|
Utilizing ARK, the Astrophysics Research Knowledgebase,
a service of
NASA's High Energy Astrophysics
Science Archive Research Center, RPS provides a
facility for filling out the Swift proposal cycle forms, as part of the ROSES
NRA. Electronic submission of the proposal forms is required. The scientific
justification must also be submitted electronically, uploaded as a PDF file
after the initial submission of the electronic proposal forms. Please note
that this PDF cannot exceed 10MB in size.
In order to access the Swift RPS web form, you must first
create an ARK account and/or join the SWIFTRPS
group.
If you already have an ARK account, login first and select "Join Group"
from the menu next to "Swift RPS (SWIFTRPS)" and then click on the
Submit Changes button.
If you do not already have an ARK account, enter your e-mail address in
the input field provided and click on the check box next to "Swift RPS
(SWIFTRPS)" and then click on the Join ARK button. Check your e-mail
and click on the activation code found therein. Fill out the ARK registration
form and submit.
Next, proceed to the Swift RPS web form and fill
out the form as directed below. Targets can be added at the end of the form
or by clicking the Add Targets button at the top or bottom of the
page. The Add Targets button can be used to add blank targets or to
upload a plain text file
containing a list of names and/or positions. Please note that this latter
method will only fill in the observation field name and center position; you
will still need to enter other information (exposure time, number of
observations, etc.) for each observation using the web interface.
Alternatively, after adding some targets, you can
use the Save button to download a
plain text representation of the ARK form, which you can edit in your
favorite text editor and then Reload into ARK. Note that the file
format used by the Reload mechanism is the same as the format of the
files generated by the Save button.
After you have filled out the form, click the Verify button to
make sure you have entered the form information correctly. If the form does
not validate, ARK/RPS will identify the reason(s) for non-verification.
Once the form verifies successfully, a Submit button will appear,
allowing you to you to submit the proposal to RPS.
The PostScript, PDF, and LaTeX buttons can be used to
generate formatted versions of the proposal forms. We recommend that PIs keep
formatted copies of the forms for their personal records, but it is not a
required part of the proposal submission process.
After clicking on the Submit button, go to your
Recent Activity page. Summary information for the
proposal that you just submitted should be listed here, indicating that you
have successfully submitted your Swift proposal forms to ARK/RPS. You may now
upload your scientific justification (in PDF format). From the
Recent Activity page, click on the Files
button next to the proposal you submitted, and then click on the
Upload button and follow the instructions on that page. After you have
successfully uploaded your scientific justification, you have completed your
RPS electronic submission.
Note: After submission and before the proposal deadline, you may still
Modify or Discard your proposal using the appropriate buttons
on the Recent Activity page. The Files
button also enables you to Download, Discard, or Replace
any file that you previously uploaded.
Additional information on how to use RPS and the answers to some
frequently asked questions can be found on the
RPS Quick Help page.
Short descriptions of the forms and fields are below. The fields are
listed in the same order as found on the web page. The labels for the fields
in the web form will link to the appropriate field description below.
This section contains fields for the proposal title, the type of proposal, the
proposal abstract, and information about the Principal Investigator of the
proposal, such as name, institution, address, telephone number, etc.
Choose the type of proposal you will be submitting from the following list of
options:
- Theoretical GRB investigations (funding only)
- Correlative GRB observations involving new or enhanced IR ground-based capabilities for investigating high redshift bursts (funding only)
- Other correlative GRB investigations (funding only)
- New Swift GRB projects (funding only)
- Swift TOO observations of non-GRB targets (observation and funding for US PIs)
- Swift non-TOO observations of non-GRB targets (observation and funding for US PIs)
- Swift fill-in targets (observation and funding for US PIs)
The type of proposal you select will determine whether or not you need to
fill in at least one target form, for example. Required.
The title of the proposal (up to 120 characters). Required.
800 characters maximum. Abstracts exceeding this limit will cause an error.
Required.
Your title (Dr., Ms., Mr., Prof.). The value for this field comes from your
ARK user profile. If it is incorrect,
update your ARK user profile prior to proposal submission.
Your first name. Up to 30 characters are allowed. Required.
The value for this field comes from your
ARK user profile. If it is incorrect,
update your ARK user profile prior to proposal submission.
