Doc 6.8, ver. 7.0 | March 2018

Guide to the European ALMA Regional
Centre

ALMA, an international astronomy facility, is a partnership of Europe, North America and East Asia
in cooperation with the Republic of Chile.

For further information or to comment on this document, please contact your regional Helpdesk through the ALMA Science
Portal at www.almascience.org. Helpdesk tickets will be directed to the appropriate ALMA Regional Centre at ESO,NAOJ or NRAO.

Version

Date

Editors

1.0

25 February 2011

Martin Zwaan

2.0

25 May 2012

Martin Zwaan, Evanthia Hatziminaoglou

3.0

14 October 2013

Martin Zwaan

3.1

23 July 2014

Martin Zwaan, Evanthia Hatziminaoglou

4.0

12 March 2015

Martin Zwaan, Evanthia Hatziminaoglou

4.1

29 November 2015

Martin Zwaan, Evanthia Hatziminaoglou, ARC nodes

5.2

16 March 2016

Martin Zwaan, Evanthia Hatziminaoglou, ARC nodes

6.0

20 March 2017

Martin Zwaan, Evanthia Hatziminaoglou, ARC nodes

7.0

March 2018

Martin Zwaan, Evanthia Hatziminaoglou, ARC nodes

Martin Zwaan, Evanthia Hatziminaoglou, the European ARC at ESO and the European ARC nodes.

In publications, please refer to this document as:
Martin Zwaan & Evanthia Hatziminaoglou 2018, Guide to the European ARC, ALMA Doc6.8 v7.0

Table of contents
Purpose of this document
ALMA in a nutshell

2

2

The ALMA Regional Centres (ARCs) 2
Organisation of the European ARC structure 2
Role of the central ARC, the ARC nodes and the CoE

3

How the ARC can help with your ALMA observing project4

The ALMA Science Portal
The proposal stage

4

4

The preparation of Scheduling Blocks (SBs) 5
Tracking your project 5
After data have been taken

5

The data reduction pipeline

6

Data reduction support

6

Additional help from the European ARC
Archive research support

7

7

Need training? 7
General questions

7

How to organise a face-to-face visit 7
Funding for visits

8

The ARC nodes and CoEs

8

The Italian node in Bologna

8

The Dutch node in Leiden: Allegro

9

The German node in Bonn/Cologne 9
The IRAM node in Grenoble 9
The Nordic node in Onsala

10

The UK node in Manchester 10
The Czech node in Ondrejov 11
The Portuguese CoE in Lisbon: PACE

11

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Purpose of this document
The purpose of this document is to help users to find their way around the European ALMA Regional Centre(ARC). The European ARC is the 'one stop shop' for all European ALMA users. This document explains how the
ARC structure works and how it can help users at the various stages of their ALMA observing project.

ALMA in a nutshell
The Atacama Large Millimetre/sub-millimetre Array (ALMA) is expected to be the leading observatory at millimetre
and sub-millimetre wavelengths for many decades to come. ALMA is a global collaboration involving East Asia,
Europe, North America and the host country Chile. ALMA comprises 66 high-precision antennas equipped withreceiver and digital electronics systems to observe in the frequency range from 30 GHz to 1 THz and at angularresolutions down to 6 milliarcsec. Using a fully dynamic scheduling system and innovative calibration strategies,
the ALMA system allows observers to make the best use of the atmospheric conditions on the Chajnantor
plateau at 5000 m altitude in the Atacama desert. The European contribution to the ALMA project is led by ESO
on behalf of its member states.
ALMA has performed scientific observations since September 2011, in addition to regular commissioning andscience verification. Each observing period offers another opportunity for astronomers to propose science
projects with ALMA. Details on the new capabilities in this cycle are given in the Proposer’s Guide, available at the
ALMA Science Portal at http://almascience.org. More information on the ALMA project can also be found on the
Science Portal.

The ALMA Regional Centres (ARCs)
The interface between ALMA and the astronomical community is provided by the three partners through the
ALMA Regional Centres (ARCs). These are located at NAOJ in Mitaka, Japan, for the East Asian partnership, at
ESO in Garching, Germany, for the European partnership, and at NRAO in Charlottesville, USA, for the North
American partnership. The ARCs are staffed by scientists with expertise in radio astronomy, millimetre and submillimetre astronomy, and interferometry, and their purpose is to work with the community of astronomers tomaximise the scientific productivity of the telescope.

