1. Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array Expanded Very Large Array Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope Very Long Baseline Array Interferometry Basics and ALMA Observing Considerations North American ALMA Science Center

2. ALMA Overview of Talk 2 Perspective: Getting time on ALMA will be competitive! The math: only ~600 hours for ES cycle 0 at ~6 hours per project  ~100 projects split over the world Motivation: While ALMA is for everyone, a technical justification is required for each proposal, so you need to know some of the details of how the instrument works Goal: Do the best job you can to match your science to ALMA’s capabilities May 10, 2011

3. ALMA 3 Interferometry Basics Angular Scales and UV coverage Sensitivity Spectral Setup Calibration May 10, 2011 Outline

4. ALMA Interferometers: the basics 4 b Interferometry: a method to ‘synthesize’ a large aperture by combining signals collected by separated small apertures An Interferometer measures the interference pattern produced by two apertures, which is related to the source brightness. The signals from all antennas are correlated, taking into account the distance (baseline) and time delay between pairs of antennas May 10, 2011

5. ALMA Interferometers: the basics 5 b 1  = /b b 2 (based on CalTech CDE talk by A. Isella) May 10, 2011

6. ALMA Interferometers: the basics 6 b 1  = /b phase May 10, 2011

7. ALMA Interferometers: the basics 7 Amplitude tells “how much” of a certain spatial frequency component Phase tells “where” this component is located Visibility b May 10, 2011

8. ALMA Visibility and Sky Brightness 8 For small fields of view: the complex visibility,V(u,v), is the 2D Fourier transform of the brightness on the sky,T(x,y) u,v (wavelengths) are spatial frequencies in E-W and N-S directions, i.e. the baseline lengths x,y (rad) are angles in tangent plane relative to a reference position in the E-W and N-S directions T(x,y) x y image plane uv plane May 10, 2011

9. ALMA 2D Fourier Transforms 9 Constant Gaussian T(x,y)  Function Amp{V(u,v)} Gaussian narrow features transform to wide features (and vice-versa) (from Summer School lecture by D. Wilner) May 10, 2011

10. ALMA 2D Fourier Transforms 10 T(x,y) elliptical Gaussian elliptical Gaussian Amp{V(u,v)} DiskBessel sharp edges result in many high spatial frequencies May 10, 2011

11. ALMA Aperture Synthesis Imaging The Fourier transform of the array baseline configuration, projected onto the sky (“earth rotation aperature synthesis”), defines the spatial frequencies that the array is sensitive to Limited range of baseline lengths = Image with limited range of spatial frequencies (scales) – Spatial scales larger than the smallest baseline cannot be imaged – Spatial scales smaller than the largest baseline cannot be resolved More baselines, a wider range of baselines, and/or longer observations provide better imaging performance (higher image “fidelity”) 11 May 10, 2011 ALMA Cycle 0 Compact configuration (Bmin=18m, Bmax=125m)

12. ALMA Dirty Beam Shape and N Antennas 2 Antennas (Image sequence taken from Summer School lecture by D. Wilner) 12 May 10, 2011

13. ALMA Dirty Beam Shape and N Antennas 3 Antennas 13 May 10, 2011

14. ALMA Dirty Beam Shape and N Antennas 4 Antennas 14 May 10, 2011

15. ALMA Dirty Beam Shape and N Antennas 5 Antennas 15 May 10, 2011

16. ALMA Dirty Beam Shape and N Antennas 6 Antennas 16 May 10, 2011

17. ALMA Dirty Beam Shape and N Antennas 7 Antennas 17 May 10, 2011

18. ALMA Dirty Beam Shape and N Antennas 8 Antennas 18 May 10, 2011

19. ALMA Dirty Beam Shape and N Antennas 8 Antennas x 6 Samples 19 May 10, 2011

20. ALMA Dirty Beam Shape and N Antennas 8 Antennas x 30 Samples 20 May 10, 2011

21. ALMA Dirty Beam Shape and N Antennas 8 Antennas x 60 Samples 21 May 10, 2011

22. ALMA Dirty Beam Shape and N Antennas 8 Antennas x 120 Samples 22 May 10, 2011

23. ALMA Dirty Beam Shape and N Antennas 8 Antennas x 240 Samples 23 May 10, 2011

24. ALMA Dirty Beam Shape and N Antennas 8 Antennas x 480 Samples 24 May 10, 2011

25. ALMA 25 Interferometry Basics Angular Scales and UV coverage Sensitivity Spectral Setup Calibration May 10, 2011 Outline

26. ALMA Effects of UV Coverage 26 Note improved uv-coverage with time for same config. 5σ5σ 5 σ 10 σ 15 σ 20 σ

27. ALMA Image Quality Sensitivity is not enough! Image quality also depends on UV coverage and density of UV samples Image fidelity is improved when high density regions of UV coverage are well matched to source brightness distribution  The required DYNAMIC RANGE can be more important than sensitivity  ALMA OT currently has no way to specify required image quality, but you can request more time in the Technical Justification May 10, 2011 27

