuration/time period and including an 18-month period close to the Chandra Cycle 11 such that all VLA
configurations are available. A VLA configuration schedule is published at http://www.vla.nrao.edu/genpub/configs/.
Proposers wishing to make use of this opportunity must provide the following NRAO-related information as part of their Chandra proposal:
Be aware that some Chandra targets might not require new NRAO observations because the joint science goals can be met using:
Detailed technical information concerning the NRAO telescopes can be found at http://www.vla.nrao.edu/astro/ (VLA), http://www.vlba.nrao.edu/astro/ (VLBA), and http://www.gb.nrao.edu/ (GBT). In particular, technical information required for a proposal can be found at http://www.vla.nrao.edu/astro/guides/vlas/current/ (VLA), http://www.vlba.nrao.edu/astro/obstatus/current/obssum.html (VLBA), and http://www.gb.nrao.edu/gbtprops/man/GBTpg/GBTpg_tf.html (GBT).
If approved for NRAO time, successful PIs will be contacted by the NRAO Scheduling Officers. The successful PIs will then be responsible for submitting observing scripts to NRAO. The deadline for the receipt of these scripts will be communicated by the Scheduling Officers. NRAO will perform final feasibility checks on these scripts and reserves the right to reject any observation determined to be infeasible for any reason. Such a rejection could jeopardize the success of the joint science program.
By agreement with the Suzaku Project, proposers interested in making use of Suzaku time as part of their Chandra science investigation may submit a single proposal in response to this Chandra CfP. The award of Suzaku time will be made to highly ranked Chandra proposals and will be subject to approval by the Suzaku Project.
The primary criterion for the award of Suzaku time is that both Chandra and Suzaku data are required to meet the scientific objectives of the proposal. Suzaku time will not be awarded without accompanying Chandra observing time.
The Suzaku Project is making available up to 500 ksec of Suzaku observing time available to such joint science proposals. Coordinated observations are allowed, if judged feasible. Chandra Cycle 11 is expected to overlap with Suzaku Cycle 5, a 1-year observing program which begins in 2010 April.
A maximum of 75ksec on Suzaku can be time-constrained for science reasons, including coordinated observations, roll, phase or window constraints, or Targets of Opportunity. No TOO requiring less than 4 days response time will be considered.
Proposers wishing to make use of this opportunity must provide the following additional Suzaku-related information as part of their Chandra proposal:
It is the responsibility of the proposer to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed Suzaku observation. Detailed technical information concerning Suzaku may be found at http://www.astro.isas.jaxa.jp/suzaku/. The Suzaku Guest Observer Facility and Project Scientist will make feasibility assessments of the proposed observations independently of the Chandra review. Proposed Suzaku observations determined to be infeasible will be rejected. Such a rejection could jeopardize the entire proposed science program and impact the award of the Chandra observing time as well.
If Suzaku time is approved, successful PIs will then be required to submit the standard Suzaku cover and target forms to the Suzaku Guest Observer Facility via RPS to provide the required information about observing strategy and instrument configurations in a form amenable to the Suzaku scheduling software.
Limited funds are available to US-based researchers to support Suzaku analysis through the Suzaku Stage 2 (budget) proposals process. Suzaku datasets obtained under this agreement will be proprietary to the PI for one year after the performance of the observation, and will subsequently be released publicly via the HEASARC.
Research that is primarily Theoretical/Modeling in nature can have a lasting benefit for current or future observational programs with Chandra, and it is appropriate to propose such programs with relevance to the Chandra mission. Theoretical/Modeling research should be the primary or sole emphasis of such a proposal. Analysis of archival data should not be the goal of the project. Archived data may be used only to show how Chandra observations may be better understood through the results of the proposed Theory/Modeling research. Theory/Modeling proposals must be submitted using the same proposal format as observing proposals, and the proposal type “Theory” should be checked on the electronic submission.
A Theory/Modeling proposal should address a topic that is of direct relevance to Chandra observing programs, and this relevance must be explained in the proposal. (Research that is appropriate for a general theory program should be submitted to the Science Mission Directorate’s Astrophysics Theory Program, solicited in the annual Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Sciences (ROSES) NASA Research Announcement and/or other appropriate funding sources.) The primary criterion for a Theory/Modeling proposal is that the results must enhance the value of Chandra observational programs through their broad interpretation (in the context of new models or theories) or by refining the knowledge needed to interpret specific observational results (for example, a calculation of cross sections). As with all investigations supported through this CfP, the results of the Theoretical/Modeling investigation should be made available to the community in a timely fashion.
