Doc 3.6, Ver. 1.0 | Mar, 2015

ALMA Observing Tool Reference Manual
Andy Biggs, Rein H. Warmels

ALMA, an international astronomy facility, is a partnership of ESO (representing its member states), NSF (USA)and NINS (Japan), together with NRC (Canada), NSC and ASIAA (Taiwan), and KASI (Republic of Korea), in
cooperation with the Republic of Chile. The Joint ALMA Observatory is operated by ESO, AUI/NRAO and NAOJ.

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

Version

Date

Editors

0.6, Ver. 1.0
0.6, Ver. 1.1
1.6, Ver. 1.0
1.6, Ver. 1.2
1.6, Ver. 1.3
2.6, Ver. 1.0
3.6, Ver. 1.0

March 2011
August 2011
May 2012
November 2012
February 2013
October 2013
March 2015

Rein Warmels
Rein Warmels
Rein Warmels
Andy Biggs
Andy Biggs
Andy Biggs
Andy Biggs

The ALMA OT Team and the many testers.

In publications, please refer to this document as:
OT Reference Manual 3.6, Version 1.0

Contents
1 Introduction
1.1 How to Use this Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.2 Release Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.3 Credits and Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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2 Overview of the Observing Tool
2.1 Menu Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.1.1 File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.1.2 Edit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.1.3 View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.1.4 Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.1.5 Search . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.1.6 Debug . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.1.7 Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.2 Tool Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.3 Panes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.3.1 Project Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.3.1.1 Proposal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.3.1.2 Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.3.1.3 Template Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.3.2 Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.3.3 Feedback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.3.4 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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3 Tools and Simulators
3.1 Calibrator Selection Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.2 Spectral Lines Selection Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.3 ALMA Sensitivity Calculator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.3.1 Common Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.3.2 Individual Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.3.3 Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.4 LO Configuration Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.4.1 Hardware Info . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.4.2 Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.4.3 TuningParameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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4 The Phase 1 Proposal: Basic Details
4.1 Proposal Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.2 Investigators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.3 Science Case and Supporting Documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.4 Observatory Use Only . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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5 Phase 1 and Phase 2 Science Goals
5.1 General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.2 Field Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.2.1 Source . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.2.2 Expected Source Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.2.3 Field Center Coordinates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.2.4 Rectangle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.3 Spectral Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.3.1 Spectral Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.3.2 Spectral Setup Errors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.3.3 Spectral Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.3.4 Single Continuum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.3.5 Spectral Scan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.3.6 Targets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.4 Calibration Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.5 Control and Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.6 Technical Justification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.6.1 Sensitivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.6.2 Imaging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.6.3 Correlator configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.6.4 Choices to be justified . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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6 Phase 2 Program Scheduling Blocks
6.1 Observing Unit Set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6.1.1 Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6.1.2 Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6.2 The Scheduling Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6.2.1 Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6.2.2 Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6.2.3 Preconditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6.2.4 SchedBlock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6.2.5 Advanced Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6.2.6 Performance Goals and Scheduling Constraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6.2.7 Temporal Constraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6.2.8 Observing Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6.3 Field Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6.3.1 Query Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6.3.2 Field Source . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6.3.3 Reference Position (Offset) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6.3.4 FieldPatternEditor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6.3.5 Point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6.3.6 Rectangle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6.3.7 Cross . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6.4 Instrument Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6.4.1 Spectral Spec . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6.4.2 Switching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6.4.3 Correlator Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6.4.4 BaseBand Configurations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6.4.4.1 Hardware Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6.4.4.2 LO Setup Preference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6.4.4.3 Basebands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6.4.4.4 Spectral Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6.5 Observing Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6.5.1 Science Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6.5.2 Calibration Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6.5.2.1 Common Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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6.5.2.2
6.5.2.3
6.5.2.4
6.5.2.5
6.5.2.6
6.5.2.7
6.5.2.8
6.5.2.9

Bandpass-only Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Pointing-only Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Focus-only Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Polarization-only Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Atmospheric-only Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Optical Pointing-only parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Radiometric Pointing-only parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Holography-only Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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7 The Visual Editors
7.1 The Visual Spatial Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
7.1.1 Tool Bar and Zooming Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
7.1.2 Fov Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
7.1.3 Image Query . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
7.2 The Visual Spectral Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
7.2.1 Visual Spectral Editor for Science Goals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
7.2.1.1 Visualisation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
7.2.2 Visual Spectral Editor for Scheduling Blocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
7.2.2.1 Receiver, Basebands & LO Visualisation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Chapter 1

Introduction
The OT Reference Manual provides a concise description of the inputs to the ALMA Observing Tool (OT) that isused to prepare observing proposals (Phase 1) and to schedule approved observations (Phase 2) for the Atacama
Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). The OT is a Java-based application consisting of a set of userinterfaces that are needed to prepare an ALMA observing project. This consists of a valid observing proposal
and/or an observing program containing one or more Scheduling Blocks that are executed at the telescope.

1.1

How to Use this Manual

For most users preparing to submit a proposal to ALMA or who are preparing SBs for observation, the User
Manual gives the fullest description of how the OT actually works. However, this does not go into detail of what
every button in the OT does and what the meaning of every parameter is. When this kind of information isrequired, the OT tooltips (revealed by hovering the mouse over an input field) will often help. However, theseare by their very nature very concise and thus the OT Reference Manual is provided as a source of detailed
information on each parameter, particularly where the meaning of that parameter is not obvious.
Chapter 2 provides descriptions of the main OT menu and its tool bar at the top of the OT as well assome additional information about the OT graphical interface. Chapter 3 describes the buttons of the Tools
and Simulators e.g. the ALMA Sensitivity Calculator (ASC) and the calibration selection tools. In Chapter 5,
information is provided for the parameters required for completing Phase-1 and Phase-2 Science Goals whilst
Chapter 6 provides references for constructing Phase-2 Scheduling Blocks (SBs). Note that defining SBs requiresa solid knowledge of interferometry in general and ALMA in particular. Descriptions for the Visual Spatial andthe Visual Spectral Editors are provided in Chapter 7.

1.2

Release Information

This version of the manual is intended to be used with the OT that will be used to create Phase-1 proposals for
ALMA Cycle 1.

1.3

Credits and Acknowledgements

The ALMA OT is a software product of the ALMA Observation Preparation Software Team and is developedon the basis of the ALMA Science Software Requirements (SSR) and the ALMA High Level Analysis (HLA)
documents, produced by the respective groups. The OT software group acknowledges the valuable inputs ofthese groups during the development phases of the OT. Also, the OT software groups thank the OT external
community testing group for their testing efforts of the various versions of the OT.

56Chapter 2

Overview of the Observing Tool
The OT main GUI contains three major components: the Menu bar at the top, followed by the toolbar containing
the most frequently used Menu functions. To the left is the Project Structure tree and, to the right of this, arethe various editors (Forms, Spectral and Spatial) that allow a user to complete the information required for eachnode within the Project tree. The appearance of the main OT GUI is similar to that shown in Figure 2.1.

Figure 2.1: The Observing Tool main GUI.

2.1

Menu Bar

The Menu bar gives access to a variety of OT functions and tools.
7Figure 2.2: The Menu Bar of the Observing Tool main GUI.

2.1.1

File

File contains submenus for managing projects (project validation, open, save, retrieve, import and export, etc),
for handling standard or project libraries, and to exit the OT.
• New Proposal: Create a new proposal for the standard submission deadline and scientific and technicalreview process.
• New DDT Proposal: Create a proposal for submission under the auspices of Director’s Discretionary
Time. This has no fixed deadline and can be submitted at any point during the observing period of thecurrent cycle.
• New Program: Create a new Phase-2 program using Science Goals or Scheduling Blocks.
• New Commissioning Program: Create a new Phase-2 program if you are working on commissioning
in Chile. Such projects follow a different lifecycle than a standard PI-submitted one.
• Open Project: Open a project from the local disk or use the Project Finder. A project can also be
retrieved from the ALMA Archive.
• Save: Save a project to the local disk by overwriting the previous version.
• Save As: Save a project to the local disk as a new file. The filename prefix must contain at least 3
characters.
• Show ALMA Template Library: Open the ALMA Template Library in a new Project tree window.
• Use Project as Template: Open a local ALMA project and show it in read-only mode.
• Validate: Validate the project currently loaded in the OT.
• Submit Project: Submit the project to the ALMA Archive for validation and proposal review if appropriate.
• Submit As New: Submit the current project to the ALMA archive as a new project. The project willobtain a new project code and so should be used with caution. It is only available to users with special
privileges.
• Preferences: Set various appearance and behavioural preferences.
• Quit: Exit the OT.

2.1.2

Edit

Edit is used for project editing functions (cut, paste, delete, rename) and for adding/deleting project components
like Science Goals of SB parameters. Note that the availability of the function depends on which component ofa project has been selected.
• Cut: Cut a selected Science Goal or Scheduling Block item.
• Copy: Copy a selected Science Goal or Scheduling Block item. The copied item will turn pink.
• Paste: Paste a copied item.
• Rename: Rename various Project tree items.
8• New Phase 1 Science Goal: Create a new Phase-1 Science Goal.
• New Phase 2 Science Goal: Create a new Phase-2 Science Goal.
• Add Observatory Setup: Add a special Observatory setup as part of the Science Plan. Observatory
setups can be: Holography setup, Astro-Holography setup, Optical Pointing Science Goal, Radiometric
Pointing Goal, Baseline Calibration Goal, Calibration Survey Goal.
• Add ...: Add a component to the Project Structure (OUS, SB, Target, etc.).
• Attach/Detach ...: Attach/detach a SB Field Source, Instrument Setup or Observing Parameter to/froma SB Target.
• Delete: Delete a selected Science Goal or Scheduling Block item. There is no undo action.
• Suspend: Suspend the observation of this Scheduling Block. Not used.
• Resume: Allow further observation of the Scheduling Block. Not used.
• Mark as Repaired: Mark the Scheduling Block as repaired. Not used.
• Terminate: Terminate the observation of the Scheduling Block. Not used.

2.1.3

View

• Feedback: Enable or disable the Feedback panel.
• Overview: Enable or disable the Overview panel.
• Show ALMA Template Library: Show the ALMA Template Library in the Project Structure tree.

2.1.4

Tools

• ALMA Calibration Selection Tool...: Search for calibrators either using the ALMA online calibrator
database, or using a more limited internal OT version. The tool is only available for Phase-2 programs.
• ALMA LO Configuration Tool...: Experiment with LO setups. Only recommended for expert users.
• Sensitivity Calculator...: Start up the ALMA Sensitivity Calculator.
• Generate SBs from the Selected Goal: Create one or more SBs from the selected Phase-1 or Phase-2
Science Goal.
• Display Project Time Summary: This brings up a dialogue that contains the time required for each
Science Goal. This is broken down into the different arrays, time spent calibrating (where possible) andtime spent observing non-standard modes. It also includes data volume and rate information.
• Generate Phase 1 SBs from all the Science Goals: Create one or more SBs from all of the Phase-1
Science Goals.
• Generate Phase 2 SBs from all the Science Goals: Create one or more SBs from all of the Phase-2
Science Goals.
• Show Printable Summary...: Depending on which node of the Project tree is currently selected, thiswill give the option to view a summary of the proposal (displays the cover sheet, Technical Assessment flag
sheet and summary of each Science Goal) or subsets of these.
• Export selected SchedBlock to File: Privileged users can export a single SB to disk by highlighting itin the Project Tree and selecting this option. The file extension “xml” will be enforced.
• Generate a PDF for the Whole Proposal: This PDF contains the cover sheet, Science Goal summary
sheets (including technical justification information) and the scientific justification.
• Disable Edit Protect: If OUS Write Protection has been enabled in the Preferences menu (available toprivileged users only) it can be disabled here.
92.1.5

SearchIf warnings or errors have been found during the validation process, it is possible to scroll through them using
the following menu items.
• Go to previous Problem:• Go to next problem:

2.1.6

Debug

This menu item is only displayed when activated via the Preferences menu and is only available for privileged
users i.e. developers.

2.1.7

Help

Various sources of information can be displayed in a searchable and indexed GUI.
• Quick Start Guide: A concise guide to creating a Phase 1 Proposal.
• User Manual: This provides detailed descriptions of how the OT is used in practice.
• Reference Manual: This document.
• About...: Bring up a dialogue that reveals various information about the OT.