Organisation of the European ARC structure
The ARC structure in Europe supports the scientific use of ALMA by the European user community. The ARC
forms the interface between the ALMA observatory and the user community throughout the lifetime of a project,i.e., from proposal preparation to data analysis. In Europe, the services to the community are provided by a
distributed network of ARC nodes at Bologna, Bonn/Cologne, Grenoble, Leiden, Manchester, Ondřejov, andOnsala, as well as an ALMA Centre of Expertise (CoE) in Lisbon, under the coordination of the ESO ARC in
Garching.
The primary aim of the European ARC is to maximise ALMA's scientific return for European users. Each ARC
node is staffed with scientists providing a range of experience in interferometry, (sub-)millimetre observing and
ALMA data reduction and interpretation, as well as a range in scientific interests. The staff at the ESO ARC, theARC nodes and the CoE work together to provide optimal support to users during the complete lifetime of a
project from proposal preparation, preparation of the Phase 2 material, delivery of the calibrated science
products to the users, and, if required, additional data reduction support, advice regarding observing strategies
and can help with ALMA archival research. The ARC network organises community days, tutorials andworkshops throughout Europe to reach out to the community and to train users in proposal preparation and data
reduction. Several ARC nodes also supervise Master's and PhD students and give university lectures on ALMArelated topics.
The central point of contact for current and prospective ALMA
users is the ALMA Helpdesk, which is available to all registeredusers from the ALMA Science Portal. There is one Helpdesk
for all ALMA users, but queries from European users will be
primarily addressed by the European ARC, either by scientists
in Garching or by staff in one of the ARC nodes. The Helpdesk

For all ALMA questions: use the ALMA Helpdesk
to contact the ARC. The Helpdesk is available
through the ALMA Science Portal.

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includes a library of “Knowledge-base” articles that address a number of common issues and questions. If theanswer is not found in the suggested Knowledge-base articles, the user can submit a ticket. During normal
operations, users can expect a response within two business days. During the week prior to a proposal deadline,
extra staff will be assigned to the Helpdesk and every effort will be made to address time-critical questions in a
rapid manner.

Role of the central ARC, the ARC nodes and the CoE
The central ARC in Garching and the ARC nodes distributed throughout Europe work together to provide optimal
support to European ALMA users. It is however important to realise that the roles that the central ARC, the nodes
and the CoE fulfil are very different. For example, all face-to-face support, one of the core functions of the ALMA
project, takes place at the ARC nodes.
The different roles of the ARC and the ARC nodes are outlined below. Note that the typical ALMA user does notneed to know the specifics of how tasks are divided between the central ARC and the nodes: All initial contacts
between the user and the ARC staff happen through the ALMA Helpdesk. The ARC staff may answer the user's
question immediately, refer to documentation, or forward the query to an expert within the ARC-nodes network.
The ARC may advise that face-to-face help is required, or the users may indicate themselves that they need to
get in touch with their Contact Scientist (CS) or request face-to-face support.
The main tasks of the central ARC, of direct relevance to ALMA users, are:• Phase 1 operations: distribution of the call for proposals to prospective European ALMA users, user support
during proposal preparation as well as assistance in coordinating the proposal reviewing process.
• Phase 2 operations: manual generation of Scheduling Blocks when necessary, inspection of the automaticallygenerated Scheduling Blocks and implementation of changes following successful change requests.
• Data product support: quality assurance (QA2) of science data sets and delivery of the final raw and reduced
data to the PIs.
• Archive operations: the ESO ARC node holds a complete synchronised copy of the ALMA archive.
• Running the ALMA Helpdesk.
The relevant tasks of the ARC nodes are:• Quality Assurance (QA2) of science data sets.
• User support with proposal preparation by means of face-to-face meetings, dedicated workshops andthrough the ALMA Helpdesk.
• Phase 2 operations: assisting users with the validation of their Phase 2 material, and the technical details
required to schedule and execute the proposed observations.
• Face-to-face help with data reduction, including expert support in data processing for specialised observing
techniques.
• Help in archival research, including assistance to users of the ALMA archive in identifying and using the data
products suitable for their scientific projects.
• Facilitate science coordination between ALMA users, i.e. providing space for small meetings, putting people
with similar interests in contact if mutually desired etc.
• Close interaction with the community and regular updates on ALMA (Community Days and other events,
newsletter, webpages), as well as community preparation through lectures, tutorials, etc.
• Outreach to the general public.

