Call for Semester 2012a Observing Proposals

CARMA, the Combined Array for Research in Millimeter-wave Astronomy, is accepting observing proposals for its 2012a semester, which will extend from 27 February 2012 to 6 August 2012. CARMA comprises 23 antennas operating in the Inyo Mountains of California at an elevation of 2200 meters. For the 2012a semester, proposals will be accepted for the 23-element array (with receivers for 3mm wavelengths), as well as for subarrays of 15 antennas (1mm & 3mm) and 8 antennas (3mm & 1cm).

The 23-element and 15-element arrays will be available in the C, D, and E configurations. The approximate resolutions of these configurations are 2.2" (C), 5.5" (D), and 11" (E) at 100 GHz and 1.0" (C), 2.5" (D), and 4" (E) at 220 GHz. The 8-element array will be in configurations optimized to provide high brightness sensitivity of extended objects at arcminute resolution, such as observations of the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect, for targets at high (SH) and low (SL) declinations.

In addition to regular proposals, CARMA seeks Key Projects that are of sufficient scope and potential scientific impact to justify a significant investment of CARMA resources. Key Projects that complement ALMA or lead to follow-up programs with ALMA are encouraged. A Key Project can request any combination of standard antenna configurations for up to 1000 hours of observing time spread over 1 to 5 semesters. In addition to the science and technical justifications, the proposal must outline a plan for the management, production, and distribution of science-quality data products. CARMA anticipates running 1-3 Key Projects concurrently. Additional information on CARMA Key Projects can be found here.

CARMA is operated by the California Institute of Technology, and the Universities of California (Berkeley), Illinois, Chicago, and Maryland, under a cooperative agreement with the University Radio Observatory program of the National Science Foundation. Approximately 30% of the awarded time will be given to PIs outside the partner universities.

Proposals should be submitted using the electronic form at: http.//carma-prop.astro.illinois.edu For help with submitting proposals and the proposal system, please email proposal-help@astro.uiuc.edu. Detailed information, including tools to assist you in preparing proposals, is available at http://www.mmarray.org. If you require help in understanding CARMA instrument capabilities, please email Dr. Nikolaus Volgenau (volgenau@mmarray.org) or Dr. Tom Culverhouse (tom@mmarray.org).

The deadline for submitting proposals is 17:00 CST on 5 December 2011.

See Information for Proposers.