28. ALMA Combined effects of baselines and frequency on Imaging 28 Input Model: 3C288 4.9 GHz VLA image Bridle et al. 1989 100 GHz, Cy0 Compact MS=21” Res=5” 100 GHz, Cy0 Extended MS=11” Res=1.5” 250 GHz, Cy0 Compact MS=9” Res=2” 250 GHz, Cy0 Extended MS=4.5” Res=0.6” Simulated Images (Dec=-30d, 6hr obs) From ALMA Technical Handbook May 10, 2011

29. ALMA Maximum Angular Scale 29 BandFrequency (GHz) Primary beam (“) Maximum Angular Scale (“) Compact Extended 384-11672 - 522110 6211-27529 - 2294.5 7275-37322 - 1663 9602-72010 – 8.531.5 Smooth structures larger than MAS begin to be resolved out. All flux on scales larger than /B min (~2 x MAS) completely resolved out.  Need additional observations with a single-dish or a more compact array with smaller antennas May 10, 2011

30. ALMA Choose Single Field or Mosaic 3.0’ 1.5’ Example: SMA 1.3 mm observations: 5 pointings Primary beam ~1’ Resolution ~3” Petitpas et al. CFHT ALMA 1.3mm PB ALMA 0.85mm PB In ES, the number of pointings <= 50. 30 May 10, 2011

31. ALMA 31 Interferometry Basics Angular Scales and UV coverage Sensitivity Spectral Setup Calibration May 10, 2011 Outline

32. ALMA https://almascience.nrao.edu/call-for-proposals/sensitivity-calculator May 10, 2011 32 Sensitivity calculator n p = # polarizations N = # antennas Δν = channel width Δ t = total time

33. ALMA Receiver Bands Available May 10, 2011 33 Only 4 of 8 bands are available for Early Science, all with dual linear polarization feeds Only 3 receiver bands can be “ready” at one time (i.e. amplifiers powered on and stable temperature achieved). Required lead time to stabilize a new band is about 20 minutes. 3 mm 1.3 mm0.87 mm0.45 mm With configurations of ~125m and ~400m, approximately matched resolution is possible between Bands 3 and 7, or between Bands 6 and 9 Matched resolution can be critical, for example to measure the SEDs of resolved sources.

34. ALMA Atmospheric Opacity (PWV = Precipitable Water Vapor) May 10, 2011 34

35. ALMA Choosing your bands (constructed from sensitivity calculator) May 10, 2011 35 NOTE: For 8 GHz continuum bandwidth divide by √2

36. ALMA Sensitivity and Brightness Temperature 36 ConfigurationAngular resolution Flux density Sensitivity Brightness sensitivity 125 m3”32 mJy/beam0.09 K 400 m1”0.82 K There will be a factor of 10 difference in brightness temperature sensitivity between the 2 configurations offered in Early Science. Very important to take into account for resolved sources. Example: 1 minute integration at 230 GHz with 1 km/sec channels:  It is harder to detect extended line emission at high angular resolution ! May 10, 2011

37. ALMA 37 Interferometry Basics Angular Scales and UV coverage Sensitivity Spectral Setup Calibration May 10, 2011 Outline

38. ALMA Spectral Setup - I 38 Local Oscillator Frequency Receivers are sensitive to two separate ranges of sky frequency: sidebands Each antenna has 4 digitizers which can each sample 2 GHz of bandwidth These 2 GHz chunks are termed basebands, and can be distributed among the sidebands (in ES: either all 4 in one, or two in both as shown below; Band 9 does not have this restriction) Spectral setup May 10, 2011 Bands 3, 7, 9: 8 GHz Band 6: 10 GHz Bands 3 & 7: 4.0 GHz Band 6: 5.0 GHz Band 9: 8.0 GHz Sideband width varies by receiver band Fixed Separation between sidebands 2 GHz Basebands

39. ALMA Spectral Setup- II 39 In Early Science, only 4 spectral windows are available, i.e. one per baseband, and all must have the same resolution and bandwidth Edges of the basebands cannot lie outside the Receivers tuneble IF range & spectral windows cannot lie outside edges of its baseband In order to collect data, you need to set up a spectral window within one (or more) basebands. Spectral windows **For Bands 3, 6 & 7 May 10, 2011 2 GHz Basebands

