Astronomer
Cycle 13 - LWA Radio Observatory
September 20, 2024
Due to planned outages for upgrades at the LWA1 and LWA-SV stations during 2025 we are not putting out a call for Cycle 13. Users can still request time through an e-mail to lwa@unm.edu, or by contacting the LWA Director. Requests can be made for the LWA1, LWA-SV and/or LWA-NA stations.
- LWA1 offers up to three beams (2 tunings of 20 MHz each).
In addition, two all-dipole modes are available; a transient buffer
narrow (TBN) and a transient buffer wide (TBW). TBN
provides a 100 kHz bandwidth and is continuously sampled.
At LWA1 there is also a commensal all-sky narrowband imaging system
(PASI) that provides images of the sky over 100 kHz of bandwidth at a 5
s cadence. The frequency range of the image data is usually set to
the protected band at 38 MHz. The SEFD at 74 MHz for the LWA1 station is around 13 kJy.
- LWA-SV offers up to two beams (2 tunings of 20 MHz each). The two
tunings are dependent between the beams, and thus need to be the same.
In addition, two all-dipole modes are available; a transient buffer
narrow (TBN) and a transient buffer frequency domain (TBF). TBN
provides a 100 kHz bandwidth (like the LWA1 TBN), while the TBF
provides a 20 MHz bandwidth with approximately 1s dumps every 3 min.
At LWA-SV there is also a commensal all-sky broadband imaging system
(the Orville Imager) that provides images of the sky over 20 MHz of bandwidth at a 5
s cadence. The frequency range of the image data is set by the first
beam tuning. The SEFD at 74 MHz for the LWA-SV station is around 16 kJy.
- LWA-NA offers up to four beams (2 tunings of 20 MHz each).
LWA-NA is a compact array radio telescope operating in the
16-88 MHz band, located in NM. LWA-NA currently consists of
64 dual-polarization active dipole antennas in a 90 m x 90 m
footprint with an outlier dipole antenna located
approximately 300-m east of the main array. Each dipole
is individually digitized and then formed into 4 beams using a
delay-and-sum technique. The beams can be pointed independently;
thus LWA-NA can be used similarly to 4 separate radio
telescopes. The individual dipole signals can also be recorded. A
subset of science targets includes pulsars, astrophysical
transients, the Sun, Jupiter, and the ionosphere, but innovative,
technically feasible investigations of all kinds are welcomed.
Note that the LWA-NA station has only 64 dipoles so the SEFD is
about 33 kJy at 74 MHz.
Observations will have a proprietary period of 1 year from the date of observation. Support for operations and continuing development of the LWA is provided by the Air Force Research Laboratory. We invite proposals from all communities wishing to use this new instrument.
A list of projects previously observed and a list of collaborations can be found at: http://leo.phys.unm.edu/∼lwa/obssched.html. For more information on the LWA and its capabilities see:- The LWA Memo Series at https://leo.phys.unm.edu/~lwa/memos/index.html
- LWA Memo 185. “First Light for the First Station of the Long Wavelength Array”
- LWA Web site: http://lwa.unm.edu
Details
The proposal cover page exists in Word or PDF format. In addition to the cover page, proposals should contain a maximum of 3 pages of text describing the project, and one additional page with figures if needed. The proposal must address the following:- Scientific justification
- Specific observing modes and/or technical requirements
- A Data Management Plan if raw (unaveraged) data are required. See LWA Memo 177
- Results from previous observations with LWA1, if any
- Observing time request, and any restrictions in observing time (time of day or year)
- Any enhancements to the capabilities of the observatory this proposal might make (e.g. software backend, data reduction programs)
- Any data sharing with another LWA proposal or established project. We encourage data-sharing collaborations as these make for a more efficient use of the instrument.
Proposal deadline
Proposals can be submitted at any time.
Proposal Evaluation
Proposals will be evaluated ty the Director and Technical Lead based on scientific merit and technical feasibility.
There will be no guarantees for observing time. All observations will be conducted on a “shared-risk” basis. Known issues with the station are documented at http://leo.phys.unm.edu/~lwa/astro/currentissues.html.
Publication policy
All science team project members are expected to abide by the LWA publication policy, and explicitly state their compliance with the policy in the proposal. It is the responsibility of the PI to make sure that all members of his/her team have read and agreed to the policy. The publication policy is posted at: http://leo.phys.unm.edu/∼lwa/project.html
Contact
For questions regarding this call for proposals, please email lwa@unm.edu.More Information
- Previous proposals and currently approved projects: Check what observing projects that have already been approved. The proposal abstract is included in addition to the project title.