If you like, you may add your middle name or initial(s). Optional.
Up to 30 characters are allowed. The value for this field comes from your
ARK user profile. If it is incorrect,
update your ARK user profile prior to proposal submission.
Your last name (surname). Up to 30 characters are allowed. Required.
The value for this field comes from your
ARK user profile. If it is incorrect,
update your ARK user profile prior to proposal submission.
The name of your department at your institution. Up to 60 characters are allowed.
The value for this field comes from your
ARK user profile. If it is incorrect,
update your ARK user profile prior to proposal submission.
Your institutional affiliation. Required.
The value for this field comes from your
ARK user profile. If it is incorrect,
update your ARK user profile prior to proposal submission.
The first line of your institution's address, e.g., the street name, any number
within it, etc. Up to 60 characters.
The value for this field comes from your
ARK user profile. If it is incorrect,
update your ARK user profile prior to proposal submission.
The second line of your institution's address, if needed. Up to 60 characters.
The value for this field comes from your
ARK user profile. If it is incorrect,
update your ARK user profile prior to proposal submission.
Your city or town. Up to 32 characters. Required.
The value for this field comes from your
ARK user profile. If it is incorrect,
update your ARK user profile prior to proposal submission.
The name of the state/province/prefecture in which your institution is located.
Up to 30 characters. Required. For states in the U.S., please use USPS-standard,
two-letter abbreviations.
The value for this field comes from your
ARK user profile. If it is incorrect,
update your ARK user profile prior to proposal submission.
The postal code, ZIP code, or equivalent of your institution. Up to 10
characters.
The value for this field comes from your
ARK user profile. If it is incorrect,
update your ARK user profile prior to proposal submission.
The name of the country in which your institution is located. Required.
The value for this field comes from your
ARK user profile. If it is incorrect,
update your ARK user profile prior to proposal submission.
If your country is not listed, please contact the
RPS Help Desk.
Your telephone number, plus any extension. Please include the international
prefix if appropriate.
The value for this field comes from your
ARK user profile. If it is incorrect,
update your ARK user profile prior to proposal submission.
Your fax number, if available. 24 characters allowed.
The value for this field comes from your
ARK user profile. If it is incorrect,
update your ARK user profile prior to proposal submission.
Your e-mail address. Up to 60 characters. Required. An e-mail receipt will
be sent to this address within 24 hours of the electronic submission
of your proposal, if the e-mail receipt option is checked in your
ARK user profile.
The value for this field comes from your
ARK user profile. If it is incorrect,
update your ARK user profile prior to proposal submission.
This section contains fields for details about your collaborators, if any,
and additional contact information, as well as the anticipated budget and
NASA FTE commitment. Up to 15 Co-Investigators are allowed.
The first name of each Co-Investigator. Up to 20 characters.
The last name of each Co-Investigator. Up to 20 characters.
The institution for each Co-Investigator. Up to 60 characters. Please refer to
the List of Institutions Recognized by
RPS and use the official name of the institution wherever possible.
Note: If your Co-I's institution is not among those listed, please contact the
RPS
Help Desk and request that it be added to the list. Such requests are
typically answered within 24 hours, excluding weekends and U.S. Federal
holidays.
The country for each Co-Investigator. If a country is not listed, please
contact us at the
RPS Help
Desk and request that it be added to the list.
The e-mail address for each Co-Investigator. Up to 60 characters.
Checkbox indicating whether or not the first Co-Investigator listed is also a
contact person in cases where the Principal Investigator cannot be reached.
The default is to contact only the Principal Investigator.
Telephone number of the Co-Investigator that should be contacted. Up to 24
characters. Be sure to include the international code if outside the United
States. Only enter a value for this field if you specify that the first
Co-Investigator should be contacted.
The anticipated budget request, if this proposal is accepted. Specify a value
in units of $1000 US (e.g., enter "39.5" for an anticipated total budget of
$39,500). The specified value must be less than or equal to 40.0, unless the
Proposal Type is 2, as defined above.
PIs from non-US institutions are ineligible for funding and should enter 0.
Required.
The number of Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) NASA civil servants that would be
supported by this proposal during Swift Cycle 6, if approved. This may be a
fraction or zero. This information is collected for NASA records only and
does not affect acceptance of the proposal. Example: If two Co-Is are NASA
civil servants and each will be supported for 10% of their time with this
grant during Cycle 6, then enter 0.2000 (0.10 + 0.10) for this field.