2.2

Tool BarThe Toolbar contains buttons for executing frequently-used OT functions and tools that are otherwise available
from the various menu items. Note that the availability of the tools and functions depends on which phase of
project is being worked on and the user’s permissions.
The only function that is not available elsewhere is the contextual help icon (question mark) which displays
help (from this Manual) depending on which section/panel of the OT is clicked.

Figure 2.3: The Toolbar of the Observing Tool main GUI.

2.3

Panes

2.3.1

Project Structure

The Project Structure pane shows the overall structure of the project. The visualisation of the project structure
depends on which view is chosen. The tabs (which will be at the bottom or top) enable a user to select either
Proposal (Phase 1) or Program (Phase 2).
2.3.1.1

Proposal

When selecting the Proposal tab the Phase-1 Project Tree becomes visible. The Phase-1 Proposal node contains
all the administrative information needed for a proposal whist the the Science Goals are contained in the Planned
Observing folder. They are organised as follows:10• General: The name and description of the Science Goal are provided here.
• Field Setup: This specifies target parameters, such as the name, coordinates, velocity and proper motion.
• Spectral Setup: Contains fields to specify the frequencies/transitions that should be observed.
• Calibration Setup: The details of the calibration are given here. User-defined is possible, but systemdefined is recommended.
• Control and Performance: This displays configuration information for the available arrays and accepts
input for important control parameters such as the required sensitivity and largest source angular scale tobe imaged.
• Technical Justification: This node allows a user to justify various technical aspects of the Science Goaland displays a lot of information in order to guide this.
2.3.1.2

ProgramWhen selecting the Program tab, Phase-2 details can be added either in terms of Science Goals or by specifying
Scheduling Block. The Phase-2 Science Goals forms are located under the Science Plan node and are identicalto the forms for Phase 1 (see above). For each Science Goal, Science Plan contains an Observing Unit Set(ObsUnitSet) that allows the user to specify dependency rules for the SBs and hence the construction of acomplex and detailed observing program. ObsUnitSets contain Scheduling Blocks (SBs) which are the key
executable units of a project. SBs contain all necessary observing information to execute a “single” observation.
A SB can be repeated several times to achieve the desired sensitivity or to reach the maximum allocated time.
An SB consists of:• Targets: Contains the sources to be observed, for science and calibration. Each of these has a Field
Source, an Instrument Setup and a set of Observing Parameters. These are together called Resources.
• Resources:– Field Sources: Each field source defines the details of the source to be observed e.g. positions,velocities, observing pattern.
– Instrument Setup: Specifies the various parameters for the frequency, baseband and correlator
settings.
– Observing Parameters: Contains for each target a set of representative observing and sensitivity
parameters e.g. cycle and integration times, pointing offsets.
2.3.1.3

Template Library

The lower section of the Project Structure pane can be use to load the ALMA Template Library or to display a
local ALMA project in read-only mode. Parts of the templates can be copied and used for an active project.

2.3.2

Editors

The Editors pane contains the forms for entering spatial and frequency information of the observations in a
project. The tabs can be used to choose between entering the data using the Visual Spatial/Spectral Editors ora plain form.
The Editors pane has three tabs:• Spectral: Enables the Visual Spectral Editor to graphically visualise the frequency information for thereceiver bands, sub-bands and correlator.
• Spatial: Enable the Visual Spatial Editor to display the science object obtained from one of the image
servers available via the network.
11• Forms: Displays the form corresponding to the mode that has been selected in the Project Tree. Thiscan be part of a Science Goal or of a SB. While the forms for the Science Goals are relatively simple, more
complex and elaborate forms need to be completed for creating a Scheduling Block. Note that the label ofthe tab depends on the node that has been selected in the Project Tree.

2.3.3

Feedback

The Feedback pane is for provides errors and/or warning when running the validator. There are three tabs:
Validation, Validation History and Log.
• Validation: Shows a table of the errors and warning, and offers the possibility to jump directly to theerroneous item in the Project Tree. This is the main feedback window.
• Validation History: Enables previous validations to be viewed.
• Log: Miscellaneous application errors.

2.3.4

Overview

This panel displays an overview of the main tasks that an OT user needs to carry out in creating and submittinga Phase-1 proposal, followed by retrieving and completing the Phase-2 observing program. It aims to provide
a quick, top-level guide, with brief contextual help. This is aimed at novice users; more experienced users canshrink the panel.

Figure 2.4: The Overview Panel for a Phase-1 proposal.

12Chapter 3

Tools and Simulators
The OT is equipped with a number of tools: the Calibration Selection Tool, the Spectral Lines Selection Tool,
the Sensitivity Calculator and the LO Configuration Tool. The input for each of these tools is described below.

3.1

Calibrator Selection Tool

The tool allows the user to find calibrators within a defined distance from the target source. Note that the tool is
only available for Phase-2 programs. The Calibrator Query Editor is available for Phase-1 proposals and Phase-2
programs, and looks very similar. The various filters are enabled with non-zero input.
• RA: The centre R.A. coordinate of the cone search.
• Dec: The centre Declination coordinate of the cone search.
• Radius: The search radius in degrees around the cone centre coordinates - 0 will use the whole sky.
• Flux Min: Minimum flux for the search.
• Flux Max: Maximum frequency for the search.
• Frequency Min: Minimum frequency for the search.
• Frequency Max: Maximum frequency for the search.
• Max Results: Maximum number of source to return [1-100].
• Submit Query: Query the ALMA Calibrator Database for possible calibrator given the constraints.
Select either the ALMA Online Calibrator catalogue or the OT’s internal (and less extensive) version.
• Non-Sidereal Calibrators: Display non-sidereal sources from the Calibrator Source Catalogue.
• Select As ...: Use the selected calibrator for one or more calibration types (amplitude, phase, pointing,polarization, focus, or bandpass). The button will display a window to make the selection for calibration
purpose and the spectral specification.
• Close: Close the tool.

13

Figure 3.1: The Calibration Selection Tool.

3.2

Spectral Lines Selection Tool

The ALMA spectral line catalogue contains the rest frequencies of millions of spectral line transitions. Thesetransitions can be inspected and selected via this tool. The tool can be launched with the button Select Lines
to Observe when defining the Spectral Setup of a Science Goal, or via the button Line Catalogue when defining
the Instrument Setup of an SB.

Figure 3.2: The ALMA Spectral Lines Selection Tool.
• Species Filter: Text string for selecting the transitions. Note that quantum numbers are ignored. The
description fields can be searched at the same time and this is enabled by default.
• Frequency Filters:– ALMA Band: To search in the selected ALMA bands.
– Sky Frequency: Search in a certain frequency range. The range can be defined more precisely using
the Min and Max fields.
14• Receiver/Back End Configuration: If enabled, only lines will be displayed that could be observed withany others spws that have already been selected i.e. it checks to see that all lines can fit in the receiversidebands.
• Maximum Upper-state Energy: This filter sets the maximum energy level of the upper state of thetransition.
• Molecule Filter/Environment: Narrow the candidate molecular transitions by selecting the categoryof lines to be shown.
• Find More...: Also search the on-line catalogue. The lines found are added to the OT’s list of available
lines, for the duration of a particular OT session.
• Reset Filters: Reset the filters to the original values.

3.3

ALMA Sensitivity Calculator

Figure 3.3: The Sensitivity Calculator.

3.3.1

Common Parameters• Dec: Declination of the target. This gives the source’s maximum elevation.
• Polarization: Dual or Single polarization.
• Observing Frequency: Only frequencies falling within the 10 envisaged ALMA bands are allowed.
• Bandwidth per polarization: Bandwidth (frequency resolution) per polarization. Valid range is between
0 and 16 GHz. This value multiplied by the number of polarizations gives the effective bandwidth.
• Water Vapour Column Density: Precipitable water vapour column density in mm. A number ofstandard values can be selected or these can be automatically determined by the OT based on the observing
frequency.
15• tau0/Tsky: Displays the zenith opacity and sky temperature (at the target’s maximum elevation).
• Tsys: Displays the derived system temperature.

3.3.2

Individual Parameters• Number of Antennas: The maximum number of antennas per array.
• Resolution: Desired angular resolution.
• Sensitivity (rms): Requested/derived sensitivity. May be specified in Jy or K. Note that using the Alt
key when changing the unit choice will perform a conversion of the value. Also displayed are the equivalentvalues of sensitivity, in K or Jy.
• Integration Time: Requested/derived integration time. This only includes the time on source – nooverheads e.g. for calibration, are included.

3.3.3

Buttons• Calculate Integration Time: Calculate observing time based on the system setup and the desired
sensitivity.
• Calculate Sensitivity: Calculate sensitivity based on the system setup and the desired integration time.
• Close: Close the GUI.

3.4

LO Configuration Tool

This tool allows the user to experiment with baseband (not spectral window) frequencies, independently of the
OT spectral setups. It acts as a user interface to the LO Solutions software that is used to calculate the tuning
solutions for SBs and Science Goals. It is not recommended for anyone other than expert users.

3.4.1

Hardware Info

This panel provides information about the hardware for the various Bands.

3.4.2

Settings• Receiver Type: Select the desired receiver/receiver type. The details of the receiver bands are provided
at the top of the display.
• Request LO1: If the check box is selected then a specific LO1 may be entered.
• SSB or DSB Baseband Specs: Up to 4 basebands may be added and the following items entered foreach:– Sideband Pref : Preferred sideband. Choose between LSB, USB, either (in which the system will
make the choice), or both (only for the case of DSB receivers i.e. Bands 9 and 10).
– Sky Frequency: The desired sky frequency.
– Weight: A weighting for this side band selection to apply when calculating the LO setup.
– IF Frequency: A suggested IF frequency calculated on the basic of the sky and LO1 frequencies(not guaranteed).
16Figure 3.4: The LO Configuration Tool.

3.4.3

TuningParameters• Receiver Band: The OT notation of the receiver type cartridge that will be used.
• LS Frequency: The Laser synth frequency.
• FLOOG Frequency: The First LO Offset Generator (FTS1) frequency.
• TuneHigh: Tick the box if the FLOOG frequency is added to the first LO frequency• Weighted Error: The weighted sum of the abs(actual - requested) frequency over all basebands. This is
one measure of the goodness of the tuning.
• Score: This is a measure of the relative desirability of the tuning.
• Actual LO1: The actual LO1 frequency that will be used.
• LO2 Table:17

– DYTO: Digital YIG Tuned Oscillator.
– FTS: Fine Tuned Synthesiser.
– Tune High: See above.
– Sidebands: The sideband that is used.
– IF:The Intermediate Frequency.
– LO2: The LO2 frequency.
– Actual LSB: Actual frequency of the LSB.
– Actual USB: Actual frequency of the USB.

18

Chapter 4

The Phase 1 Proposal: Basic Details
To submit a proposal to ALMA, it is necessary to provide a number of administrative details, before going on
to define one or more Science Goals. The former are covered in this chapter, whilst Science Goals are discussed
in Chapter 5.
The Project node (common to both Phase 1 and 2) contains the Principal Investigator and Main Project
Information panels, with the following fields:• Select PI...: Select the Principle Investigator from the list of registered ALMA users.
• Project: Title of the project.
• Assigned Priority: Not yet used.
• Project Code: A unique code for the project, assigned automatically upon its first submission.

Figure 4.1: The Project node panels.

4.1

Proposal Information• Proposal Title: A title for the proposal.
• Proposal Cycle: The current proposal cycle – set automatically upon first submission.
• Abstract: A short abstract for the proposal. Limit of 1200 characters.
• Proposal Type: The type of the proposal. Currently only Standard (<100 hours) and Target of Opportunity are available.
• Scientific Category: A set of radio buttons for selecting the proposal’s science category:19

– Cosmology and the High Redshift Universe– Galaxies and Galactic Nuclei– ISM, star formation and astrochemistry– Circumstellar disks, exoplanets and the solar system– Stellar Evolution and the Sun• Keywords: Assign a maximum of two keywords to the project. The second keyword is added by holding
down the Shift or Ctrl key in the way that you’re probably used to.
• Student Project: Check the box if the proposal concerns a PhD or other major student project.
• Continuation: Not yet used.
• Related Proposals: Proposals to ALMA from this Cycle that are related to the current project. Projectcode, title and PI name should be given.
• Previous Proposals: Details of any related ALMA proposals from previous Cycles. Project code, title
and PI name should be given.

Figure 4.2: The Proposal Information Panel.
This contains basic information about the proposal.

