Frequently Asked Questions about Swift Cycle 4

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Foreign PIs (PIs at non-U.S. institutions)

1. Do you have to be a PI at a U.S. Institution to Propose?
2. Do I need to do anything special to be a PI on a non-GRB observing proposal if I am at a non-US institution?
3. I tried to affliliate with "Swift Science Center" in NSPIRES, but it didn't work.
4. Can non-US PIs propose a non-GRB observing proposal and have a US co-I receive the funding?

Proposals for non-GRB Observations

1. What types of non-GRB proposals are allowed?
2. Will the observations be proprietary?
3. What is the difference between "AKBAR/RPS", used in Cycle 3, and "ARK/RPS", used in Cycle 4?
4. Can I combine TOO and non-TOO observations in one proposal?

New non-GRB, non-TOO pointed observations

1. How much time will be allocated to non-GRB non-TOO observations?
2. Will Swift slew to my non-GRB, non-TOO source autonomously?
3. What priority will non-GRB, non-TOO observations have in Swift's observing schedule?
4. Am I assured of obtaining all awarded observing time on my non-GRB, non-TOO target?
5. What rules and limitations should I be aware of for non-GRB, non-TOO Swift observations?

Non-GRB TOO proposals

1. How much time will be allocated to non-GRB TOO observations?
2. Will Swift slew to my non-GRB TOO source autonomously?
3. How many Top priority TOOs can be accepted in Cycle 4?
4. What rules and limitations should I be aware of for non-GRB TOO Swift observations?
5. What should I put for RA, Dec, and object name if I am proposing observations of a 'yet-to-be-discovered' object?

Proposal Format and NSPIRES Submission

1. What are the page limits for the proposal text?
2. Does the "References" section of the proposal count toward the 4 page limit?

NRA Reference Materials

1. Where can I find the ROSES-2007 Announcement and its amendments, including the appendix describing Swift Cycle 4?
2. Where can I find the NASA Proposers Handbook, and its supplementary material?

Other

1. Who do I write to if I still have questions?

Answers

Foreign PIs (PIs at non-U.S. institutions)

1. Do you have to be a PI at a U.S. Institution to Propose?

   No. PIs at non-US institutions may submit proposals for observing time only. PIs at non-US institutions are not eligible for funding. (And therefore may not submit "funding only" proposals, even if they would have US Co-Is.)

2. Do I need to do anything special to be a PI on a non-GRB observing proposal if I am at a non-US institution?

   Yes. You need to register in NSPIRES and create an affiliation with the NASA Swift Science Center. To register with NSPIRES, click on the link above and follow the "Registration Information" instructions in the Member Login box at right. Once you are registered, follow these directions to set your affiliation. Please note: it may take a week for your affiliation to be approved - do it early!

   Login to NSPIRES                                                
   Choose "Account Management" from your selection choices.
   Choose "Affliations"                                             
   Click on "Add Affiliation"                                       
   Now type in "NASA Swift Science Center" and complete the Affiliation request.  
   

   You will be notified in about a week (or less) that your affiliation has been approved.

   The SSC will then act as your submitting organization. Please release your proposal in NSPIRES as early as possible on the deadline day (November 9), so that the SSC will have sufficient time to submit the proposal on your behalf.

   For further instructions on submitting a Swift Cycle 4 proposal, see our Cycle 4 Guest Investigator Program Web page.

3. I tried to affliliate with "Swift Science Center" in NSPIRES, but it didn't work.

   Make sure you use "NASA Swift Science Center". "Swift Science Center," without the "NASA" preceding it, will not work. If you still have difficulties, please consult the NSPIRES Help Page, and if you don't find a resolution there, write to nspires-help@nasaprs.com. Please also cc the Swift Help Desk via our Feedback form, so we are aware of the difficulty.

4. Can non-US PIs propose a non-GRB observing proposal and have a US co-I receive the funding?

   No. The US collaborator must be the PI, in order for him/her to receive funding.

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Proposals for non-GRB Observations

1. What types of non-GRB proposals are allowed?

   Any non-GRB proposal should have mild impact on the GRB detecting and follow-up schedule. This means it should not be too close to the Sun, not require uninterrupted viewing or highly specific start or stop times.

   HEASARC's Viewing tool can help you detemine the Sun angle for your source, and other observational parameters.