The tasks of the ALMA Centres of Expertise:!3

European ALMA CoEs are an addition to the European ALMA support structure since 2014. A CoE has atemporary status and may eventually acquire the status of full ARC node, once the conditions described in detailin the document “European ALMA Centres of Expertise: Tasks and Responsibilities” have been satisfied.The
tasks of the CoEs are similar to those of the ARC nodes, with the exception that they do not provide CSs or faceto-face support for data reduction. Once a CoE becomes an ARC node, its role and responsibilities will fully alignwith those of the other ARC nodes.
The following section describes in more detail the kind of support to be expected throughout the lifetime of an
ALMA project.

How the ARC can help with your ALMA observing project
For each scheduling period, a Call for Proposals for ALMA is issued. The ESO ARC distributes this call among
the European user community by email and makes it available on the ALMA Science Portal(http://almascience.org). The call provides information about the available capabilities for each cycle, necessary
information for the electronic submission of proposals as well as links to documentation such as the Proposer’s
Guide, the ALMA Technical Handbook and the Observing Tool (OT) User and Reference Manuals, as well as the
OT Quick Start Guide. For the complete list of documentation, see the relevant section on the ALMA Science
Portal.

The ALMA Science Portal

To submit a proposal, download ALMA software,or gain access to the Helpdesk, you will need to
All ALMA users need to register to the ALMA Science Portal.
register with the ALMA Science Portal
This is a single sign-on gateway to the various tools described(almascience.eso.org/).
below, the Helpdesk, the ALMA Science Archive, and otherrelevant information. Each astronomer who uses ALMA is
assigned a single ARC for user support at the time theyregister. ALMA users should have one ALMA account, that they should update in case any of their profile detailschanges (e.g. e-mail address, affiliation etc).

The proposal stage
The Phase 1 material of the proposals must be prepared with the ALMA OT , available from the ALMA Science
Portal, section "Tools". The OT requires the users to provide a scientific and technical justification, target
specification, and sensitivity. The OT provides the users with time-on-target plus overhead specification,
integration time estimation, transparency and atmospheric conditions, etc.
The ALMA Observing Support Tool (OST), hosted at the UK
node (http://almaost.jb.man.ac.uk/) provides an easy webUse the ALMA Observing Tool to prepare yourbased interface to preparing simulations. The user can upload
proposal. Need help? Use the Helpdesk toa FITS image and 'observe' it with ALMA at different
contact the ARC.
frequencies, bandwidths, configurations, integration times andweather conditions. The results are images as ALMA would
produce them, together with point spread functions and maps of the uv-coverage. This information can help
users in planning their ALMA observations.
More experienced users may want to use simulation capabilities included in the CASA data reduction package,
which have more flexibility. For more details see http://casaguides.nrao.edu.
Staff at the EU ARC network assist users with the preparation of their Phase 1 material. This assistance covers
help with the OT, the ALMA exposure time calculator and thesimulator. Staff are also available for consultation regarding
Need help with proposal submission? Use theobserving strategies.
Helpdesk. Need face-to-face help for preparing a
Users may also choose to visit an ARC node for face-to-face
support during proposal preparation.

complicated proposal? Use the Helpdesk tocoordinate a visit to an ARC node.

After the submission deadline, all proposals are ranked by the
ALMA Proposal Review Committee (APRC), which makes a recommendation to the ALMA director on the!4scheduling of ALMA projects for the coming period. Note that there is only one international proposal review
committee for all ALMA proposals.