4.2

Investigators

This contains information about the proposal investigators. All investigators must already be registered with
ALMA via the Science Portal. The Principal Investigator is required and one or more Co-Investigators may also
be added.
For each investigator the following details are required:• Type: Is this a PI or a co-I?
• Full Name: Full name of the investigator as stored in the ALMA user database.
• Email: The email address of the investigator.
• Affiliation: The affiliation/institute of the investigator.
• ALMA ID: This is the username used to access the Science Portal.
20

Figure 4.3: The Investigators panel in the proposal Forms editor.
• Executive: This determines how a project’s time will be “charged”. Taiwanese users can choose between
EA and NA. For everyone else, this is fixed to the value entered in the Science Portal.
The buttons below the panel can be used to complete the table of investigators:• Select PI: To fill in the PI data by accessing the ALMA user database.
• Add CoI: To fill in the co-I data.
• Remove CoI: To delete a highlighted Co-I from the table. Note that PI’s can only be changed, notdeleted.
• Add from Proposal...: Opens a window to select an ALMA Proposal and to append its users to thecurrent project.

4.3

Science Case and Supporting Documents

In this section, the mandatory science case can be added to the proposal. Note that the format must be PDF
and have a maximum of four pages.
The PDF should no longer contain the technical case, this instead being captured by a dedicatedScience Goal node. Figures that might be referred to as part of the technical justification should
though be included in the PDF.
The buttons are:• Attach: This will launch a file browser dialogue to allow the user to choose the PDF file.
• Detach: This will remove a previously attached file from the proposal.
• View: This will ask the desktop operating system to launch a viewer to display the document. Note: thisrelies on the operating system being setup and an appropriate application installed.

4.4

Observatory Use Only

This section contains proposal information that is used by observatory staff only.

21

22

Chapter 5

Phase 1 and Phase 2 Science Goals
Science Goals are designed to capture the scientific aims of a particular observation whilst hiding the technicaldetails of the observations from the user. The technical information is contained within Scheduling Blocks(Section 6) and can be automatically generated from the Science Goal.
Clicking on the top node of a Science Goal will display either a summary table of the Science Goal contents,
or all of the Forms editors, depending on the user preferences. Descriptions of the six Science Goals Forms editors(General, Field Setup, Spectral Setup, Calibration Setup, Control and Performance and Technical Justification)
follow.

5.1

GeneralThis General form is to provide the name and description of the Science Goal. Whilst the latter is optional, it
is now necessary that all SGs in a proposal have unique names. These can also be changed by right-clicking ona Science Goal in the Project Tree.

5.2

Field Setup

In the Field Setup form, the user is asked for target parameters such as the name, coordinates, velocity and propermotion. Either individual (one or more) pointings or a single rectangle (that will be automatically mosaiced)
can be defined. All pointings must lie within 10 degrees of each other.
The bottom of the form shows five buttons that control the source list:• Add Source: Add a science source, the details of which can either be “resolved” or added manually.
• Load from File...: Add one or more sources, including their properties, using a local ASCII file. The
format of the file is as follows:
Name, RA(sex), Dec(sex), PMRA(mas/yr), PMDec(mas/yr), vel(km/s), Ref frame, Doppler type,peak cont flux(mJy), peak line flux(mJy), cont pol(%), line pol(%), line width(km/s)-This signals end of the header
ngc253, 00:47:33.134, -25:17:19.68, 0.0, 0.0, 258.688, lsrk, RADIO, 200, 1000, 2, 0, 1500
ngc1068, 02:42:40.771, -00:00:47.84, 0.0, 0.0, 1142.075, topo, OPTICAL, 1100.0, 30, 0, 0, 20• Export to File...: Write the source positions to a local ASCII file.
• Delete Source: Delete a source.
• Delete All Sources: Delete all sources.
235.2.1

SourceFigure 5.1: The Source panel in the Field Setup form of the Science Goal.

• Source Name: The source name. The source names should only contain the following characters: a-z,
A-Z, 0-9, -,+, _ or a . (full stop). Characters other than these will be removed or replaced when the
project is validated.
• Resolve: Fill in source details by searching for the entered source name in SIMBAD or NED. SIMBAD ischecked first and then NED if no match was found. Check the details very carefully! Note that so-called
IAU format e.g. B0218+357, is no longer allowed – an acronym must be placed before the coordinates e.g.
JVAS B0218+357.
• Choose a Solar System Object: A number of solar system objects are recognised by the telescope
control system and can be selected here. It is also possible to enter an ephemeris for any non-sidereal
source. The source coordinates and velocity definitions are not displayed if a solar system object is selected
as the system that controls the observations has detailed ephemeris information for each object.
– Name of Object: Recognised objects are:∗ Stars: The Sun.
∗ Planets: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune.
∗ Satellites: The Moon, Ganymede, Callisto, Io, Titan.
∗ Dwarf planets: Pluto, Ceres.
∗ Asteroids: Pallas, Juno and Vesta.
∗ Ephemeris: Load a JPL HORIZONS format ephemeris.
• Source Coordinates:– System: Only FK5 J2000 is formally supported by the telescope control system. If Galactic coordinates are entered, changing the system will cause the OT to convert the coordinates. This only works
between Galactic and FK5.
– Sexagesimal display?: Coordinates in FK5 or ICRS will be displayed in sexagesimal format if thisis ticked (default). Unclicking this will allow input in degrees for these systems.
– RA: Source Right Ascension. Default input formats are sexagesimal for FK5 and ICRS and degrees
for everything else.
– DEC: Source Declination. Ditto.
• Parallax: Source parallax. Note that negative values are possible when resolving the source using an
external server. This is due to the parallax being small compared to the measurement error.
• PM RA: Proper motion in the R.A. (cross-declination) direction. Units should be milliarcsec/yr. Propermotions are used to calculate the current source position assuming that the FK5 position refers to Epoch
J2000.
• PM DEC: Proper motion in the declination direction. Units should be milliarcsec/yr.
24• Source Radial Velocity: The radial velocity of the source can be entered as either a velocity or a redshift.
It is used to convert source rest-frame frequencies to their observable (sky) equivalents. The full set of
options are:– Velocity: Upon entering this, the redshift will also be set according to the Doppler Type (velocity
definition). For Single Continuum setups, automatic SB generation will set the velocity to zero (inthe SB only).
– Doppler Frame: A number of options are available: barycentric, lsrk, topocentric and lsr. Heliocentric can be chosen, but is not currently supported and during SB generation will be converted
to barycentric (these differ by a maximum of approximately 12 m/s). If the frame is changed, noconversion is performed of an already-entered velocity/redshift. If lsrk is selected, the user-enteredspectral window frequencies are converted to the barycentric frame when calculating tuning solutions.
– z: Redshift. Upon entering this, the velocity will also be set according to the Doppler Type (velocity
definition). For Single Continuum setups, automatic SB generation will set the redshift to zero (inthe SB only).
– Doppler Type: This sets the velocity definition (radio, optical or relativistic). Changing this will
make the velocity agree with the entered redshift.
• Target Type: The supported observing patterns: “Individual pointing(s)” and “1 Rectangular Field”. All
sources in a Science Goal must use the same Target Type.

5.2.2

Expected Source Properties

One of the reasons for providing this information is to aid in technical assessment. All relevant items should be
filled in or the project will not validate. This means that a continuum flux must be entered for a continuum
project and a line flux and width must be filled in for a spectral line project. If full polarization is selected, atleast one of the line or continuum polarization percentages must also be given.
• Peak Continuum Flux Density per Synthesized Beam: The expected flux density per synthesized
beam of the source continuum. The weakest component that is to be detected should be entered for eachsource.
• Continuum Polarization Percentage: The expected degree of polarization for the source, expressed asa percentage of the peak continuum flux. The polarization of the weakest component should be entered.
Note that if the polarization percentage is very low, then the OT will issue a validation error as it will not
be possible to calibrate the data. The limits are 0.1 per cent for compact sources (LAS smaller than the
angular resolution) and 1 per cent for extended sources.
• Peak Line Flux Density per Synthesized Beam: The expected peak flux density per synthesized
beam of the line emission. The weakest component that is to be detected should be entered for eachsource. If the line is seen in absorption against a continuum, enter the depth of the line as a positive
quantity.
• Line Polarization Percentage: The expected degree of polarization for the source, expressed as apercentage of the peak line flux. The polarization of the weakest component should be entered. A similarvalidation warning to the continuum value is issued.
• Line Width: The expected line width for the lines in this Science Goal (FWHM). The narrowest line thatis to be detected should be entered for each source. The line width must be in velocity units.

5.2.3

Field Center Coordinates

This panel is visible if Individual Pointing(s) has been selected in the Source panel. Up to 150 pointings can be
defined per Science Goal, distributed between multiple sources. It is possible to define multiple pointings per25

Figure 5.2: The Expected Source Properties panel in the Field Setup form for the Science Goal. This is takenfrom a redshift-survey (spectral scan) project for which the source also has a significant continuum.
source and these can either be mosaiced or processed as individual images, depending on the “custom mosaic”
parameter. If the Total Power Array is required for a single pointing, each must go into a separate source
definition.
• Custom Mosaic: If the pointings overlap and should be processed as a mosaic, select this option (setas default if individual pointing(s) is selected). If this is selected, the centre of each pointing must bea maximum of one antenna beamsize away from its nearest neighbour’s centre. If custom mosaic is notselected, the observatory will deliver a separate image per pointing. If the project requires the Total Power
Array, the OT will automatically calculate the TP scanning area and display this on the Visual Spatial
Editor.
• PointingPattern: Enter the field centre in absolute or relative (offset) coordinates. Offsets are definedwith respect to the source coordinate and are recommended.
• Offset Unit: Select the units for the offset.
• RA: Absolute coordinate of the centre of the pattern or the offset from the field centre in Right Ascension.
• DEC: Absolute coordinate of the centre of the pattern or the offset from the field centre in Declination.
At the bottom of the panel are buttons which allow a user to add and delete pointings manually, but also toimport and export them from and to an external ASCII file. The file format is very flexible and allows a user towrite out the pointing positions in either offset or absolute coordinates and will automatically do the conversion
between the two i.e. one can export in a different system to what is displayed. An example of the format for
absolute coordinates in sexagesimal is shown here:
RA , Dec, Coordinate Type, Coordinate Units-This signals end of the header
04:31:38.4369, 18:13:57.651,Absolute,SEXAGESIMAL
04:31:40.5426, 18:13:57.650,Absolute,SEXAGESIMAL
04:31:36.3312, 18:13:57.650,Absolute,SEXAGESIMAL
The “Absolute” coordinate type can be combined with the units “SEXAGESIMAL”, “DEGREES” OR “RADIANS”, whilst “Offset” pointings can be defined in “ARCSECS”, “ARCMIN” or “DEGREES”. The unit type must
be capitalized, but this doesn’t seem to be necessary for the coordinate type.

5.2.4

Rectangle

This panel is only visible when “1 Rectangular Field” is selected in the Source panel. A recent change to the OT
is that it is now possible to define multiple sources, each of which uses a rectangular field pattern. To do this,one must start with only a single source in the Science Goal. This can be set up as a rectangular mosaic andany further sources that are defined will be forced to use rectangular field patterns.
For each rectangle, the OT will calculate a mosaic pattern for the 12- and 7-m arrays based on the spacing
parameter. A larger version of the user-drawn rectangle will be used for raster scanning with the TP array. A
total of 150 12-m array pointings is allowed, summed over all rectangles.
26

Figure 5.3: The Field Centre Coordinates panel for the case of individual pointings.
• Coords Type: Field centre in absolute or relative coordinates. Relative positions are offset from thesource coordinate and are recommended (absolute coordinates have not been demonstrated to work at thetelescope).
• Field Centre Coordinates (Absolute)– System: Coordinate System. FK5 J2000 is currently the only option that should be used.
– Sexagesimal display?: View the coordinates in sexagesimal or decimal degrees.
– RA: The centre coordinate of the rectangle in Right Ascension.
– DEC: The centre coordinate of the rectangle in Declination.
• Field Centre Coordinates (Relative)– Offset(Longitude): Longitude offset of the centre of the rectangle from the source coordinate.
– Offset(latitude): Latitude offset of the centre of the rectangle from the source coordinate.
• p length: Length of one side of the rectangle. For a rectangle with zero rotation, this refers to thehorizontal axis.
• q length: Length of the other side of the rectangle.
• Position Angle: Position angle (North through East) of the “p” side of the rectangle from the verticaldirection.
• Spacing: Distance between mosaic pointings. This can be specified
in arcsec or in fraction of the antenna√
beamsize, the latter being the default. Nyquist spacing (λ/ 3D where D is the antenna beamsize) is
assumed and should usually be selected, unless the sources being observed are relatively small. The spacingis usually shown as a fraction of the antenna beamsize (1.13 λ/D) and thus in these units is approximately
equal to 0.51. If Nyquist sampling is not used, the reasons for this should be given in the Technical
Justification node. A button is provided to reset to the Nyquist value.
The number of pointings calculated by the OT is displayed, for the 12-m and (if required based on the Control& Performance parameters) 7-m arrays. A button is provided to export the pointings (12-m and 7-m array) toan ASCII file on disk.

