INFORMATION RE-ARECIBO PROPOSALS FOR THE 1st FEBRUARY 2011 DEADLINE

Arecibo proposals submitted for the Tuesday, 1st February 2011, 23:59 EST, deadline are for telescope usage during the eight months beginning 1st June 2011 (i.e. valid for two trimesters).

1. While a high percentage of Arecibo telescope time for radio astronomy is presently being used for large surveys, we STRONGLY encourage the submission of proposals that are not classified as surveys. Considerable observing time (~40% of the annual radio astronomy allocation) is assigned to such projects.
2. A 700-800 MHz receiver is available for use in the band (temporarily) freed up by TV channel reallocations in 2009. Proposals to use this receiver are encouraged on a shared risk-basis, subject to the evolution of band occupancy, and the practicality of use. The RFI situation as of 12 Aug, 2009, (when the last major TV turned off) can be seen via RFI at 800 MHz on 12 Aug 2009
3. The 2 x 7, dual-polarization, 300-MHz bandwidth, "Mock" spectrometers are available to all ALFA users. For details see Mock Spectrometers for ALFA users
4. An implementation of a SINGLE-PIXEL MODE for the Mock spectrometers is available. This can provide up to 1 GHz of contiguous spectral coverage. On-line pulsar folding is not yet supported. For use of the Mock spectrometers with a single-pixel receiver, see Specifics for Mock Single-Pixel mode
5. The WAPP spectrometer provides an 8-band, dual-polarization, single-pixel observing capability for spectral lines or pulsars. This mode can place 8 independent bands over a 1-GHz range, each band having up to 100-MHz bandwidth. A contiguous 680-MHz spectral coverage can be obtained after allowing for filter roll-off. For an overview of WAPP capabilities, see: WAPP spectrometer information
6. Large proposals, (i.e. requesting at least 300-400 hr, though at the NAIC Director's discretion, sometimes less than this), are subject to skeptical review after evaluation by the normal science referees. Progress reports for on-going large proposals will be skeptically reviewed annually. All skeptical reviews take place in August.
7. A policy for follow-up proposals by survey consortia has been included as Section 5.8 of the document that details information about Follow-up Proposal Policies.
8. While we try to keep the maximum possible number of receivers cool and ready for observing, all may not be available at any given time. In particular, availability of the S-high and C-high receivers cannot always be guaranteed, and these receivers will often be scheduled in campaign mode.

(Updated: 17 January 2011)