The preparation of the Phase 2 material
PIs are responsible for the submission of their Phase 2 Science Goals (SGs). PIs will be notified by email on the
ranking of their project as well as on the timeline for the submission of their Phase 2 material. PIs can request
assistance with the validation of their SGs from their CS, that will be assigned to all accepted A-, B-, and Crated projects. Minor mistakes on the positions, velocities or frequencies can be corrected by the PIs directly.
Major changes that might change the scientific content of the program or clash with another approved project,need special permission and should be requested via a special Helpdesk ticket.
Immediately after the Phase 2 deadline, the Scheduling Blocks (SBs) will be automatically generated by theobservatory and will be released to ALMA operations in Chile for scheduling and eventual execution. No further
alterations can be made without special approval, obtained via Helpdesk in consultation with a CS. Note thatobservers do not travel to Chile or elsewhere to take part in the observations - all ALMA observations arescheduled dynamically and executed in service mode.
The SBs can be executed at any time without further
intervention from users, CS or ARC staff. If a problem is foundat run-time, execution of the SB is halted. The Phase 2 teamat the ESO ARC will fix the problem and the affected SBs are
put back in the queue for scheduling.

Need the help of a Contact Scientist for preparing
your Phase 2 material? Contact the ARC throughthe Helpdesk.

Please note that in general PIs should submit their Phase 2 SGs as rapidly as possible to avoid any delays. In
case of unavailability, PIs can delegate the generation of Phase 2 material to a person of their choice via the‘Project delegation’ tab in their ALMA Science Portal User Profile. Projects for which the Phase 2 material is not
successfully submitted by the deadline given in the time allocation email will be downgraded. The Phase 2 teamwill make sure all SBs will run smoothly at the telescope (e.g. check calibrator variability, target proper motion).

Tracking your project
The Snooping Project Interface (SnooPI) allows PIs to follow
the status of their ALMA observing projects. It allows the PIs tosearch for their active projects and get an overview of the SBs
that have been observed, those in the queue, those that areunder processing, etc.

Follow project progress with SnooPI, which isavailable on the Science Portal under the“Observing” menu.

After data have been taken
ALMA observing projects are dynamically scheduled, taking into account weather conditions, the configuration of
the array, the proposal ranking and possibly other constraints. Short projects may be observed within one day,whereas others may take several weeks or months to complete. After the observations for a project have been
completed, users are notified by email. Note that B- and C-rated projects will not be carried over to the next
cycle when not completed, while A-rated projects will automatically be carried over, for one cycle.
All data pass through a multi-tier quality assurance (QA) scheme before they are released to the user. ALMA data
sets can vary enormously in size depending on correlator settings, averaging times and total integration time.
Data size may range from tens of GB for the shortest observations to many TB for lengthy projects.. Users candownload the data from the ALMA archive.
It is important to realise that all ALMA data are kept in the archive. All requests for data of any observing program
are handled through this archive. This ALMA Science Archive is accessible through the Science Portal.
PIs can request, via the Helpdesk, the raw data of partly completed observations if no further observations are
expected to be taken within 90 days due to configuration constraints. Details on such intermediate data releases
are given in the ALMA Users’ Policies.

!5The data reduction pipeline
When a block of data for a particular program has been
observed, the ALMA data reduction pipeline is activated. This
pipeline runs on dedicated machines in Chile and in the ARCs
and it uses a heuristics system to automatically edit, calibrate,and image data taken with the standard observing modes. The
pipeline heuristics have captured the knowledge ofexperienced radio interferometer users and incorporated it into
the reduction scheme. The output of the data reduction
pipeline is stored in the ALMA Science Archive and is subject
to a final QA2 before the reduced data are made available tothe user.

Pipeline calibration has been fully commissioned
for most observing modes employed in previous
cycles but about 20% of observing projects will
still be calibrated manually using standard scripts(e.g., high frequency bands, full polarisation). The
data processing will be done using a combinationof the pipeline and manual analysis using CASA.

Data reduction support
The data reduction pipeline produces high quality science products for the standard observing modes. Expert
hands-on help with data reduction may be required however, especially when more complicated observing
techniques are used. The ARC is the primary contact point for users who need assistance with data reduction.
ARC staff provide basic data analysis support, ranging from simple advice, to providing appropriate data analysis
documents and products, to detailed assistance for users who require it.
The primary responsibility of the ESO ARC is to ensure that the reduced data from all standard ALMA observing
modes meet the requirements set by the approved observing proposal.The ARC nodes can provide further
assistance to users who require it. A likely scenario may be the following: the ALMA data reduction pipeline has
processed a user’s data. If the data meet the requirements defined in the proposal, the data are delivered to theuser. However, the user may wish to make images with higher
spatial resolution or higher sensitivity. The ARC nodes can help
Basic data reduction support: use the Helpdesk.
to reprocess the data, using different weighting schemes in the
Advanced data reduction support: visit an ARC
imaging stage. Another user may need higher dynamic range
node (use the Helpdesk to coordinate a visit).
image cubes and can work with an ARC node to apply selfcalibration to the data. For the use of nonstandard analysis
techniques and the utilisation of the advanced algorithms and software developed by a specific ARC node,
ALMA users may also arrange a visit to this ARC node, where the best possible support can be provided.
The ARC nodes provide the latest (or any relevant) version of CASA, installed on high performance workstations
with ample disk space. For any first line CASA support, please visit the CASA Guides website at http://casaguides.nrao.edu.