2. Will the non-GRB observations be proprietary?

   No. Swift does not perform proprietary observations. All observations will be publically available immediately. Non-GRB proposers are eligible for funds to help analyze the observations they propose, however.

3. What is the difference between "AKBAR/RPS", used in Cycle 3, and "ARK/RPS", used in Cycle 4?

   Only the name. It is literally the same software and Web site, and your login and associated information remains the same, if you registered with AKBAR/RPS. For the duration of Swift Cycle 4, URLs containing either "/akbar/" or "/ark/" will work, so even old bookmarks should still function. Eventually, after a suitable period, the "/akbar/" URLs will be retired.

4. Can I combine TOO and non-TOO observations in one proposal?

   No. A proposal must be either TOO or non-TOO; it cannot be both. If you wish to perform both non-TOO and TOO observations of the same source, you must submit two separate proposals. Please make sure the proposals have different titles, so they can be easily distinguished. (Eg., "TOO observations of SRC-XYZ" and "non-TOO observations of SRC-XYZ") Also, if the proposals should be reviewed together (e.g., if you will trigger the TOO based on results from the non-TOO), then please state in your abstract that one proposal is the companion to the other, and specify the title of the other proposal. We will use that information to make sure they are reviewed by the same panel.

New non-GRB, non-TOO pointed observations

1. How much time will be allocated to non-GRB non-TOO observations?

   2000 ks. A total of 2 million seconds of observing time will be made available to the non-TOO GO program during Cycle 4.

2. Will Swift slew to my non-GRB, non-TOO source autonomously?

   No. Swift GO observations will be performed only as the result of an uploaded ground command through the normal planning process and will not be slewed to autonomously.

3. What priority will non-GRB, non-TOO observations have in Swift's observing schedule?

   Low. GO observations will have a lower scheduling priority than GRBs or TOOs and will be observed on a best-effort basis when time is available in the observing schedule.

4. Am I assured of obtaining all awarded observing time on my non-GRB, non-TOO target?

   No. Because of Swift's observing restrictions, successful GO PIs should be aware that they are not assured 100 percent of the time awarded. Every effort will be made to observe 80 percent or more of an accepted program within schedule limitations of the mission.

5. What rules and limitations should I be aware of for non-GRB, non-TOO Swift observations?

   • A single observation is defined as one requested pointing to a target. Proposers should be aware that, due to Swift's low Earth orbit, and scheduling priorities for other projects, any GO observation longer than 1 ks is likely to be broken up into several different pointings on different orbits. Requested time per observation is limited to between 1 ks (minimum) and 20 ks (maximum);
   • A monitoring program is defined as any TOO or GO proposal that requests multiple pointings to the same object. No more than 10 monitoring programs (GO and TOO) will be permitted in Cycle 4. See also the constraints for periodic observations, mentioned below.
   • No more than 500 ks of observing time will be allocated to GO targets in each 6-hour range of right ascension (RA) in order to ensure that GO targets are distributed pseudo-uniformly on the sky.
   • No more than 20% of the accepted GO time will be awarded to time-constrained proposals. This includes phase-constraing proposals, coordinated observing campaigns with ground-based or satellite-based facilities, etc. Note that the unique scheduling requirements of Swift put severe constraints on the monitoring programs. Since non-GRB targets must be scheduled around existing GRB observations, regular periodic monitoring cannot be accommodated. Proposals requiring periodic monitoring will be rejected.

     As to what, exactly, constitutes periodic monitoring, here are some guidelines: In general, because of Swift's primary focus on fast follow-up of GRBs, any scheduled observation has a pretty good chance of getting bumped. During the following days to a week, the afterglow(s) are still prime targets, so non-GRBs take a back-seat in the day to day scheduling. Thus, the looser your constraints the better. If your science goals can only be achieved with daily observations for a week (even if the observations are not at the same time of day), then the panel may reject such a proposal, because Swift can't really promise that will happen. If you prefer daily observations for a week, but you can get by with, say, 5-8 observations over a 10-14 day period, that's more feasible. We suggest you describe in the scientific justification the ideal observing scenario as well as what you can live with. Then reiterate this in the comments section on the target form.