5.3

Spectral Setup

This contains fields to specify spectral setup parameters.
27

Figure 5.4: The Rectangle panel of a Science Goal’s Field Setup.

5.3.1

Spectral Type• Spectral Type: The kind of spectral type observations. Choices are: “Spectral Line, “Single Continuum”,
or “Spectral Scan”. The display in the next panel is configured depending on the selected option.
• Polarization: Options are XX, DUAL (XX and YY) or FULL (XX, YY, XY and YX), where X and Y
are the linear orthogonal polarizations detected by the ALMA receivers. Full polarization is only available
for Single Continuum setups in bands 3, 6 and 7 and should be chosen if a measurement of the source
polarization (magnitude and position angle) is desired.

Figure 5.5: The Spectral Type panel in the Science Goals Spectral Setup.

5.3.2

Spectral Setup Errors

This panel will displays errors and warnings for the spectral specifications, if any. Note that not all are shown –additional ones may appear upon validation.

5.3.3

Spectral Line

Four panels for each baseband will be visible and up to four spectral windows can be added to each. Adding
a spectral window is done either by selecting spectral lines from the spectral line catalogue or by adding them
manually. One of the spectral windows should be selected as that which will set the Representative Frequency.
This defaults to the centre of the spectral window, but can be changed at the bottom of the page. This sets thesize of the antenna beamsize drawn in the Visual Spatial Editor and is also used to work out the time estimate
for the Science Goal. The Spectral Line and Spectral Scan interfaces can not be used with full polarization.
For each baseband, the following buttons are available:• Select Lines to Observe in BaseBand...: This opens the Spectral Line Selection Tool allowing a huge
list of transitions to be searched. For each line selected, a row for it will be created in the table.
• Add: This adds a blank row to the table that can then be completed manually.
28

Figure 5.6: The spectral window table for a single baseband. Three spectral windows have been defined, one ofwhich takes up half of the available correlator mode and two others which use a quarter each. Note that each has
the same spectral resolution (this must be the case) and that the bandwidths are proportional to the assigned
fraction. Further note that if there were different spectral averaging factors per spectral window, the spectral
resolutions would not appear to be the same, although the bandwidths would still indicate the chosen fraction.
• Delete: Delete the selected row from the table.
The spectral window table has the following columns. Most accept input by being double-clicked.
• Fraction: Each baseband can currently only support a single correlator mode i.e. a bandwidth and numberof channels, where the latter is 8192 for high-resolution modes (FDM) and 256 for low-resolution (TDM).
These channels can be spread over the chosen number of polarization products and, from Cycle 2, be split
into multiple spectral windows. This splitting is indicated using the Fraction parameter where e.g. a factorof 1/2 indicates that the spectral window should contain half of the maximum number of available channels.
For dual-polarization and FDM, a factor of 1/2 indicates that the channel should contain 8192/2/2=2048
channels. As each mode has a different total bandwidth, spectral windows with different bandwidths cantherefore be created. Up to four spectral windows are allowed per baseband and thus only the values 1, 1/2
and 1/4 are appropriate. Depending on what fraction is selected, the available bandwidths and spectral
resolutions in the drop-down list change. As each spectral window stems from the same correlator mode,each must have the same spectral resolution (before spectral averaging).
• Centre Freq Rest: The centre rest frequency of the window. This can be set for each spectral window
separately by double-clicking on the table cell, but the total extent of each spectral window must lie fully
within the total extent of the baseband (2 GHz).
• Centre Freq Sky: The centre sky frequency of the currently-selected field source i.e. the rest frequency
corrected for the source velocity. If lsrk was given as the Doppler frame, the sky frequency will have been
converted to the barycentric frame. Otherwise, no frame conversion is made. Sources are selected using
the Targets table (located at the bottom of the Spectral Setup editor page and described in Section 5.3.6).
• Transition: A standard name to identify the purpose of the spectral window. Some kind of label identifying
the main goal of this spectral window must be entered. The Spectral Line Selection tool will automaticallyenter the name of the chosen transition. If the window is to be used for continuum purposes, entering“continuum” should be entered.
• Bandwidth, Resolution: The bandwidth and spectral resolution of the spectral window. Only allowed
modes may be chosen from a drop-down list and, within a baseband, each must have the same spectral
resolution (before spectral averaging). The resolution is calculated assuming Hanning smoothing i.e. twice
the channel spacing. This is applied by default to the reported spectral resolution, as is the value of thespectral averaging factor. TDM correlator modes are shown in bold font and are usually used to observe
continua or broad spectral lines.
• Spec. Avg.: Spectral averaging factor. This can be any power of two up to a maximum value of 16 andcan be useful for reducing the correlator output data rate. The value chosen will be reflected in the reported
spectral resolution. Note that the resulting resolution is not a simple multiple of the channel spacing due
to the application of Hanning smoothing. TDM spectral windows cannot be spectrally averaged.
• Representative Window: Select one of the spectral windows to set the Representative Frequency. Thisis the parameter that together with the sensitivity requirement sets the required time and is therefore very29

important. If the spectral setup lies in areas of variable atmospheric opacity, which spectral window is set
as the representative one can greatly influence the time estimate.
The value of the Representative Frequency is displayed below the table of spectral windows. Its value will default
to the centre of the chosen spectral window, but can be changed to another frequency within that spectral window
if the transition of greatest interest is not at the centre. For spectral line setups this is defined in the rest frame ofthe source. This is so that sources with different velocities end up with the appropriate Representative Frequency
in the observed frame.

5.3.4

Single ContinuumThis allows a maximum-bandwidth setup to be defined using only a single receiver band or frequency. Uponchoosing a band, the OT will automatically set the spectral window frequencies to recommended defaults, suchthat the sensitivity is maximised. It is possible though to change the position of the spectral windows by changing
a single parameter, the average frequency of the setup. For a two sideband receiver this actually lies in the gap
between the two sidebands. A low-resolution correlator mode (TDM) is chosen for each spectral window.
• Receiver Band: Selecting a band will set up default spectral window frequencies. Only bands 3, 6 and 7
are available if full polarization has been selected.
• Sky Frequency: This is the average frequency of the defined spectral windows and more-or-less corresponds to the value of the first local oscillator (LO1). There is a default for each band, but this can bechanged here by entering a frequency in the observed (sky) frame. It is possible to reset to the band default
frequencies using the button provided.
• Rest Frequency: The rest frequency corresponding to the sky frequency is displayed for reference only.
It corresponds to whichever source has been selected in the Targets table at the bottom of the Spectral
Setup page.
The value of the Representative Frequency is displayed below the table of spectral windows. Its value will default
to the centre of the chosen spectral window, but can be changed to another frequency within that spectral window
if the transition of greatest interest is not at the centre.

Figure 5.7: The Single Continuum panel in the Science Goals Spectral Setup.

5.3.5

Spectral Scan

It is possible to define a complicated setup involving multiple tunings that are meant to cover a contiguous range
in frequency using the spectral scan interface. Given a start and stop frequency, and a correlator mode, the OT
will devise a set of tunings that achieve the requested frequency range. The tunings are overlapped to ensurethat bad edge channels can be flagged without leading to gaps in the combined spectrum. The overlaps are
greatest for the 1875 MHz-wide spectral windows (∼170 MHz) and smaller (∼31 MHz) for the remainder.
• Requested start frequency (sky): Frequencies can only be entered in the sky (observed) frame. The
OT will start placing its spectral windows at this frequency.
• Requested stop frequency (sky): The OT will attempt to achieve this frequency by creating up to fivetunings. The OT will rarely achieve this exact frequency as there are fixed gaps between each tuning andeach tuning implies a fixed amount of extra frequency coverage.
30

Figure 5.8: The Science Goal Calibration Setup Forms editor.
• Requested range (rest): The requested range is also shown in the rest frame of the first target definedin the Field Source editor. The OT will warn if the requested range was not achieved.
• Achieved scan range (sky): In general, the OT will not achieve the exact frequency range requested
and this is displayed here.
• Bandwidth: One of four correlator modes (the four widest available) should be chosen from the drop-downmenu. The displayed values of spectral resolution include Hanning smoothing and spectral averaging.
• Spectral averaging: A single spectral averaging factor can be applied to all spectral windows.
• Representative frequency (sky): The default value (centre of requested range) can be changed.
Once enough information has been added, the OT will calculate a tuning setup and display the derived spectral windows. Spectral scans are only allowed for sources with a single offset pointing and for a single 12-m
configuration (no ACA).

5.3.6

Targets

This panel contains a table of the scientific targets that were defined in the Field Setup node. Clicking on one
will update various aspects of the Spectral Setup page, including the rest frequencies and sidebands and spectral
windows displayed in the Visual Spectral Editor, as well as the velocities displalyed in the spectral window table.

5.4

Calibration Setup

In this Forms editor, the user can specify which calibrators should be observed during the observations. Almost
all proposals should request “system-defined” as the observatory will ensure that suitable calibrators are observed.
If this is not desired, the reasons for this must be given in the technical justification. A user can enter two typesof calibrator:• Add Dynamic Calibrator...: In this case, the source is chosen at SB execution time based on somecriteria (usually a search radius around a position and perhaps a minimum flux constraint) entered by theuser.
• Add Fixed Calibrator...: Using this interface a specific calibrator source can be chosen when creating
the proposal.
The calibrators that can be added are amplitude (flux), bandpass, phase and polarization.
31

5.5

Control and Performance

One panel at the top of the page shows array and telescope configuration information. This should be used to
guide a user in the choice of parameters in the panel below, that control predominantly the time required andwhether the ACA is required.