Additional help from the European ARC
Archive research support
A complete, synchronised mirror of the ALMA archive is kept at ESO and is a valuable resource for data mining.
Assistance for archive research encourages broader approaches to scientific investigations. Therefore, scientists
in the ARCs, ARC nodes and CoE provide support for astronomers accessing the ALMA science archive. The
ALMA Science Archive is available through the User Portal.
Basic archive research support: use the Helpdesk.
Prospective ALMA users are likely to want to consult theAdvanced archive exploitation support: visit an
Archive when planning observations as well as for data mining.
ARC node (use the Helpdesk to coordinate a visit).
To ensure that the archive (and ALMA) is exploited to its fullpotential, ARC nodes or CoE staff can assist users in using thearchive. This includes face-to-face visits. Note that only PIs
and Delegees can access projects completed within the last 12 months.

The ARC nodes and CoE can also help users extract information effectively (such as potential calibration source
properties, or whether there are public domain data matching the required criteria) as well as assist with analysisof archive data.

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Need training?
The European ARC regularly organises workshops, tutorials and schools related to ALMA. Dedicated CASA data
reduction tutorials are held throughout Europe, as well
as sessions describing the ALMA OT and more general
Need information on upcoming ALMA related tutorials
workshops explaining the current ALMA capabilities.
and workshops? Check the EU ARC webpages or the EU
The EU ALMA newsletter and announcements provide a
ARC announcements, or subscribe to the mailing list oflist of all scheduled activities and the mailing lists of the
your local ARC node.
ESO ARC and the local nodes are used to disseminate
this information.

General questions
For any general questions related to ALMA capabilities,
availability of observing modes, or other relevant topics, please
use the Helpdesk.

Any questions related to ALMA: use the Helpdesk

How to organise a face-to-face visit
The preferred way to obtaining any type of support is through the ALMA Helpdesk: select “Submit a Ticket”, then“Face to Face Support (EU)”. In the Helpdesk ticket and in order to make the most of the face-ti-face visit theuser should give as much information as possible on the purpose of the visit and the proposed node and dates.
Support staff at this node are responsible for arranging the details of the visit. Each visitor is assigned a dedicatedmember of staff for support purposes and can expect that this support person will be able to respond as quickly
as possible to their requests for help, within reason.
Users normally visit their local node. If there is no ARC node associated with the country where the user isworking, or if the user and the ARC (node) staff decide that specialist support is best provided by another node, avisit to another node can be organised.
ALMA data reduction will normally be performed using dedicated computing facilities such as those provided by
the ARC nodes. The data volumes are too large for laptops in most cases, except for the later stages of image orspectral analysis, possibly using subsets of the data. Please consult ARC staff if you want to use your laptop.
To ensure data are downloaded locally and ready for the PI,
the PI must give explicit permission for processed and raw
data to be downloaded from the ALMA Science Archive by the
ARC node staff via the “Project delegation” tab in their ALMA
Science Portal User Profile. ARC nodes provide facilities for the user to copy data onto a hard disk drive. Data
backup should be discussed prior to the visit, so that the user can bring appropriate storage devices. Somenodes can also support ftp of data provided the link at the user's home institute is fast enough.
To organise a face-to-face visit: use the Helpdesk

ARC nodes keep a copy of the data the user has been working on for at least a few weeks after the end of theuser's visit. This enables the node staff to address any post-visit questions which may arise.
After a visit, the user is requested to submit a feedback form on the service received, indicating, among otherthings, whether the goals of the visit were met.