Required.
This section contains the details that need to be filled in for each different
target. Note: If any one target in the proposal is a Target of
Opportunity (TOO), then all targets in the proposal must be TOOs. TOOs and
non-TOO targets may not be combined in the same proposal;
they should instead be submitted as separate proposals. Similarly, Fill-in
Targets are a separate category, and cannot be combined with TOO or regular
non-TOO targets. If you select proposal type "7" in the Cover Form, all of
your targets must be Fill-in Targets. See the
Swift Cycle 6 FAQ on
Fill-in Targets for further details.
The commonly accepted name for the object. Up to 20 characters. Required.
Please use standard names for known targets (e.g., NGC 2237 or Eta Car).
The J2000 right ascension of the source. The value can be entered in either
sexagesimal format (HH MM SS.SS — hours, minutes, seconds,
separated by spaces) or decimal degrees format (DDD.DDDDD). If you enter the
value in sexagesimal format, it will be converted to decimal degrees format
when you submit. Note: If you are proposing to observe a generic
Target of Opportunity (e.g., new supernovae) whose position is unknown at the
time of proposal submission, please specify "0.0" for both the R.A. and Dec.
fields. Required.
The J2000 declination of the source. The value can be entered in either
sexagesimal format (±DD MM SS.S — an optional sign,
either + or -, followed by the degrees, minutes, and seconds, separated by
spaces) or decimal degrees format (±DD.DDDDD). If you enter the value
in sexagesimal format, it will be converted to decimal degrees format when
you submit. If you do not specify the sign, it is assumed to be positive.
Note: If you are proposing to observe a generic Target of
Opportunity (e.g., new supernovae) whose position is unknown at the time of
proposal submission, please specify "0.0" for both the R.A. and Dec. fields.
Required.
Select the type/description of the targeted source from the list provided.
If you select "Other," then you must elaborate in the space provided (up to
25 characters). Required.
Indicate whether or not this object is a Target of Opportunity (TOO).
Targets of Opportunity include any proposal to observe a source under
conditions that cannot be scheduled in advance. E.g., when non-periodic
phenomena such as outbursts, state changes, novae, etc., occur. TOOs must
include trigger criteria for observation, such as number of counts in a given
instrument. Note: If any one target in the proposal is a TOO, then
all targets in the proposal must be TOOs. TOOs and non-TOO targets may
not be combined in the same proposal; they should instead be
submitted as separate proposals. Also, note that Fill-in Targets (proposal
type "7" in the Cover Page form) cannot be TOOs.
Select the priority of the observation from the list provided. This indicates
how quickly an observation should be scheduled once the trigger criteria have
been met. Specify only for Targets of Opportunity.
Specify the criteria that should trigger observation of the target. For
example, "We want to catch the end of an outburst, so the observation should
be triggered when the RXTE ASM count rate falls to between 8-13 counts/sec
after a burst." Up to 500 characters. Specify only for Targets of
Opportunity.
Estimate the probability that the Target of Opportunity will be triggered,
based on the criteria specified above, during Swift Cycle 6. The probability
must be greater than 0.00 and less than or equal to 1.00. Specify only for
Targets of Opportunity.
Indicate whether or not this is a monitoring program. A monitoring program is
defined as three or more observations of the same source. Specify the desired
number of observations in the Number of
Observations field, further down on the Target Form, and describe how the
observations should be scheduled in the
Monitoring Criteria field. The unique
scheduling requirements of Swift put severe constraints on monitoring
programs. Regular, periodic monitoring cannot be accommodated. Refer to the
section on monitoring in the
Swift Cycle 6 FAQ for
further details. Note: If the proposed monitoring involves
observations at a specific phase or similar constraints, check
Constrained? and fill in the
Constraints Description field, further
down on the Target Form.
Describe the observing scheme that meets your scientific goals. For example,
"three 2-ksec observations spaced anytime from 7-20 days apart."
Note that the unique scheduling requirements of Swift put severe constraints
on monitoring programs. Regular, periodic monitoring cannot be accommodated.