Figure 5.9: The Science Goal Control and Performance parameters.
The configuration information (all calculated assuming the sky-frame equivalent of the Representative Frequency for the first source in the Science Goal) are:
• Antenna Beamsize: Display of the antenna beam size for the 12- and 7-m dishes.
• Number of antennas: The number of baselines assumed for each of the arrays. As the 7-m and TP
array times are actually based on the times required for the 12-m configuration, only the number of 12-m
antennas has any practical effect on the OT’s operation. These numbers are set by default in the ALMA
Sensitivity Calculator.
• Longest baseline: The maximum baselines available for the most compact and extended 12-m array
configurations. The baseline lengths are a function of receiver band as the larger configurations cannot be
observed at higher frequencies. All baseline lengths are unprojected i.e. they are not a function of source
position. Projection effects are though taken into account when calculating the synthesized beamsize.
• Synthesized beamsize: The synthesized beam sizes for the corresponding maximum baselines. Since
Cycle-3, this number is dependent on the source declination, or the average declination if there is morethan one source. The best angular resolution is possible when observing a source at the same declination
as the latitude of the observatory (−23 degrees). As the magnitude of the declination difference increases,
the angular resolution deteriorates for a given configuration.
• Shortest Baseline: The minimum baselines available for the most compact and extended 12-m array
configurations. The baseline lengths are a function of receiver band as the larger configurations cannot be
observed at higher frequencies. All baseline lengths are unprojected i.e. they are not a function of source
position. Projection effects are though taken into account when calculating the maximum recoverable scale.
• Maximum recoverable scale: The largest structures that it is possible to image with the most compact
and extended configurations. Like the angular resolution, this is now also declination dependent.
The user-entered parameters are the following:32• Desired Angular Resolution: The desired angular resolution (synthesized beam size) i.e. the finest
detail that will be visible in the map of the source. This must be between the best resolution achievable(i.e. with the most extended configuration) and twice that achievable with the most compact configuration.
Based on this, the OT will choose the smallest 12-m array configuration that achieves the requested angularresolution. Additional arrays might be added based on the largest angular structure in the source.
• Largest Angular Structure in source: The angular extent of the largest components in the sourcethat need to be imaged. If this parameter (also sometimes referred to as the Largest Angular Scale) issmaller than the max recoverable scale of the selected 12-m configuration, smaller configurations must be
added. Potentially, multiple 12-m configurations, the ACA 7-m and Total Power arrays might be necessary
to reliably image the indicated size of the source structure. There are restrictions on this though including,for example, that the very largest configurations cannot be combined with any other configuration. Notethat the LAS is not the same as the field of view – a source might contain separate components, each witha different angular scale. If the source size is very small indeed then a value of zero is acceptable.
• Desired sensitivity: The sensitivity goal for each source. If a rectangle has been defined, this value
should be what is desired in the final mosaic i.e. including beam overlaps. For “Individual Pointing(s)”,it is the value per pointing, even if a custom mosaic has been defined. For a continuum observation, thisshould be the sensitivity desired in the final continuum map. For a line observation, the sensitivity shouldbe that desired in a single channel map, where one usually wants to have several channels across each line
profile.
• Bandwidth used for Sensitivity: Specify which bandwidth should be used to calculate the time required.
This is used in conjunction with the desired sensitivity and the Representative Frequency. A number ofshortcuts are possible or a user-defined value can be entered. “RepresentativeWindowResolution” is theusual default and will use the narrowest spectral resolution (including Hanning smoothing and spectral
averaging) of the spectral window chosen as the sensitivity driver for the observations. This is usually a good
choice for observations of spectral lines. If additional smoothing is envisaged post-observation, then a userdefined value can be entered – velocity units are preferred. For continuum observations where the spectralline interface has been used, the entered value should be the total non-overlapping bandwidth that is freefrom significant line emission. The “AggregateBandWidth” option will calculate the total non-overlapping
bandwidth automatically and is the only option for Single Continuum setups. “FinestResolution” refers to
the smallest spectral resolution of any of the defined spectral windows.
• Do you request complementary ACA observations?: Based on the user-entered values of largest
angular scale, angular resolution and Representative Frequency, the OT will suggest whether the ACA isrequired and set the choice automatically. Changing this must be justified and is not recommended. The
ACA choice will be reset if the angular resolution and largest angular scale change.
• Time Estimate: Request an estimate of how long it will take to achieve the scientific objectives of the
Science Goal. This brings up a dialogue that contains a lot of information about the times required andparameters used in their derivation. The times reported include calibration and overheads (hardware andsoftware) for each array required.
• Override OT’s sensitivity-based time estimate?: If complicated and bright sources are being observed, the sensitivity target might not be reached due to limited u,v coverage. Alternatively, a user might
not be interested in sensitivity, but rather in observing a source for a fixed amount of time in order tofollow source variability. In either case, the sensitivity-based time estimate can be overridden here, but thismust be rigorously justified. The time entered must be equal to the total time required for all the arrays,
including calibration and overheads. This option is probably only useful for experts and it is not expectedthat it will be used very much.
• Are the observations time-constrained?: Clicking this reveals an interface for setting various scheduling constraints for the observations. When specifying dates, it is important to bear in mind that anythingwith a scheduling margin of less than ±7 days may not be possible. Time-constrained observations that
require more than a single 12-m configuration are not allowed. Two options are available:– Single visit – multiple time windows can be entered, during one of which the SG should be executed.
It is possible to import these windows from an external ASCII file. Each visit should go on a separate
33

row and each row should contain two comma-separated values of format YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:sse.g.
2015-03-19T01:30:00, 2015-03-19T01:30:00
2015-03-21T01:30:00, 2015-03-21T01:30:00
2015-03-23T01:30:00, 2015-03-23T01:30:00
2015-03-25T01:30:00, 2015-03-25T01:30:00– Multiple visits – multiple dates (either absolute or relative to one of the epochs) at each of which
the SG should be executed.
In either case, there is a free-format text box that can be used to enter relevant information. If timeconstrained observing is selected, it must be thoroughly justified in the Technical Justification node.

5.6

Technical Justification

The technical justification for the various parameters entered by the user into the OT is dealt with in a dedicatednode. This is split into four main sections:

5.6.1

Sensitivity

In this section, the OT first presents a number of sensitivity-related parameters based on user input enteredelsewhere in the Science Goal. These are designed to help users with the textual discussion of the sensitivity
goals to be entered in the free-format text box below. Note that for multiple sources the most restrictive valuesof the Expected Source Properties are used i.e. the flux of the weakest source and the narrowest line width
is assumed. If the OT detects potentially problematic issues, a message will appear in blue text and special
attention should be paid to addressing these in the justification text.
The parameters reported by the OT vary depending on the contents of the Science Goal. The full list is:• The signal to noise ratio (SNR) over the user-requested bandwidth for sensitivity: This calculation divides
either the continuum or line flux by the requested rms. The continuum flux is used for single continuum
setups (or where the bandwidth for sensitivity is more than twice the line width) and the line flux in theremaining situations. The user is notified if this or any of the other SNR values in the TJ node are lessthan three.
• The SNR over the aggregate, non-overlapping bandwidth: For spectral line (not single continuum) setups,
this calculates the rms that would be achieved over the full, non-overlapping bandwidth (continuum rms)
and subsequently the continuum SNR (continuum flux / continuum rms). This assumes that the entire
bandwidth is free of spectral lines.
• The SNR over one third of the line width: For any Science Goal that includes line parameters in Expected
Source Properties, the OT will calculate the rms over one third of the line width and calculate the corresponding line rms. In order to properly sample a spectral line profile, it is common to have approximately
three spectral bins over the spectral line width.
• The ratio of the line width to the bandwidth for sensitivity: Again, if line parameters have been enteredin Expected Source Properties, this calculation will be presented. Three spectral points are often placed
across each line, although higher values are often used if the shape of the line profile is to be measured.
The user is notified if this value is less than three.
• Spectral dynamic range: If both spectral line properties and a continuum flux have been entered, the ratioof the continuum and the line rms are reported as the “spectral dynamic range”. The line rms is taken
as the requested sensitivity, unless the bandwidth for sensitivity is greater than twice the line width, inwhich case the rms is that which would be achieved over one third of the line width. The spectral dynamic
range is relevant as detecting weak lines against a strong continuum is difficult and requires good bandpass
calibration. The user is notified if it is higher than the value offered for a given ALMA band in Cycle 3.
34

5.6.2

Imaging

Using the requested angular resolution and the LAS, discuss the imaging goals of the project in the text box.
If zero has been entered for the LAS, the OT will point out that any 12-m configuration could be used for theobservations that achieves the requested angular resolution i.e. the observed angular resolution might be muchbetter than requested. Whether the ACA is required is displayed, together with whether the user has changed the
OT’s recommendation. If the user has overridden the OT recommendation, this needs to be explicitly justified
in a separate text box. The same holds for an override of the default (Nyquist) sampling for rectangular mosaics.

5.6.3

Correlator configuration

Here the OT reports some basic parameters of the correlator configuration, specifically the number of spectral
resolution elements (including Hanning smoothing and spectral averaging) per line width and the bandwidthof the Representative Window. In the free-form textbox the user should discuss the correlator configuration,
particularly with regards to how many resolution elements there will be across each spectral line.

5.6.4

Choices to be justified

The following is a list of additional user settings that require a brief discussion so that the technical assessors
can be sure that the choice is justified. A free-format box appears for each.
• Non-Nyquist mosaic sampling: Non-Nyquist values are usually used when the scientific goal is to cover alarge survey area and large-scale structures are not being observed.
• Single polarization: Dual polarization is more usual and single polarization only used when the highest
spectral resolution is required.
• High data rate: If many high spectral-resolution spectral windows are defined, this will lead to a large data
rate and associated data volume which impacts on the observatory’s resources i.e. for data storage. The
easiest way to avoid high data rates is to use spectral averaging.
• Low max elevation: Sources with low declinations will suffer large atmospheric attenuation and be difficult
to schedule because of limited time above the horizon.
• User-defined calibration: As the observatory guarantees appropriate calibration without user input, thismust be rigorously justified.
• ACA choice overridden: The OT will recommend whether the ACA is required based on the largest angularscale that needs to be imaged. This recommendation can be overridden, but must be justified.
• Override of OT’s sensitivity-based time estimate: This may be necessary if you want to monitor a source
over a certain time span or if your source has a complicated structure but the sensitivity-based time estimate
does not allow for sufficient u,v coverage. You must give a detailed justification for the time override, andexplain how the new time estimate was calculated. The time override must include calibrations andoverheads.
• Time-constrained observing: These imply significant constraints on the scheduling of all ALMA projects
and must therefore be fully justified.

35

36

Chapter 6

Phase 2 Program Scheduling Blocks
Planning of an Observing Program can be done in great detail by defining the Phase 2 Observing Unit Sets and
Scheduling Blocks. How this is actually done is described in Chapter 6 of the OT User Manual.

6.1

Observing Unit Set

Observing Unit Sets contain either other OUSs or one or more Scheduling Blocks. Although an arbitrarily-deep
nested structure would be possible, in practice all ALMA SBs should be contained in a standard structure of a
top-level Science Goal OUS, a Group OUS and a Member OUS – the SBs go in the latter. The following panels
are present in all OUSs.

6.1.1

BasicsThe Basics panel contains very basic non-technical information only.

Figure 6.1: The Basics panel of Observing Unit Set form.
• ObsUnitSet Name: A user entered name for this OUS. SB generation will default to standard names
and differentiate between the Science Goal, Group and Member ObsUnitSets.
• Status: Shows the current status of this particular OUS. The allowed states are shown in this diagram of
the OUS Life Cycle.
• Description: Optional description of the OUSs purpose/contents.
• Launch Editor: Fancy editor for the Description field.

6.1.2

Control

The Control panel provides the execution control limits for the OUS, in terms of items like the maximum timeallowed, the user and scheduling constraints. Quite probably none of the information in the panel is currently
used.
37

Figure 6.2: The Control panel of Observing Unit Set form.
• Maximum Time: This is the sum of allowed execution times for all parts of this OUS. It will accumulate
the maximum times of all other OUSs and SBs below it in the hierarchy.
• Execution Time: This is the estimated actual execution time as calculated by the OT.
• Array Type: The array configuration to be used. Options are the 12-m Array, the ACA, the 7-m Array
and the Total Power Array.
The following fields are definitely currently not used:• User Priority:• TAC Priority:• Pointing Accuracy:• Bandpass Accuracy:• Polarization Accuracy:
The remaining three panels, Unit Dependencies, ObsUnitSet and Data Processing are also not used.

6.2

The Scheduling Block

The Scheduling Blocks are the key executable units of a project and contain all the information necessary to
execute a single observation. In addition to the SB overview form itself, SB Target details are stored in the
Field Sources, Instrument Setup and Observing Parameters forms. The panels Unit Dependencies and Temporal
Constraints in the SB form are currently not used and the fields in these panels are not listed below.

6.2.1

BasicsFigure 6.3: The Basics panel of the Scheduling Block form.

• SchedBlock Name: A user-entered name for this SB.
38

• Status: Shows the current status of the SB. The allowed states are shown in this diagram of the SB Life
Cycle.
• Description: Optional description of the SchedBlock.
• Launch Editor: Fancy editor for the Description field.

6.2.2

Control

Figure 6.4: The Control panel of the Scheduling Block form.
The Control panel provides various constraints on the observation, but very few, if any, of the parameters
are used at present.
• Maximum Time: This is the maximum allowed time for all executions of this SB. It is equal to the
maximum time per SB (given in the SchedBlock panel) multiplied by the number of expected executions.
• Execution Time: This is the estimated actual execution time for all executions of this SB. During
automatic SB generation, it is currently set to the same as the maximum SB time.
• Array Type: The array configuration to be used. Options are the 12-m Array, the ACA, the 7-m Array,
the Total Power Array and ALMA.
In the next subpanel the following fields are currently not used:• User Priority:• TAC Priority:• Pointing Accuracy:• Bandpass Accuracy:• Polarization Accuracy:

6.2.3

Preconditions

The Preconditions panel specifies the conditions that must be met before this SB can be executed. None areprobably yet used.
39

Figure 6.5: The Preconditions panel of the Scheduling Block form.
• Baseline cal:• Max PWVC:• Seeing:• Phase Stability:• Max Wind Velocity:• Min Allowed HA:• Max Allowed HA:

6.2.4

SchedBlock

Figure 6.6: The SchedBlock panel of the Scheduling Block form.