Funding for visits
It is foreseen that most users will apply for funding from their local agencies for travel to one of the ARC nodes or
CoE. Some ARC nodes have access to funds for visiting scientists. Please check the details in the next section,or visit the ARC node web pages. Funding is also available through the RadioNet MARCUs (Mobility for ARC
Users) networking activity. Requests for MARCUs funding should be sent via this form. MARCUs-funded visits arepaid by the user's institute, which then is reimbursed by RadioNet. Note that filling the feedback form is
mandatory for users supported by MARCUs funding.

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If you receive funding from RadioNet MARCUs and/or useful assistance from a European ARC node or the ESO
ARC, please include this in the Acknowledgement section of any paper based on ALMA data of the supported
project.

The ARC nodes and CoE
Each node has its own area(s) of expertise. Users are encouraged to visit the individual ARC node web pages toobtain the most up-to-date information. Most ARC nodes also maintain email lists that are used to inform theirlocal communities about activities and region-specific news items.

The Italian node in Bologna
The Italian ARC is hosted by the Istituto di Radioastronomia in Bologna. The node
Visit the Italian ARC node atcurrently employs three staff members and five postdocs, experts in mmwww.alma.inaf.it
astronomy and/or interferometry, and has the support of a dedicated systemmanager. Support is offered with the use of ALMA tools for proposal preparationand submission, tracking of accepted ALMA projects, data reduction with CASA, ALMA archive mining, and thespecial areas of polarimetry and mm-VLBI with ALMA. This is mostly done via face-to-face visits or Helpdesk
tickets.
The Italian ARC also investigates new techniques of data reduction and handling and is heavily involved in thedevelopment of the ALMA science data archive. It organises seminars, tutorials and workshops to inform andtrain the Italian community and to stimulate scientific discussion and collaborations. ARC personnel is involved inteaching and supervising students.
The Italian ARC researchers are involved in several (sub-)millimetre scientific projects covering different topics(from galactic and local-Universe studies to high-redshift galaxies and cosmology), and offer general scientificsupport on their specific area of expertise for continuum and spectroscopic observations.
At the host institute, the ARC node offers fully equipped office space where it can simultaneously accommodate
two (or more) visitors for face-to-face support and visits. Visitors are provided with desktop computers (or laptop
sockets), directly connected to a dedicated computer server, to access the data and run the CASA data
reduction software.
The ARC node is connected to the outside world through a high-speed optical fibre network, allowing fast datatransfer (10 Gbit/sec). ALMA and CASA users can access the ARC node cluster facilities and 1 TB of disk space
for a period of six months after their face-to-face visit. On request, access can be extended to longer periods.
No local funding is available for visitors but eligible visitors can apply for MARCUs support.

The Dutch node in Leiden: Allegro
Allegro, the ARC node in the Netherlands, is located at Leiden Observatory. The
node employs five to six postdocs and two staff members who coordinate thenode's activities. Allegro provides general user support for the ALMA communityand offers expert help on high-frequency and long-baseline ALMA observations,
mm-VLBI observations, and science analysis tools.

Visit the Dutch ARC node atwww.alma-allegro.nl

The Allegro node supports users in all the steps, from ALMA proposal preparation through data delivery and data
analysis. We offer assistance tailored to the needs of the user and organise activities for our user community.
Allegro has guest desks available for visitors, who can make use of the dedicated high-performance computing
facilities and connected fast-access storage system.
Allegro also contributes to the progress of the field within its own expertise areas. The node hosts expert
knowledge in high-frequency and long-baseline observations with ALMA. By investigating techniques toovercome the impact of atmospheric effects, such as water vapour fluctuations, we drive ALMA towards
reaching its full potential at the highest possible resolution and frequencies. The team has also partnered with the
mm-VLBI group at Radboud University to develop Very Long Baseline Interferometry with ALMA, offered since
Cycle 4 with the Global Millimetre VLBI Array (3mm) and the Event Horizon Telescope (1mm). In addition, Allegro!8

develops science analysis tools, like ARTIST/LIME, to assist scientists in the analysis and interpretation of theirobservations.