   • You may NOT combine TOO and non-TOO observations in a single proposal. If you wish to perform both TOO and non-TOO observations, please see the guidelines in the answer to our FAQ question, "Can I combine TOO and non-TOO observations in a single proposal?".
   • There is no carry-over time from Cycle 4 to Cycle 5. Therefore, GOs whose observing programs are not completed in Cycle 4 will be required to repropose in Cycle 5 if they wish to acquire more observing time on their targets of interest.

Non-GRB TOO Proposals

1. How much time will be allocated to non-GRB TOO observations?

   800 ks. A total of 800 ks of observing time will be made available to TOO proposals.

2. Will Swift slew to my non-GRB TOO source autonomously?

   No. See above for non-TOO targets.

3. How many Top and High Priority TOOs can be performed in Cycle 4?

   No more than six Top Priority and no more than 50 High Priority TOOs can be performed for Cycle 4.

4. What rules and limitations should I be aware of for non-GRB TOO Swift observations?

   • Limit the requested time per observation to between 1 ks (minimum) and 20 ks (maximum).
   • Clearly describe how your proposal capitalizes on the unique capabilities of Swift.
   • Give exact, detailed trigger criteria.
   • A monitoring program is defined as any TOO or GO proposal that requests multiple pointings to the same object. No more than 10 monitoring programs (GO and TOO) will be permitted in Cycle 4. Proposals requiring periodic monitoring will be rejected.

     As to what, exactly, constitutes periodic monitoring, here are some guidelines: In general, because of Swift's primary focus on fast follow-up of GRBs, any scheduled observation has a pretty good chance of getting bumped. During the following days to a week, the afterglow(s) are still prime targets, so non-GRBs take a back-seat in the day to day scheduling. Thus, the looser your constraints the better. If your science goals can only be achieved with daily observations for a week (even if the observations are not at the same time of day), then the panel may reject such a proposal, because Swift can't really promise that will happen. If you prefer daily observations for a week, but you can get by with, say, 5-8 observations over a 10-14 day period, that's more feasible. We suggest you describe in the scientific justification the ideal observing scenario as well as what you can live with. Then reiterate this in the comments section on the target form.

   • You may NOT combine TOO and non-TOO observations in a single proposal. If you wish to perform both TOO and non-TOO observations, please see the guidelines in the answer to our FAQ question, "Can I combine TOO and non-TOO observations in a single proposal?".
   • There is no carry-over time from Cycle 4 to Cycle 5. Therefore, GOs whose observing programs are not completed in Cycle 4 will be required to repropose in Cycle 5 if they wish to acquire more observing time on their targets of interest.

5. What should I put for RA, Dec, and object name if I am proposing observations of a 'yet-to-be-discovered' object?

   Please use 0.0 for the coordinates and "new transient" or similar for the target name.

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Proposal Format and NSPIRES Submission

1. What are the page limits for the proposal text?

   The page limits are discussed in Appendix D.7 of ROSES-07 "Swift Guest Investigator - Cycle 4". They are:

   Section	No. of Pages
   Scientific Justification	4
   Budget Justification: Narrative & Details1	2
   List of Current/Pending Funding 1	as needed
   Vita of PI	1

   ¹ Proposals for observing time only (no funding) should not include budget items.
   

2. Does the "References" section of the proposal count toward the 4 page limit?

   Yes. For Swift, any references should be included in the 4-page scientific justification.

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NRA Reference Materials

1. Where can I find the ROSES-07 Announcement (NRA) and its amendments, including the appendix describing Swift Cycle 4?

   The amended ROSES-07 NRA and amended versions of the Swift-related appendices can be found at NSPIRES's ROSES 07 Solicitation Summary page for Swift Cycle 4.

2. Where can I find the NRA Proposers Handbook, and it's supplementary material?

   The NRA Proposers Guidebook and any clarifications are found on the NRA Proposers Guidebook page.

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Other

1. Who do I write to if I still have questions?

   If you have questions about any of the above, or similar, items, write to the Swift Science Center via our Feedback form.

   If you have questions about how to submit a proposal for Swift Cycle 4, please see our Cycle 4 Guest Investigator Program Web page. It contains instructions, links, supporting materials, and help desk addresses for support with proposal submission.

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If you have a question about Swift, please contact us via the Feedback form.

This page was last modified on Tuesday, 13-Nov-2007 10:21:34 EST.