• Standard Mode: If true, this SB is part of a supported, “standard ALMA observing mode”, such as singlefield interferometry or interferometric mosaicing. This is set automatically depending on which mode isselected.
40

• Mode Name: The name of the observing mode. For science observations, only Standard Interferometryis currently supported.
• Mode Type: The type of the observing mode: Observatory, User or Expert. This parameter is set
automatically depending on which mode is selected.
• Execution Count: The number of times that the SB should be run. Once this is reached it is impossible
to execute the SB again so this is often set to a larger number than required.
• Max. Time: Maximum time for a single execution of this SB. It is probable that execution of the SB will
be automatically terminated if this time is exceeded.
• Obs. Procedure: Name of the script that will be used to run the observation. Alternatively, the script canitself be entered into the text field. For science observations, only StandardInterferometry.py is currently
available.
• Run Quick Look: If true, as it usually should be, the ALMA Quicklook display will be run during theobservation and provide rapid feedback as to the quality of the data.

6.2.5

Advanced Parameters

The Advanced Parameters panel allows the specification of parameters that will be passed to the observing script.
The keyword-value pairs must exactly match what is expected by the script. The displayed parameters depend
on which mode has been selected. For StandardInterferometry.py, the currently-available Advanced Parametersare:• NumPhaseCal• NumAmplitudeCal• NumBandpassCal• NumFocusCal• NumPointingCal• ElLimit• MaxPointingSeparation• SourceCycleTime

Figure 6.7: The Advanced Parameters panel.

41

Figure 6.8: The Performance panel of the SB form.

6.2.6

Performance Goals and Scheduling Constraints

The Performance Parameters panel defines the science performance required for this SB.
• Representative Target: A Phase-2 program needs a Representative Target in order to validate andgeneration will usually set this to the first Field Source. The Doppler settings will be set based on the
Representative Target.
• Representative Coordinates: The coordinates of the Representative Target.
• Representative Frequency: The frequency to be used when determining whether the SB has achieved
its sensitivity goal or not.
• Representative Receiver Band: Band corresponding to the Representative Frequency.
• Min. Angular Resolution: This can be set to ensure that the SB is observed using an appropriate array
configuration. Not currently used.
• Max. Angular Resolution: See above.
• Dynamic Range: Not currently used.

6.2.7

Temporal Constraints

This panel is not currently used.

6.2.8

Observing Groups

This panel shows the currently-defined Observing Groups and their index. Their order can be changed using thearrows.

6.3

Field Sources

The following panels are visible for each Field Source node. Together with a Instrument Setup and an Observing
Parameters, a Target is created which can be used to observe one or more scans during SB execution.
42

6.3.1

Query Status

Checking this allows a set of search criteria to be defined that will be used at runtime to select a calibrator inreal time. Alternatively, it can be used to search the ALMA calibrator database for a specific source.

6.3.2

Field Source

Figure 6.9: The Field Source Panel of the SB Field Sources form.
If a Field Source query has been selected, this panel is not used. It contains:• Field Source Name: This should be a unique identifier for the Field Source. It is usually used to describe
the purpose of the Field Source e.g. amplitude.
• Source Name: The source name – this can be used to automatically complete the source details using
the Resolve button. This can potentially add the coordinates, proper motions and velocity information.
Please check the information carefully!
• Choose a Solar System Object: Selecting this brings up a list of solar-system bodies that are known
to the telescope control system. Alternatively, an ephemeris can be entered.
• Source Coordinates: The coordinates of the source. This item includes:– System: Only FK5 J2000 is currently supported.
– Parallax:– RA:– Dec:– Proper Motion RA: Proper motion in the Right Ascension (cross-declination) direction. Typicalunits are milliarcsec/yr.
– Proper Motion Dec: Proper motion in the Declination direction.
• Source Radial Velocity: The radial velocity of the source can be entered as either a velocity or a redshift.
It is used to convert source rest-frame frequencies to their observable (sky) equivalents. The full set of
options are:– Velocity: Upon entering this, the redshift will also be set according to the Doppler Type (velocity
definition). For Single Continuum setups, automatic SB generation will set the velocity to zero (inthe SB only).
– Doppler Frame: A number of options are available: barycentric, lsrk, topocentric and lsr. However,
heliocentric should not be chosen as it is not currently supported. Resolving the source details willoften cause heliocentric to be set and, if this is the case, automatic generation will convert it tobarycentric (these differ by a maximum of approximately 12 m/s). If the frame is changed, noconversion is performed of an already-entered velocity/redshift.
43

– z: Redshift. Upon entering this, the velocity will also be set according to the Doppler Type (velocity
definition). For Single Continuum setups, automatic SB generation will set the redshift to zero (inthe SB only).
– Doppler Type: This sets the velocity definition (radio, optical or relativistic). Changing this will
make the velocity agree with the entered redshift.
In the source properties table that follows frequency, flux and diameter can be provided. If the source has
been selected from the ALMA Calibrator Database, these details will be filled in automatically. Finally:• Visible Magnitude: Visible magnitude for the source (used in optical pointing). Not currently used.
• Use Reference: If checked, a reference position can be defined.

6.3.3

Reference Position (Offset)

Figure 6.10: The Reference Position, Field Pattern panel in the SB Field Source form.
Up to two reference positions can be specified if this option has been selected in the panel above. These canbe used to define offsets for On The Fly observing or for system temperature measurement. The parameters are:• Reference Coordinates:– Coords Type: Choose between absolute or relative (to the Field Source) coordinates. It is not
absolutely clear if absolute coordinates are supported – it’s therefore safest to use relative. Only FK5J2000 and horizon offsets are currently supported.
∗ Absolute offset inputs:· System:· RA:· DEC:∗ Relative offset inputs:· System:· Offset(Longitude):· Offset(Latitude):• Integration Time: Time spent integrating per visit.
• Cycle Time:• Sub Scan Duration: This must be an integer multiple of both the integration duration and 48 ms. If
an approximation is entered (the real value normally has lots of decimal places), a button is available toadjust this to the nearest legal value.
44

Figure 6.11: The upper part of the Field Pattern panel of the SB Field Source form.

6.3.4

FieldPatternEditor

The choice of the field pattern determines the name and the fields in the next panel in which the properties ofthe field pattern are defined. The available patterns are:
• Point – used for most interferometric observations i.e. where an antenna is stationary whilst integrating.
• Circle – not currently supported.
• Rectangle – defines an area which can be scanned by a telescope, usually a single dish. It can also be used
to create a mosaic of single pointings.
• Spiral – not currently supported.
• Cross – allegedly supported.

6.3.5

Point

Figure 6.12: The Point field pattern panel for the SB Field Source form.
This interface consists of a table where the list of pointings should be added. Each will be observed one byone, each for the appropriate subscan duration, until the total integration time has been reached. The inputs
are:• PointingPattern: Offset: Tick if the pointing pattern position is an offset relative to the source position.
If not, absolute positions are used.
• Offset Unit:
These are followed by the table, above which is reported how many pointings have been created.

6.3.6

Rectangle• Pattern Centre Coords:– Coords Type: Choose between absolute or relative (to the Field Source) coordinates. Only FK5J2000 and horizon systems are currently supported.
∗ Absolute offset inputs:· System:· RA:
45

Figure 6.13: The Rectangle field pattern panel for the SB Field Source form.
· DEC:∗ Relative offset inputs:· System:· Offset(Longitude):· Offset(Latitude):• Lat. length: Length of one side of the rectangle.
• Orthogonal step: For raster scans – step size in the direction orthogonal to the scan direction.
• Long. length: Length of the other side of the rectangle.
• Scan Direction: For raster scans – the scanning direction for the raster, either in longitude or latitude.
• Unidirectional Scan: For raster scans – if checked, each scan will be made in the same direction.
• Scan Velocity: This cannot be set by the user.
• Orientation: Position angle of the rectangle.
• Scanning Coordinate System:• Setup Mosaic (Optional): If desired, the above-entered rectangle size can be converted to a pointed
mosaic. After filling in the following parameters and performing the conversion, the Field Pattern editor
will revert to Point and the list of derived pointings will be shown.
– Frequency:– Overlap:– Spacing:– Antenna:– Layout Type: Triangle patterns are usually used.

6.3.7

Cross

It is far from certain that this field pattern is supported or used. Just on the off chance, the inputs are:
• Pattern Centre Coords:– Coords Type: Choose between absolute or relative (to the Field Source) coordinates. Only FK5J2000 and horizon systems are currently supported.
46

Figure 6.14: The Cross field pattern panel for the SB Field Source form.
∗ Absolute offset inputs:· System:· RA:· DEC:∗ Relative offset inputs:· System:· Offset(Longitude):· Offset(Latitude):• Lat. length: Length of one arm of the cross.
• Long. length: Length of the other arm of the cross.
• Initial Scan Direction: Choose which arm of the cross to begin with.
• Scan Velocity:• Orientation: Position angle of the cross.

6.4

Instrument Setup

The following panels are visible for each Instrument Setup node.

6.4.1

Spectral Spec

Figure 6.15: The Spectral Spec panel of the Instrument Setup form.
• Spectral Spec Name: This should be a unique and descriptive identifier for the Spectral Spec.
• Receiver Band: Once a baseband has been defined, the receiver band and type (2SB, DSB, SSB) will be
set automatically.
• Add Total Power with square law detector to this correlator setup: Please ignore.
47

6.4.2

Switching

Figure 6.16: The Switching panel of the Instrument Setup form.
No switching possibilities are yet implemented at the telescope, but the basic interface is already in place in
the OT. The options are:• NO_SWITCHING• NUTATOR_SWITCHING• FREQUENCY_SWITCHING
As none of these options are yet enabled, discussion of the inputs is deferred to the future.

6.4.3

Correlator Configuration

Figure 6.17: The Correlator Configuration panel in the Instrument Setup, for the 64-input correlator.
• Integration Duration: This sets the averaging interval of the data written by the correlator (to theASDM). If an approximation is entered (the real value normally has lots of decimal places), a button isavailable to adjust up to the nearest legal value. Typical values are 2 s for TDM correlator modes and 6 s
for FDM.
• Channel Average Duration: This sets the averaging interval of the channel averaged data. For the
64-input correlator, this must be a multiple of the dump duration. Other restrictions apply for the ACA
correlator. For NORMAL accumulation it must be a multiple of 16 ms, whilst for FAST it must be 1, 2, 4,
8, or a multiple of 16 ms. Also, it cannot exceed 1024 ms and, if <0.5 s, must be equal to the integration
duration. Otherwise, the channel average and integration durations must be equal. Approximations canbe automatically adjusted up to the nearest legal value.
• Atmos. Phase Correction Data To Save: It is possible to perform an on-line phase correction based on
the measurements of PWV. Either this, the uncorrected data, or both may be written out by the correlator.
• Accumulation Mode: This is the fundamental averaging time of the correlator chips, after which further
averaging is usually performed. There are two choices:– FAST – 1 msec (only commissioned for ACA correlator)
48

– NORMAL – 16 msec
If cross-correlations are desired (together with auto-correlations) NORMAL must be chosen and this is thedefault. For FAST, only auto-correlation products are produced.
• LO Offsetting Mode: LO offsetting is used to suppress signals from unwanted sidebands. Sideband
separation of DSB receivers is usually done with 90-degree Walsh switching, but the rejection of one
sideband is possible using LO offsetting. The main use of LO offsetting is to provide additional suppressionof the leakage from one sideband into the other, for 2SB receivers. Offsetting with two LOs uses LO1and LO2, whilst FDM modes can also offset a third LO, that corresponding to the TFB offset frequency(usually known as LO4).
• Enable 90deg Walsh function: Allows the sidebands for DSB receivers to be separated in the correlator.
Although also technically available to suppress the leakage from the other sideband for 2SB receivers, thiswill usually be done using LO offsetting.
• Enable 180deg Walsh function: This is used to remove spurious signals and DC offsets introduced into
the signal path by the ALMA electronics e.g. the digitizer. It is usually enabled.
• Dump Duration – 64-input correlator only: The 64-input correlator is designed such that the dump
interval must be a multiple of 16 ms for the NORMAL accumulation mode. At present, however, multiplesof 48 ms (FDM) and 32 ms (TDM) are recommended. Values of around 1 s (e.g. 1.008 s) are usually
selected for interferometric observations. For the FAST accumulation mode, the dump duration must be
set to 1 ms. A button is available to adjust up to the nearest legal value.
• Modulation – ACA correlator only: If true, perform 180-degree anti-demodulation in the DTS receiver.
• Demodulation – ACA correlator only: This performs 180-degree demodulation in the CIP module.
If modulation is chosen, then this must also be set.