The German node in Bonn/Cologne
The German ARC node is a collaboration between the astronomical institutes at
Visit the German ARC node at
the universities of Bonn and Cologne. The node's main facilities are located atwww.astro.uni-bonn.de/ARC
the Argelander-Institut für Astronomie in Bonn, right next to the Max-PlanckInstitut für Radioastronomie and a 30-minute commute from the University of
Cologne. Four staff and five postdocs are associated with the ARC node,
working on various support tasks. Areas of special expertise include the combination of interferometric data withsingle-dish data as well as advanced analysis and modelling of spectral line data. The node maintains andcontinuously extends the Cologne Database for Molecular Spectroscopy and offers a number of data analysis
tools developed in-house. In close collaboration with the mm-VLBI group of the Max-Planck-Institut fürRadioastronomie, the node also supports the use of ALMA in global mm-VLBI networks.
Visitors to the German ARC node can use the spacious ARC visitors' room equipped with workstations, switches
for laptops and a conference phone, and a parent-child office, located next to the ARC visitors' room. The
workstations offer fast connections to two high-performance servers dedicated to ALMA-related work. The
servers run all the latest ALMA software necessary for the proposal stage, data reduction and analysis and for
ALMA archive searches. Up to two visitors can be accommodated simultaneously.
In addition to user support, development and services to ALMA operations, the German ARC node reaches out
to the local community with annual community meetings, a local newsletter and talks at seminars andconferences. The node's regular training opportunities include (remote) participation in two comprehensive
hands-on lecture series on radio interferometry and radio astronomy in general, a CASA tutorial and ALMA-OT
tutorials. In addition, some members of the ARC node participate actively in general public outreach and teacher
education.
No local funding is available for visitors but eligible visitors can apply for MARCUs support.

The IRAM node in Grenoble
IRAM (Institut de Radio-Astronomie Millimétrique) is an international institutesupported by the Max Planck Society (Germany), the CNRS (France), and the IGN(Spain). The institute is operating the 30-m Pico-Veleta antenna and the NOEMA
mm-interferometer.

Visit the IRAM ARC node atwww.iram.fr/IRAMFR/ARC

The IRAM ARC node activities are built on the in-house experience with user support and on the involvement of
the institute in the ALMA design and construction phases (e.g. the development of the ALMA real-time Telescope
Calibration software). The face-to-face support for ALMA uses the same procedures and infrastructures as thoseused for the NOEMA support. A computer room dedicated to data reduction is available and each project is
assigned to a local contact. The ARC node involves 4 core members (3 staff and 1 postdoc), with additional help
from other IRAM staff. The IRAM ARC node provides a good opportunity to use synergies between the IRAM
instruments and ALMA, as, e.g. an access to the full sky for interferometric observations or to large-scale surveys
with the 30-m antenna.
Funding is available for travel and accommodation, with the usual IRAM rules: one mission/one person per
project. Funding is however limited to astronomers affiliated to one of the IRAM funding agencies.

The Nordic node in Onsala
The Nordic ARC node's main mission is to support ALMA users in Sweden and
Visit the Nordic ARC node atother Nordic and Baltic countries. The node is physically located at Onsala Space
www.oso.nordic-alma.se
Observatory (OSO) near Gothenburg, Sweden. OSO is the Swedish National
facility for Radio Astronomy and is hosted by Chalmers University of Technology.
OSO has a long history in millimetre/sub-millimetre astronomy and presently runs
the 20-m single dish telescope at Onsala and is a partner in the APEX sub-millimetre single dish telescope at the
ALMA site in Chile.

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The ARC node has high capacity data links for downloading archival data and high performance computer
facilities to support ALMA data reduction. There is ample dormitory and guest room accommodation on-site tosupport data reduction visits and small workshops. The ARC node currently employs four permanent staff
members, two postdocs and IT support. The ARC node includes experienced millimetre wave observers, andspecialists in interferometry algorithm development.
The node is active in community outreach to promote ALMA in the Nordic countries. The node also organises
meetings for the whole Nordic community to explain the science that can be done with ALMA and train users toplan, submit, and reduce ALMA projects. As well as giving general face-to-face support, the node has expertisein the areas of astrometry, robust phase self-calibration, multi-frequency synthesis, deconvolution algorithms andpolarisation. The node is also involved in the study for phasing up ALMA for VLBI and develops and maintains
several advanced data analysis packages. In collaboration with academic staff at Chalmers, there is also
extensive scientific expertise on-site in the areas of radiative transfer and astrochemistry.
No local funding for travel and accommodation is available but eligible visitors can apply for MARCUs support.

