# Presentation: 648395

## GO Program: Past, Present & Future

- Koji Mukai
*Suzaku* Guest Observer Facility

## GO Program Overview

- 100% open to competition (except calibration observations and real-time TOOs); no more guaranteed time
- Stage 1 (science) proposals: parallel submission and review in the US, Japan and ESA
- International merging meeting to resolve target conflicts; some proposals are “merged” with US and Japanese PIs
- Priority A and B targets are guaranteed to be observed; C targets as schedule filler
- Stage 2 (budget) proposals for US-based investigators
- Additionally, TOO requests can be submitted for unexpected phenomena

- Suzaku Users' Group Meeting

- May 3, 2007

## Cycle 1 (2006 Apr-2007 Mar)

- All accepted A targets observed, except for
- Untriggered TOO observations (potential total of ~400 ksec)
- 1 US BHC binary TOO and, 1 (of 2) SGR TOO
- 2 TeV blazar TOOs, Cen X-3, and 1 Japanese BHC TOOs were untriggered
- Several observations of Cyg Loop accepted contingent on XIS bakeout
- All accepted B targets observed, except
- Second observation of 1 ESA target (of 2 accepted)
- Supplementary observation of Mrk 766 (safehold)
- Of the C targets (5.3 Msec), about 3 Msec were observed
- Higher than expected due to untriggered TOOs and other factors

- Suzaku Users' Group Meeting

- May 3, 2007

## Cycle 1 (Continued)

- Stage 2 (budget) review was completed in July, 2006
- 28 A proposals funded at $34 K/proposal (Hurley IPN proposal at $17K)
- 23 B proposals at $26 K, 19 Cs at $17 K
- 10 Foreign PI proposals at $9K
- GO grants were distributed starting in Sep, 2006 through NSSC
- After observation is done, if GSFC has funds (not always the case near, e.g., FY boundaries), PR is initiated
- NSSC then does further paperworks before grants are sent
- All Cycle 1 GO grants totaling $1.6M have been processed by GSFC

- Suzaku Users' Group Meeting

- May 3, 2007

## Cycle 2 (Apr 2007-Mar 2008)

- ROSES-2006 release: Jan 23, 2006
- International AO-2 release: Sep 1, 2006
- Proposal deadline: Dec 1, 2006
- US Proposal review: Feb 8/9, 2007
- International merging meeting: Mar 2, 2007
- Target list release: Mar 6, 2007
- Stage 2 (budget proposal) deadline: May 7, 2007
- Stage 2 review: by early Jul, 2007?

- Suzaku Users' Group Meeting

- May 3, 2007

## Cycle 2 Proposal Process

- Stage 1 submisson to AKBAR/RPS (all electronic); no NSPIRES submission
- Reviewer access also through AKBAR/RPS (electronic distribution)
- NRESS provided on-site computer and logistic support for the review
- Stage 2 proposals through NSPIRES ($1.7M available)
- Stage 2 review by Stage 1 Panel Chairs

- Suzaku Users' Group Meeting

- May 3, 2007

## Cycle 2 Statistics

- 156 proposals submitted to US; 24.1 Ms total time, or 22.1 Ms of non-overlapping, XIS2-adjusted time, requested (factor of >4 oversubscriptioin)
- 132 proposals to ISAS, 17.9/16.1 Ms, ~3 o.s.
- US Share: 37.5% (US) + 12.5% (JUS), or 6.2 Ms + 2.1 Ms after x1.4 oversubscription
- 50% priority A, 40% B, and 50% C
- TOO and Time Critical observations must be As
- Strong competition for BHC TOOs
- 47 (A or B) + 26 (C only) proposals accepted

- Suzaku Users' Group Meeting

- May 3, 2007

## International Merging

- Three of the 4 panel chairs (Brown, Bautz, and Rotshchild) and US Project Scientist (White) represented the US for Cycle 2
- Both in Cycles 1 and 2, there were few target overlaps, undersubscribing the 12.5% JUS time.
-  The JUS time was effectively absorbed back into US and Japanese time (c.f. oversubscription factor)
- Merging committee treated the pre-set rules as guidelines and modified them to fit the situation

- Suzaku Users' Group Meeting

- May 3, 2007

## Proposed and Accepted Targets

- US proposals by category
- 1 Comet, 13 Stars, 41 Accreting Binaries, 11 SNR (inc. neutron stars), 6 Galactic diffuse
- 6 Galaxies, 50 AGN, 25 Groups and Clusters, 1 extragalactic diffuse and 2 GRB
- Bright AGN and bright X-ray binaries did particularly well
- Technical feasibility (particularly of HXD science) played a major role

- Suzaku Users' Group Meeting

- May 3, 2007

## (Lack of) Large Projects

- In the US review, we allocate available times to the 4 panels and hold a considerable amount of B time in reserve
- Panels who accept large (>250 ksec) proposals have priority over the reserve time
- This did not lead to large projects being accepted - longest in Cycle 2 is 210 ksec

- Suzaku Users' Group Meeting

- May 3, 2007

## Cycle 3 Plan

- Observations during Apr 2008-Mar 2009
- ROSES-2007 released: Feb 16, 2007
- Proposal Deadline: Nov 30, 2007
- Review, merging, and Stage 2 schedule TBD
- US Share: 37.5% US + 12.5% JUS (provisional)
- Current budget implies $1.35M for Cycle 3 GOs (will drop further to $1M in Cycle 4)
- Potential for special treatment of large projects

- Suzaku Users' Group Meeting

- May 3, 2007