6.4.4

BaseBand Configurations

The core of defining an Instrument Setup is the setting of a maximum of 4 basebands (each 2 GHz wide) andthe (potentially multiple) spectral windows that sample the baseband signals.

Figure 6.18: The top part of the Baseband Configurations panel.

6.4.4.1

Hardware Setup

It is usually the case that the various LOs are set based on the requested baseband frequencies. It is, however,possible to request specific settings of the first local oscillator (LO1) and the First Local Oscillator Offset
Generator (FLOOG):• Hardware Set-up: Enable the following options.
49

– FLOOG: Note that this is sometimes referred to as the first Fine-Tuned Synthesizer. Ticking the“Tune High” box will add this frequency to LO1 (as opposed to subtracting it). The allowed range is
20 to 45 MHz and a value of 32.5 MHz is usually used.
– LO1 Frequency:
Enabling this option also allows certain other parameters to be set per baseband e.g. the use of the 12-GHz filter.
6.4.4.2

LO Setup Preference• Sideband(s) to prioritise: If set, the algorithm will try to place the requested frequencies in the designated sideband.
• Base band config(s) to prioritise: Weights (0 to 100) allow the basebands to be prioritised. This could
be useful as, due to LO2 not having a continuous range, it is not always possible to tune to the exact
frequencies requested. The weights are usually left at the defaults of 100.
• Doppler Reference: If the usual route of entering rest frequencies and a source velocity has been followed,
this should be set to “rest”. However, for high-redshift sources where the desired frequencies have been
manually corrected to the lsrk frame, the “lsrk” option should be selected. This will only correct for Earthmotion relative to this frame and ignore the source velocity. Finally, if no correction should be madewhatsoever, e.g. for pointing and continuum setups, “topo” should be chosen.
• Calculate LOs 1 and 2: After the baseband frequencies and the various priorities have been entered, see
below, the ability of the system to find a tuning solution should be checked by clicking this button. It is
not actually necessary to do this as the telescope control system will calculate the various LOs itself when
the SB is run, but it’s a very useful check and should in fact always be done.
• LO1 Frequency: The LO1 frequency as determined in the OT, either by the tool itself, or entered by theuser. This is an estimate used to help the user in correlator setup - the actual value used will depend on
the time of observation.
• Total Data Rate: Estimate of the total data rate summed over all basebands. This is the output data
rate from the correlator i.e. this number together with the total observing time determines how much dataends up in the ASDM and thus the archive.
6.4.4.3

Basebands

Up to four basebands can be defined and these are shown in a tabbed format (Fig. 6.19). A summary table of thebasebands is visible above the tabs, into which various properties (most obviously the centre frequencies) of thebasebands can be conveniently entered. Some baseband settings are only available via the tabs. The table also
shows the LO2 frequency and the instantaneous date rates that can be expected for each baseband configuration.
Note that the LO2 frequency is determined within the OT, by the tool itself. This is an estimate to help theuser in preparing a correlator setup - the actual LO2 used may vary depending on the time of observation, andis set by Control at execution time. The LO2 value cannot be edited unless hardware setup has been selected.
• Baseband Name: The four available baseband names must be chosen such that basebands 1 and 2 (or 3and 4) lie in the same sideband.
• Desired Centre Frequency: The desired centre frequency for this baseband. How these frequencies areinterpreted depends on the value of the Doppler Reference. If this has been set to “rest”, then they will becorrected for the source velocity.
• Actual Centre Frequency (Rest): The actual centre frequency (in rest units) for this baseband. Notethat this will usually differ from the desired value, albeit only slightly.
• Actual Centre Frequency (Sky): The actual centre frequency in observed units.
50

Figure 6.19: The tabs used to specify the basebands (64-input correlator) with the summary table at the top.
• Products: Allows the user to select both auto- and cross-correlations or auto-correlations only. When theaccumulation mode is FAST, only the auto-correlations can be produced.
• Use 12 GHz filter: This selects the 12-GHz low-pass filter that precedes the IF processor – otherwise the8-GHz filter is used. It is usually required when LO2 exceeds a value of 10.5 GHz. This can only selected
if hardware setup has been enabled.
• Use USB: The input to the IF processor can, for 2SB receivers, select either the LSB or USB as input.
LSB is assumed unless this is checked. A baseband pair (either 1 and 2 or 3 and 4) must use the samesetting. This can only selected if hardware setup has been enabled.
• LO2 Frequency Switching: Not currently implemented.
– Number of Positions:– Dwell Time:• Polarization mode – ACA correlator only: For the ACA correlator, it is only possible to select thepolarization mode of the spectral window per baseband i.e. each spectral window in a baseband must
produce the same polarization products. It is possible that this is not always the case for the 64-input
correlator.
• Center Freq of Residual Delay – ACA correlator only:• Allows ACA Specific Modes – ACA correlator only: The ACA correlator is able to reproduce all
the modes that have been defined for the 64-input correlator. However, it is also capable of producing
many more modes than this and, if this option is checked, it is possible to define these in the spectral
window tabs below. Unfortunately, the restrictions on what is allowed in these cases are quite complicatedand, although it is attempted to give an idea of these in this document, the ultimate arbiter will be thecorrelator validator.
6.4.4.4

Spectral Windows

For each baseband it is possible to define multiple spectral windows and these are shown in a tabbed format(Fig. 6.20). A summary table of the spectral windows is visible above the tabs, into which various properties ofthe spectral windows can be conveniently entered. The full set of options is only available from the tabs.
51

Figure 6.20: The Spectral Window tabs used to specify the spectral windows (ACA correlator) with the summary
table at the top.
• SpectralWindow Name: Automatically set and non-editable.
• Centre Offset Frequency: This is used to set the position of the spectral window within the baseband.
Technically speaking, it is equal to the frequency of the astronomical signal after down-conversion by
the analogue to digital converter (also known as LO3), plus 2 GHz (don’t ask). Using this convention,
the available baseband signal covers a range of 2000 to 4000 MHz, and 3000 MHz therefore refers tothe baseband’s centre. Note that, LSB and USB behave differently – values above 3000 MHz will movethe spectral window to higher sky frequencies for USB, but to lower sky frequencies for LSB. As it is notpossible to move any part of a spectral window outside of its baseband, the effective range of this parameteris 2000 MHz minus the effective bandwidth. The exact value of the offset frequency is quantised and isequal to 30.517578125 kHz for the 64-input correlator. The step freqeuency for the ACA correlator depends
on the bandwidth and number of channels and is calculated as follows:
hwSWCh = effectiveBandwidthMHz / (2000.0MHz * 1024 / 2 ** 19)
swCh = max(hwSWCh, effectiveNumberOfChannels)
chWidth = effectiveBandwidthMHz / swCh
step = chWidth * 8
To put this into context, for a 62.5 MHz-wide window with 4096 channels (FDM) the step frequency isequal to ∼122 kHz, whilst for 2 GHz and 128 channels (TDM) it is 31.25 MHz. For both correlators abutton is available to adjust an approximation to the nearest legal value.
• Equivalent Omega IF2: This shows the Centre Offset Frequency using a different definition (noneditable). It is equal to the frequency of the signal immediately after the down-conversion carried out by
LO2.
• Centre Freq(Rest) LSB/USB: The centre frequency of the spectral window, in rest-frequency units. If
sideband separation has been enabled, the value for each sideband will be displayed.
• Centre Freq(Sky) LSB/USB:• Use LSB: This tells the correlator to save this sideband’s data. If only a single sideband is being produced
per spectral window e.g. for SSB and 2SB receivers, then this will be set appropriately and not be editable.
52

For DSB receivers though when the sidebands are being separated i.e. both are produced by the correlator,
it is possible to turn one off.
• Use USB: As above.
• Nominal BW / # Channels: A number of correlator modes have been defined that must be madeavailable by both the 64-input and ACA correlators. These can be formed by chosen suitable values forthe nominal bandwidth and number of channels from a drop-down menu. If ACA-specific modes have beenchosen (see above), this field is not displayed.
• Effective BW / # Channels: The displayed values are usually based on the nominal values and noteditable. FDM modes produced by the 64-input correlator have effective bandwidths that are 15/16 thatof the nominal, due to overlapping of the digital filters. If ACA-specific modes have been chosen, this field
becomes editable and any values can be entered. However, these must still conform to various restrictions
and the validator will complain about illegal inputs. The restrictions are somewhat complicated, butessentially every ACA bandwidth is built up from individual chunks with a width equal to the ACA step
frequency. For example, whilst 2 GHz and 128 channels is a valid mode, discarding two chunks (each witha bandwidth of 31.25 MHz) results in a bandwidth of 1937.5 GHz. As each of these chunks contains two
actual correlator channels, the number of channels must also be reduced to 124. In addition, the numberof channels must be equal or greater to 16 and the minimum allowed bandwidth is ∼61 kHz.
• Channel spacing: This non-editable parameter displays the effective bandwidth divided by the numberof channels.
• CorrConfigMode/Filtermode – 64-input correlator only: Correlator configuration internal mode
number and filter type (TDM or TFB – the latter is synomynous with FDM).
• Polarization Products: Dual polarization (XX and YY) should normally be chosen unless the highest
spectral resolution is required, but all four polarization products must be chosen if source polarization is
to be determined. These must be the same for all spectral windows within the same baseband. This is notsettable for the ACA which has a separate baseband-based polarization field (see above).
• Averaging Factor: Specifies the number of spectral channels to average together for each subband –this can greatly reduce the data rate when a correlator mode is being used that has much more spectral
resolution than actually required. The allowed values are 1, 2, 4, 8 and 16 for the 64-input correlator andany power of 2 less than the total number of channels for the ACA correlator.
• Window Smoothing Function: Ringing in the output spectrum can be reduced by applying a windowfunction. Hanning is usually applied by default, although other choices are available. Uniform means apply
no windowing function.
• Correlation Bits – 64-input correlator only: The number of bits used in the correlation. Higher
numbers will increase the sensitivity but will reduce the spectral resolution. Only 2-bit sampling is currently
supported. The ACA correlator always uses 4-bit sampling.
• Oversampling – 64-input correlator only: The input data stream is usually sampled at the Nyquist
rate. This can be doubled, slightly increasing the sensitivity, but the spectral resolution will be halved.
Oversampling is not currently supported.
• Quantization Correction – 64-input correlator only: This corrects the derived visibilities for inaccuracies due to the limited number of bits used to sample the data. This is also known as the Van Vleckcorrection.
• Frequency Ch Profile – ACA correlator only: Due to the 64-input and ACA correlators performing
the cross-correlations and Fourier transforms in the opposite order (the former is XF and the latter FX),
the spectra of an unresolved spectral line has a different profile in each case (sinc for the 64-input and sinc2
for the ACA). Selecting this option will trigger an algorithm that converts the ACA spectral profile to thatof the 64-input correlator. This way of requesting this correction is now deprecated and been removed fromrecent versions of the OT.
53

• Synth. Profile – ACA correlator only: The ACA correction to the line profile is now specified via
this new parameter. There are now three options, the fundamental change being that it is now possible
to request that this correction be made in the Correlator Data Processor, instead of the correlator itself.
This will be the default for Cycle 3.
For each spectral window it is possible to define up to 10 Spectral Average Regions (also known as Channel
Average Regions). Note that these parameters are based on the effective channels and are zero-based.

6.5

Observing Parameters

The Observing Parameters node allows the intent of a Target to be defined i.e. science or one of various calibrations. The OT allows more than one to be associated with a single target, but this is not yet supported by thetelescope contron software and should not be attempted.

