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The Plateau de Bure Interferometer
(PdBI)
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The Plateau de Bure Interferometer
(PdBI)
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Proposal Preparation and Submission Procedures
Documentations about the PdBI can be found here. This should help to prepare your proposal.
PdBI Local Contacts
An IRAM astronomer is now assigned as LOCAL CONTACT to each of the A and B rated proposals. Roberto Neri is responsible for organising this as well as for the co-ordination of all activities related to the data analysis and archiving.
The local contacts help to prepare the observations for the accepted projects. They check the observing setups which are done in collaboration with the Principal Investigators (PIs) and Roberto Neri. Note that a project cannot be observed without a feedback from the PIs certifying that coordinates (and offsets for mosaics), velocity (for spectral observations) and spectral configuration written inside the observing setups are correct.
The local contacts also inform the Principal Investigators about the successful completion of the observations, and arrange the visits in Grenoble for data reduction. If needed, they provide help to get started with the data reduction process, and they closely monitor it to verify the data quality, completeness etc. as well as the proper functioning of the data reduction tools. This feedback should help us to further improve the system.
For projects without a local contact, investigators should contact C.Berjaud to check for possible dates for data reduction, at least 2 weeks in advance.
PdBI Observations
The IRAM interferometer is operated as a service instrument by the IRAM staff.
Observations are carried out in absentee. Roberto Neri is responsible for the execution of the projects.You can consult the project status which is updated weekly.
Before starting a project, the observing setup must be written and carefully checked by the Principal Investigators (PIs) in close collaboration with the local contact and Roberto Neri. Note that a project cannot be observed without a feedback from the PIs certifying that 1)coordinates (and offsets for mosaics), 2) velocity (for spectral observations) and 3) spectral configuration written inside the observing setups are correct. You can find here general instructions about observing setups. The spectral configuration of the correlator can be checked using the Astro software.
The following documents are mostly relevant to IRAM staff, but may be of interest for astronomers with special observing projects.
Preparing your visit to Grenoble
Data reduction is carried on by the proposers at IRAM Grenoble.
Please read carefully the following instructions: special attention must be given to practical details concerning your visit to IRAM Grenoble and data archiving.
In order to have enough time to load the data on your project account before your arrival, visits must be announced at least TWO WEEKS in advance.
To avoid overbooking the computer facilities, no more than two groups should reduce data simultaneously. The list of visitors should be consulted before deciding for a date of visit.
Note that IRAM is closed from Friday evening 6pm to Monday morning 8am. You should arrive at IRAM within the open hours. Late arrival or arrival during the week-end should be arranged directly with your local contact .
Practical informations about the status of your mission and conditions of reimbursement by IRAM are given here.
You can also find here some details about how to reach Grenoble and IRAM .
For data reduction, an account on visitor disks is allocated to each project for a period of 3 weeks. The first week is corresponding to the data reduction duration (your visit at Grenoble). The two other weeks are added for safety, to allow ftp transfers or to check that the archive done by the reducer before leaving IRAM is readable on his/her home machine.
After that period, the account is automatically removed without new archiving or mention to the PIs. The date at which your account will be removed is mentionned at each login.
Therefore, after completion of the data reduction and before leaving IRAM, PIs are responsible for archiving properly their reduced data. You can save the content of your account either on a DAT tape or a CDrom using the unix procedure ``savproj'' . One archive done on CDroms needs to stay at IRAM for safety, to make this archive proceed as described in the example. The local contact is not responsible for the IRAM archiving. Please, do not forget to keep time before leaving to make this archive. In case of problems on your home machine or on your own archive, this archive allows you to rebuild your complete reduced project. During the two weeks where their account stays alive, if the PIs choose to work in remote from their home machine, no new archive will be done at IRAM.
Explanations on how write FITS files from GILDAS files can be found here.
Informations about the content of the account at the first login and its gestion are provided here. Please take take time to read them before starting the data reduction.
Before starting the data reduction, one needs also to read the reduction notes which contain updated informations on the data reduction softwares. CLIC and MAPPING (or GRAPHIC), the main softwares of data reduction, are based on GILDAS .
You can also find a list of traps in the trap list. Please, read it carefully before creating your UV tables, it might avoid to loose time.
GILDAS, the Grenoble Image and Line Data Analysis Software, is a joint effort of IRAM and the Observatoire de Grenoble.
Publication of PdBI Data
On each paper based on observations coming from the PdBI, the following footnotes should be written on the first page:
`` Based on observations carried out with the IRAM Plateau de Bure Interferometer. IRAM is supported by INSU/CNRS (France), MPG (Germany) and IGN (Spain).''
IRAM provides preprints free of charge for publication based on IRAM observations. Papers which are accepted in refereed journals and addressed to the IRAM librarian will be published as IRAM preprints.
IRAM would also appreciate acknowledgements to the IRAM staff for the help provided during the observations and the data reduction. We suggest the following sentence:
`` We acknowledge the IRAM staff from the Plateau de Bure and from Grenoble for carrying the observations and help provided during the data reduction .''