The UK node in Manchester
The UK ARC Node is centrally located at the University of Manchester, Jodrell Bank
Visit the UK ARC node atCentre for Astrophysics, conveniently placed for all national and international
http://www.alma.ac.uk
transport links and high-speed internet connectivity. Five ARC staff (plus IT andadministrative support) divide their time between face-to-face user support andrelated research and development. Facilities for visiting astronomers include a large, dedicated room with ample
desk space and powerful computers, which can also be used for small meetings and tutorials. Absolutebeginners or experts are welcome and resources can be made available by arrangement for teams working on
ALMA projects with demanding computational and skills requirements.
The UK ARC Node draws on local and national expertise to offer specialised assistance in a number of areas:• Interferometry skills, in particular advanced calibration, extended array configurations (high resolution), wideband high-sensitivity continuum imaging (multi-frequency synthesis), mosaicing and wide-field imaging(including combining ALMA configurations to improve image fidelity), and polarimetry.
• Multi-instrument research, in particular comparing data from different telescopes, (e.g. Herschel, JCMT, eMERLIN, EVN) combining ALMA and compatible data, and interoperability between CASA and AIPS. The UK
ARC Node is part of the JBCA Interferometry Centre of Excellence which provides support for these
instruments, others such as LOFAR and prospective SKA users.
• Data management, in particular data mining the ALMA Archive, development of pipelines and scripts for large
projects, standards and documentation for data publication.
• Simulations using the OST (http://almaost.jb.man.ac.uk/) or inside CASA: choosing suitable input images,
estimating the brightness on ALMA scales and so on.
STFC PATT funds can now be used to fund visits from UK institutes to the UK ARC Node. If your institute does
not hold a PATT linked grant, you can apply for support through the usual PATT process, see
http://www.stfc.ac.uk/1506.aspx

The Czech node in Ondřejov
The Czech node is located at Ondřejov observatory near Prague, well accessible
by public transport, hosted by the Astronomical Institute of the Czech Academy of
Sciences. The node’s mission is to provide support to ALMA users namely fromthe central and eastern regions of Europe, but due to its exclusive expertise insolar observations to all European users. The node's duties are distributed overtwo staff members and four postdocs, plus IT and administrative support.

Visit the Czech ARC node atwww.asu.cas.cz/alma

The team is ready to provide (face-to-face) support with preparation and submission of proposals to ALMA, withdata processing, interpretation of observations and numerical modelling of some observed processes. A
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visitors. Affordable accommodation in the guest rooms of the Astronomical Institute at Ondřejov can be offered.
The expertise areas of the Czech node are:•Solar ALMA observing mode: specifics of proposal preparation, calibration and imaging; solar radio
spectroscopy; non-LTE radiative transfer; physics of the solar chromosphere, prominences and filaments;
solar flare plasma astrophysics.

•

Galaxy evolution in clusters and groups, triggered star formation, proto-planetary disks, Galactic Centre and
AGN.

•

High-resolution microwave laboratory spectroscopy of small molecules, in collaboration with the University ofChemistry and Technology in Prague.

No local funding is available for visitors but eligible visitors can apply for MARCUs support.

The Portuguese CoE in Lisbon: PACE
The Portuguese ALMA Centre of Expertise (PACE), operating since July 2014, ishosted by the Institute of Astrophysics and Space Sciences and located at the
Astronomical Observatory of Lisbon. Two staff members and six postdocs
devote part of their time to PACE duties, such as organisation of events forcommunity support, or face-to-face user support on proposal preparation andsubmission, as well as archival research.

Visit the Portuguese CoE at
http://pace.oal.ul.pt

Dedicated workstations, including access to a Nonius Cluster, are available to visitors.
The PACE astronomers have experience in mm-to-radio science. Their interests lie in the fields of galaxy
formation and evolution, planetary atmospheres and archival research. The experience in these topics will bestrengthened in order to improve the capabilities of the EU ARC network user support.
PACE also maintains a strong outreach team through which it educates the national community on mm-to-radio
astronomy.
No local funding is available for visitors but eligible visitors can apply for MARCUs support.

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