A Theory/Modeling proposal must include an estimated amount of funding in the Stage 1 submission and must provide a narrative within the science justification section that describes the proposed use of the funds. Detailed budgets are not requested in Stage 1, however, and are due only in Stage 2.
The scientific justification section of the proposal must describe the proposed theoretical investigation and also the anticipated impact on observational investigations with Chandra. Review panels will consist of observational and theoretical astronomers with a broad range of scientific expertise. The reviewers will not necessarily be specialists in all areas of astrophysics, particularly theory, so the proposals must be written for general audiences of scientists. The proposal should discuss the types of Chandra data that would benefit from the proposed investigation, and references to specific data sets in the Chandra data archive should be given where appropriate. The proposal should also describe how the results of the theoretical investigation will be made available to the astronomical community, and on what time scale the results are expected.
This CfP also includes the opportunity to propose investigations based on data in the Chandra public archive for part or all of the study. Proposals for which archival data is the major focus of the investigation should select the “Archive” category on the RPS form. A PI may link an archival research proposal with an observing proposal to extend an existing sample to perform the same science. There is no restriction on the amount of existing Chandra data that may be proposed for analysis. The Chandra website (http://cxc.harvard.edu/) contains information on the data that are available in the archive. The data may also be accessed through this website (see Section 3.5). All on-orbit calibration data are placed directly in the archive. Data from Director’s Discretionary Time (DDT) observations (see Section 4.8) are placed in the archive no later than three months after receipt by the PI, while other proprietary observations are archived no later than one year after receipt by the PI. VLP data have no proprietary period and are placed in the archive coincident with receipt by the PI.
Archival Research proposals must include an estimated amount of funding in the Stage 1 submission and must provide a brief narrative within the science justification section that describes the proposed use of the funds. Detailed budgets are not requested in Stage 1 and are due in Stage 2.
The Chandra Source Catalog is currently in production, and the first official release of the catalog is expected to take place in January 2009. We will accept archival proposals which make use of the catalog as all/part of the planned science program.The first release of the catalog includes information about sources detected in public ACIS imaging observations from roughly the first eight years of the Chandra mission. Sources detected in public HRC-I imaging observations are also expected to be included.
The catalog includes sources detected with a minimum 3 sigma significance level above the background (typically corresponding to about 10 net source counts on-axis and roughly 20-30 net source counts off-axis). In the first release of the catalog, if multiple observations of the same field exist, those observations are not co-added prior to performing source detection. Instead, source detection is performed on each observation individually, so that the 3 sigma threshold applies to detections from each observation separately.
Prospective users of the catalog should be aware of the selection effects that restrict the source content of the catalog and which may limit scientific studies that require an unbiased source sample. The catalog is constructed from pointed observations obtained using Chandra; it is not an all-sky catalog, and does not include sources detected to a uniform depth. The first release of the catalog includes only point and compact sources, with observed spatial extents < ~30 arcsec. Sources larger than this will not be detected with the current catalog algorithms. Observations of fields containing extended sources have been excluded from the catalog, or in some cases only a part of the field has been included.
For each detected source and observation, the catalog includes the following properties:
In addition, a number of file-based data products will be produced for each observation and source individually. These include full field images, an exposure map, and a limiting sensitivity map; source region and PSF images, source-region exposure map, source light curve, a source-region photon event list; and for ACIS a source spectrum, ARF, and RMF.
These files will be in formats suitable for further analysis in CIAO.
For more information on the Chandra Source Catalog, please refer to the public catalog web pages, which are available at http://cxc.cfa.harvard.edu/csc/index.html
Unanticipated Targets of Opportunity or those that
cannot wait for the next proposal cycle may be proposed for observation using
Director’s Discretionary Time (DDT) at any time. Proposals for DDT must be
submitted electronically through RPS as described in Section 5.3. Note that the
RPS form for DDT is different from that for ordinary proposals. The DDT form
may be found on the CXC
website by selecting the “Proposer” button and
then “Targets of
 |
The Chandra X-Ray
Center (CXC) is operated for NASA by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 USA. Email: cxcweb@head.cfa.harvard.edu Smithsonian Institution, Copyright © 1998-2004. All rights reserved. |