6.5.1

Science Parameters

Figure 6.21: The Observing Parameters form to provide the parameters for the targets in the SB. The Scienceparameters tab is visible.
The Science Parameters have the following items:• Science Parameters Name: This should be a unique and descriptive identifier for the Science Parameters.
54• Representative Bandwidth: This is the bandwidth that will be used to determine whether the requested
sensitivity has been reached. It will usually be the spectral resolution for spectral line observations andthe maximum usable bandwidth (7.5 GHz) for continuum.
• Representative Frequency: This is the frequency that will be used to determine whether the requested
sensitivity has been reached.
• Sensitivity Goal: The desired rms sensitivity. ALMA should observe an SB until this has been achieved.
Not yet implemented!
• Integration Time on source: Desired integration time for this source in this SB. As the sensitivity
criteria are not yet used, an SB will instead be observed for this amount of time. It normally consists ofan integer multiple of subscans, each of which must run to completion.
• Sub Scan Duration: A subscan describes the smallest amount of data that can be continuously observed
whilst the telescope is pointing in a specific direction, perhaps with associated scanning movement. Thismeans that changing the telescope pointing (e.g. by changing the scan direction or moving to a new pointing
direction) requires a new subscan and thus this parameter sets how long each position in a mosaic, or eachscan in a raster, is observed for. If an approximation is entered (the real value often has lots of decimal
places), a button is available to adjust this to the nearest legal value. A value of 30 s is typical. Oncebegun, a subscan will always run to completion i.e. and integration time of 31 s and a subscan duration of
30 s will produce 60 s of data. All subscan durations must be integer multiples of the integration durationand 48 ms.
• Force Atmospheric Calibration: Whether a system temperature measurement is needed will often be
determined by the observing script, but checking this will ensure what one is taken every time the science
Target is observed.
• Advanced Parameters: Not yet implemented.

6.5.2

Calibration Parameters

Many of the calibrator intents share the majority of their parameters. A number of the commonly-used calibrators
require some additional parameters (e.g. pointing, bandpass) whilst some others, especially observatory modes
such as holography and optical pointing, have completely unique sets of parameters.
6.5.2.1

Common Parameters

The parameters that are commonly shared are:
• Parameters Name: This should be a unique and descriptive identifier for the Science Parameters.
• Cycle Time: How often this calibrator should be observed.
• Default Integration Time: A nominal time for observing this calibrator. This will in general be exceeded
as a subscan (for pointing observations a group of subscans), once started, must be completed. Might one
day be overridden by the time taken to achieve some level of calibration accuracy.
• Data Origin: Type of data to use for deriving the calibration – the channel average data will often be
used.
• Sub Scan Duration: This has a similar meaning to that for science observations i.e. the integration
time will be made up of one or more subscans and, once a subscan has started, it will be completed. In
addition, for calibrations that only make sense with some number n of distinct observations e.g. a fiveposition pointing, the subscan duration sets how long the telescope points at each position and an integer
number of n subscans will always be observed. The subscan duration must be an integer multiple of theintegration duration and 48 ms.
55

• Force Atmospheric Calibration: Whether a system temperature measurement is needed will often be
determined by the observing script, but checking this will ensure what one is taken every time the science
Target is observed.
• Force Execution: It is possible that a calibration Target will not actually be observed as the script may
decree that it is not necessary e.g. a sufficient calibration exists from a previously-executed SB. This canbe overridden using this checkbox.
• Advanced Parameters: Not yet implemented.
Amplitude, phase, delay and sideband ratio calibrations only use the above parameters.
6.5.2.2

Bandpass-only Parameters• Desired Phase Accuracy: Not yet implemented.
• Maximum Elapsed Time: Maximum time allowed to achieve the requested accuracy. Not yet implemented.
• Desired Amplitude Accuracy: Not yet implemented.
6.5.2.3

Pointing-only Parameters• Desired Accuracy: Not yet implemented.
• Pointing Method: Of the various options, FIVE_POINT is always used and probably the only one
implemented.
• Maximum Elapsed Time: Maximum time allowed to achieve the requested accuracy. Not yet implemented.
• Excursion: This should be set to half of the antenna beam size.
6.5.2.4

Focus-only Parameters• Axis to adjust: Specify the axis to focus, i.e. the X, Y or Z axis. The Z-axis is defined by the pointing
direction towards the sky and the X and Y axes are perpendicular to this, with the X-axis pointing
horizontally towards the right and the Y-axis downwards.
6.5.2.5

Polarization-only Parameters• Desired Polarization Accuracy: Not yet implemented.
6.5.2.6

Atmospheric-only Parameters

Note that these are usually no longer required as the atmospheric calibration is taken care of by the observing
script for science observations.
• Use Hot Load:• Coords Type:• Sky Position:
56

6.5.2.7

Optical Pointing-only parameters

The following lists all the Optical Pointing parameters i.e. these do not share any of the common parameters
given above.
• Randomize Order:• Elevation Limit:• Antenna Position Tolerance:• Max Magnitude:• Min Magnitude:
6.5.2.8

Radiometric Pointing-only parameters

The following lists all the Radiometric Pointing parameters i.e. these do not share any of the common parameters
given above.
• Randomize Order:• Elevation Limit:• Antenna Position Tolerance:
6.5.2.9

Holography-only Parameters

The following lists all the Holography parameters i.e. these do not share any of the common parameters given
above.
• Tower:• Frequency:• Number of Rows:• Row Size:• Scan Direction:• Speed:• Start Fraction:• Calibration Mode:• Calibration Time:• Calibration Rows:• uniDirectionalScan:

57

58

Chapter 7

The Visual Editors
7.1

The Visual Spatial Editor

The Visual Spatial Editor is a graphical tool to aid in choosing input parameters for the Field Setup of a Science
Goal or the Field Source of a Scheduling Block. It consists of a graphical interface that is described here, butalso contains the Forms editors that are described in Sections 5.2 and 6.3. An example of the image display canbe seen in Figure 7.1.

7.1.1

Tool Bar and Zooming Functions

A toolbar is visible above the graphical interface. It provides the following functions:• Open a FITS file: Load a FITS file on the display. Note that only the FK5 J2000 coordinate system iscurrently properly supported. FITS extensions are supported, but only the first one can be read.
• Save image as ...: Save the displayed image. The format can be selected in a separate window.
• Cut selected FOVs: Remove a telescope pointing position.
• Select FOVs in a rectangular region: Use the cursor to select a number of pointings.
• Set the target centre (Source Coordinates): Mark the centre of the target.
• Add a FOV: User the cursor to define an individual pointing. Individual pointings are drawn in red toindicate the antenna beamsize (field of view) and surround a green, dashed circle that indicates the inner
third of the beamsize - beyond this the sensitivity will be significantly lower than requested.
• Draw a rectangular map: Use the cursor to define a rectangular region to be mapped. Via the colour
anchors the region and be reshaped and rotated. This region will be automatically turned into a mosaic
for use by the 12-m array and possibly the ACA 7-m array. A larger turquoise rectangle represents thearea that will be observed using the ACA TP array (if necessary and available).
• Show Pointing Positions: Show the automatically derived mosaic positions for a rectangle field.
• Image Cut levels: Set the image cut level and pixel value distribution using a separate interface.
• Show/Hide Grid: Display a coordinate grid (RA and Dec).
At the bottom of the display, dragging the mouse within the colourbar will change the displayed contrast –right-clicking in the same area will reset the display to the default contrast. Below this, four buttons are available
for zooming functions. In addition the zoom factor, the pixel and sky coordinates at the cursor position andpixel value are visible. The image file name that is loaded is also displayed.
59

Figure 7.1: An example of the image display area of the Visual Spatial Editor. This is for a custom mosaic
and shows the antenna beamsize (field of view) of the individual pointings (in red). The green, dashed circles
indicate the inner third of the field of view. This is to emphasise to the user that the sensitivity drops off awayfrom the pointing centre.

7.1.2

Fov Parameters

Below the graphical window are two panels that control the loading of images and various display options.
• Representative Frequency (sky): The sky equivalent of the Representative Frequency is used to determine the antenna beamsize.
• Antenna Diameter: Antenna diameter that shall be used for calculating the antenna beamsize. Choices
are 12- (12-m and TP arrays) and 7 m (7-m array).
• Antenna Beamsize: Diameter of the chosen antenna beam.
• Show FOV (circle): Tick to display the chosen antenna beamsize and 1/3 of the beamsize markers.

7.1.3

Image Query• Image Server: Select the image server from which the image shall be retrieved.
• Image Size (arcmin): Set the size of the image to be uploaded. Larger images take more time.
• Query: Retrieve and upload the image from the server.
60

Figure 7.2: The antenna beamsize and server query controls of the Visual Spatial Editor.

7.2

The Visual Spectral Editor

The purpose of the Spectral Editor is, apart from the graphical presentation of the various parameters settings,
to offer the possibility of adjusting and optimising various frequency setting parameters interactively using the
cursor. The defined spectral windows are shown along with the tuning solution derived from them. This consistsof the receiver sidebands (the spectral windows must all fit inside these) and the first local oscillator frequency(LO1). If a tuning solution has been found, the sidebands will be coloured yellow and, if shifted by dragging
LO1 with the cursor, will spring back to their original position once the mouse button is released. If a tuning
solution cannot be found, the sidebands turn grey. A project cannot be submitted unless a tuning solution has
been found by the OT. A table at the bottom contains all sources that are specified in the Field Setup. Selecting
these will move the spectral windows in the graphical interface, but note that the sidebands and LO1 frequency
will not shift – these remain at the position appropriate for the first source.

7.2.1

Visual Spectral Editor for Science Goals

The Visual Spectral Editor for Science Goals is divided into five panels. The first section is described below.
The other four panels are described in Section 5.3.1.

Figure 7.3: The graphical representation of the frequency information for Science Goals. The yellow sidebands
indicate that a valid tuning solution has been found.

7.2.1.1

Visualisation• Overlays– Receiver Bands: Displays the available receiver bands as a hatched bar along the top of the display.
– Transmission: Display the atmospheric transmission curve. This will change depending on what isselected for the Water Vapour Column Density.
61

– Overlay Lines: Display lines selected with the Spectral Line Selection tool.
– DSB Image: For DSB receivers (bands 9 and 10) this displays the “image” counterpart of each
spectral window. The image spectral window lies in the other sideband (equidistant from the LO1
frequency) and will show sources of contamination or excess noise e.g. other lines and atmosphericabsorption, that will also affect the requested spectral window.
– Select Lines to Overlay: Choose lines to overlay using the Spectral Line Selection tool.
• Spectral Scan
– Requested scan: Show the range over which the spectral scan was supposed to cover. This will
rarely exactly correspond to what was achieveable in practice.
– Tuning 1, 2, etc.: Display the spectral windows corresponding to a specific tuning. Each tuning iscoloured differently and is offset vertically.
• Water Vapour Column Density– Automatic Choice: Allow the OT to automatically select the appropriate value of PWV according
to the Representative Frequency and draw the corresponding transmission plot. This is recommended.
– Manual Choice: Override the OT’s choice. This is for experimentation only – the OT will ignore
this when calculating the time required for a Science Goal.
• Viewport– Pan To Line: Pan to the rest frequency.
– Zoom To Band: Zoom to the current receiver band.
– Reset: Reset the display settings.

7.2.2

Visual Spectral Editor for Scheduling Blocks

The Visual Spectral Editor is similar to that used in Science Goals, but there are some differences. As with
the Science Goal version, a graphical interface is displayed along with the Forms editor – this is described in
Section 6.4.1.
7.2.2.1

Receiver, Basebands & LO Visualisation• Track Selection: Control whether or not to zoom to a newly selected baseband.
• Fold Spectral Windows: Optimize the use of the vertical space for drawing the spectral windows.
• Fold Basebands: Optimize the use of the vertical space for drawing the basebands.
• Basebands: Display the baseband ranges.
• Other Transitions: Toggle drawing of the other transitions that have been selected.
• BBC Centre Frequencies: Display the centre frequencies of the baseband configurations.
• Receiver Bands: Displays the available receiver bands 1 to 10.
• Side Bands: Display the LSB and USB ranges.
• Transmission: Display the atmospheric transmission curve.
• Select Other Transitions: Click to start up the Spectral Lines Selecting Tool to select lines to be
displayed.
• Pan To Line: Pan to the rest frequency.
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Figure 7.4: Visualisation of frequency information about receivers, basebands and LO frequencies. Visible arepart of the frequency band (hashed), the transmission curve, four basebands and their spectral windows.
• Zoom To Band: Zoom to the current receiver band.
• Reset: Reset the display settings.
• Zoom to Selected Baseband: Zoom to the selected baseband.
• Zoom to Mirror: Zoom to the mirror (in the LO1 frequency) of the current window.

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Chapter 8

Acronym List
2SB: Two sideband
ACA: Atacama Compact Array
ALMA: Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array
ARC: ALMA Regional Centre
ASC: ALMA Sensitivity Calculator
BBC: Baseband Converter
DFS: Data Flow System
FOV: Field Of View
LO: Local Oscillator
LSB: Lower Side BandOT: Observing Tool
OTF: On The Fly (mapping)
OUS: Observation Unit Set
PI: Principal Investigator
SB: Scheduling Block
TFB: Tunable Filter Bank
USB: Upper Side Band65

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