Refer to the section on monitoring in the
Swift Cycle 6 FAQ
for further details. Note: If the proposed monitoring involves
observations at a specific phase or similar constraints, check
Constrained? and fill in the
Constraints Description field, further
down on the Target Form.
Up to 500 characters. Specify only for monitoring programs.
Indicate whether or not the request is for coordinated observations between
Swift and another observatory. Since this coordination constitutes
a constraint on the observation, check
Constrained? and fill in the
Constraints Description field, lower
down on the Form.
Specify the name(s) of the coordinating observatory(ies).
Save the description of the coordination details for the
Constraints Description field, lower
down on the Form. Up to 100 characters. Specify only for coordinated
observations.
Indicate whether or not scheduling of the observations is constrained in
some manner. Allowed constraints include the following: phase-constrained
proposals, coordinated observing campaigns with ground-based or
satellite-based facilities, etc. Time-constrained observations are defined as
observations that have to be performed within a certain time window. These
can be ToOs or non-ToOs, either monitoring (more than one visit to a source)
or non-monitoring observations, but not fill-in observations. This includes
phase-constrained proposals, coordinated observing campaigns with
ground-based or satellite-based facilities, etc. Note that the unique
scheduling requirements of Swift put severe constraints on time-constrained
programs. Time-constrained observations are subject to the following limits:
(1) the window duration must exceed 3 hours; (2) no more than 300
time-constrained visits will be performed during Cycle 6. For coordinated and
constrained observations, it is the proposer's responsibility to inform the
Swift Science Operations Team of the observing time windows at least one week
before observations commence.
If your observation is time constrained, describe the constraints in details
here, e.g., window duration (in hours), if and how the observation is
coordinated with other facilities, and how far in advance the Swift Science
Operations Team will be informed. Other details such as which precise part of
the source phase to observe or specific times/dates that observation must be
performed should also be described, if applicable. If this observation should
be coordinated with another observatory, fill out the
Coordinated Observation? and
Coordinating Observatory fields in
the Target Form. Then, put the details for that coordination here, including
how contemporaneous the observations must be. For example, "Coordinate the
observation with Chandra. We have an accepted Chandra AO-10 proposal for this
source. Work with Chandra team to determine an observation time suitable to
both satellites. Swift observation should take place within one week of the
Chandra observation to be of value, and optimally within 2 days." Up to 500
characters. Specify only for constrained observations.
Select the instrument from the list provided that is most critical to
achieving your science goals. Required.
Select the aspect of the observation from the list provided that is most
critical to achieving your science goals. Required.
The preferred duration in kiloseconds for observing the target. This is the
total observation time, so this is the sum of all pointings. The
minimum time is 1 ksec. Required.
Enter the number of desired observations of the target, where an observation
must be between 1-20 ksec. For monitoring observations this
will give the number of parts into which the Total Observation Time will be
evenly divided, unless the Monitoring
Criteria field indicates otherwise. Refer to the
Swift GI Program FAQ on
Observation Length for further discussion. Required.
Source count rate in counts/sec typical of the source. Required.
The V magnitude of the proposed source or target of the observation. If
unknown, then leave this field blank.
Select the XRT mode from the list provided. Required.
- Photon Counting (PC) Mode
- PC mode generates images with 2.5-s time resolution and is best
suited to count rates below 0.5 cps. PC mode can be used for higher
count rates, but the data will be piled up and will require special
processing by the user. Choose PC mode if your science goal is to
determine a good X-ray position. A two-dimensional image is
generated. This mode allows the user to derive spectra at the CCD
resolution.
- Windowed Timing (WT) Mode
- WT mode produces 1-D images with about 2-ms time resolution and is
best suited to count rates over 1 cps. WT mode has higher background
than PC mode. Choose WT mode if your science goal requires
high-resolution timing. This mode allows the user to derive spectra
at the CCD resolution.
- Automatic (AUTO) Mode
- Auto mode allows the instrument to choose the mode automatically,
based on the count rate. Sometimes subject to "mode
switching", which can result in a loss of useful data. Choose
this mode when the X-ray count rate is unknown; the instrument will
then select the mode automatically. Useful data results, unless the
target is affected by scattered light from the bright earth.
Select the UVOT filter mode from the list provided. Required. If you select
"Custom," then you must specify the mode in the Remarks field.
Any relevant comments you wish to make regarding the target.
Up to 500 characters.
|
