[asac]final text for ORAL interim report to ALMA Board

[Christine Wilson]

Hi, everyone,

Based on some input from Pierre, Ewine, and John, here is a final text for
my oral report to the ALMA Board next week. If you spot any glaring
problems, please send them to me as soon as possible.

Thanks,
Chris

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Final Text for (Oral) Interim ASAC Report to the Board February 24-25

(1) Proposed upgrade to baseline correlator

The ASAC read with interest the proposal in ALMA Memo 441 by Escoffier and
Webber to enhance the performance of the baseline ALMA correlator.  The
proposed enhancement would increase the number of channels in the wide
band mode from 256 to 4096 points in each 2 GHz of the 16 GHz available,
and therefore allow for better resolution. The relatively small number of
spectral channels currently available in the wide bandwidth modes is a
major scientific limitation of the baseline correlator that would be
remedied if this enhancement could be carried out. Therefore, the ASAC
encouraged the ALMA project to see if this enhancement to the correlator
can be implemented within the baseline ALMA project. 

(2) Science examples for calibration requirements

The ASAC has been assisting the Science IPT to prepare for the Level II
milestone of completing a review of the calibration requirements including
scientific examples. ASAC members have provided a variety of science
examples that exercise various aspects of ALMA calibration such as
polarization, flux, and bandpass calibration.

(3) Software issues

Software for ALMA was one of the major topics at the ALMA face-to-face
meeting in September 2002. Since that meeting, the ASAC has read with
interest the AIPS++ audit for ALMA requirements and has discussed the
audit in some detail and with some continued concerns. We have also heard
reports on the results of the Software IDR and the progress with Phase I
of the AIPS++ IRAM re-use test. We anticipate further discussions of
software issues at our next face-to-face meeting in April 2003. 

(4) Outreach in Europe

Since the last face-to-face meeting, the ESAC has had a number of
activities to inform the European astronomical community about the ALMA
project and to explore the possible schemes to support ALMA-related
activities in the sixth Framework Programme of the European Union. 

A one-day meeting on ALMA Science Operations was held at ESO Garching on
November 8, 2002, to update the astronomical community on the recent
developments in the ALMA project and to solicit input on the plans for
science operations and user support. The meeting was very well attended
with 100 participants from all over Europe. Several presentations were
given, and there were lively discussions about science operations,
software, and possible enhancements to the baseline ALMA project. Most of
the presentations given at the meeting are available on the European ALMA
website. Following the meeting, a questionnaire on the main topics of the
meeting was sent to all participants. The responses are currently being
analyzed by the ESAC and a summary will be made public in the coming
weeks.