40. ALMA Correlator Modes and Resolution May 10, 2011 Polari- zation # Channels per baseband Bandwidth per baseband (MHz) Channel Spacing (MHz) (MHz = km/s @300 GHz) Dual3840 18750.488 9380.244 4690.122 2340.061 1170.0305 58.60.0153 Single768058.60.0076 Dual128200015.6 Single25620007.8 Numbers are per baseband (you can use up to 4 basebands) Note that the resolution is ~ 2*channel width (Hanning) The required spectral resolution typically needs to be justified as does the number of desired spectral windows Spectral scans Targeted imaging of moderately narrow lines: cold clouds / protoplanetary disks “Continuum” or broad lines Typical purposes: 40

41. ALMA 41 Example: Spectral Lines in Band 9 LSBUSB LO1 8 GHz Band 9 8 GHz Bands 3, 6, 7 receivers are sideband separating receivers (like PdBI) Band 9 receiver is DSB (like SMA and CARMA) but in Cycle 0, only one sideband per spectral window can be correlated for Band 9, there is full flexibility in that each baseband can be connected to either one or the other sideband e.g. observe D 2 H + at 691.66 GHz with one spectral window can place 3 additional windows in USB or LSB D 2 H + 1 10 - 1 01 Correlator Setup May 10, 2011

42. ALMA 2000 MHz bandwidth, 15.625 MHz resolution “continuum mode”: automatically place 4 spectral windows, with the largest bandwidth, across the sidebands Band 3 (or 7) Spectral line mode: Continuum mode:  sky 11 22 33 44 Correlator Setup line vs. continuum 42 May 10, 2011

43. ALMA Band 9: 8 GHz continuum in a single side-band Continuum placement in Band 9 8 GHz  sky 43 Correlator Setup May 10, 2011 Another option: put 4 GHz at top end of USB and 4 GHz at bottom end of LSB, and thereby get a spectral index across 20 GHz -- it would be 11% different flux for nu 4

44. ALMA 44 Interferometry Basics Angular Scales and UV coverage Sensitivity Spectral Setup Calibration May 10, 2011 Outline

45. ALMA Observatory Default Calibration 45 Need to measure and remove the (time-dependent and frequency-dependent) atmospheric and instrumental variations. Set calibration to system-defined calibration unless you have very specific requirements for calibration (which then must be explained in the Technical Justification). Defaults include (suitable calibrators are chosen at observation time): 1.Pointing, focus, and delay calibration 2.Phase and amplitude gain calibration 3.Absolute flux calibration 4.Bandpass calibration 5.System Temperature calibration 6.Water-vapor radiometry correction May 10, 2011

46. ALMA Atmospheric phase fluctuations Variations in the amount of precipitable water vapor (PWV) cause phase fluctuations, which are worse at shorter wavelengths (higher frequencies), and result in: –Low coherence (loss of sensitivity) –Radio “seeing”, typically 0.1-1  at 1 mm –Anomalous pointing offsets –Anomalous delay offsets Patches of air with different water vapor content (and hence index of refraction) affect the incoming wave front differently. You can observe in apparently excellent submm weather (in terms of transparency) and still have terrible “seeing” i.e. phase stability.

47. ALMA Phase correction methods Fast switching: used at the EVLA for high frequencies and will be used at ALMA. Choose cycle time, t cyc, short enough to reduce  rms to an acceptable level. Calibrate in the normal way. However, the atmosphere often varies faster than the timescale of Fast Switching. The solution for ALMA is the WVR system. Water Vapor Radiometry (WVR) concept: measure the rapid fluctuations in T B atm with a radiometer at each antenna, then use these measurements to derive changes in water vapor column (w) and convert these into phase corrections using:  Δ  e  12.6  Δ w 

48. ALMA ALMA WVR System 48 Data WVR Residual Two different baselines Jan 4, 2010 There are 4 “channels” flanking the peak of the 183 GHz water line Matching data from opposite sides are averaged Data taken every second, and are written to the ASDM (science data file) The four channels allow flexibility for avoiding saturation Next challenges are to perfect models for relating the WVR data to the correction for the data to reduce residual phase noise prior to performing the traditional calibration steps. Installed on every antenna May 10, 2011

49. ALMA Tests of ALMA WVR System 49 600m baseline, Band 6, Mar 2011 (red=raw data, blue=corrected) May 10, 2011

50. ALMA www.almaobservatory.org The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), an international astronomy facility, is a partnership among Europe, Japan and North America, in cooperation with the Republic of Chile. ALMA is funded in Europe by the European Organization for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere, in Japan by the National Institutes of Natural Sciences (NINS) in cooperation with the Academia Sinica in Taiwan and in North America by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) in cooperation with the National Research Council of Canada (NRC). ALMA construction and operations are led on behalf of Europe by ESO, on behalf of Japan by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ) and on behalf of North America by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO), which is managed by Associated Universities, Inc. (AUI). 50 May 10, 2011

51. ALMA Extra Slides 51 May 10, 2011

52. ALMA Choosing your bands - II 52 May 10, 2011

53. ALMA Phase correction methods Fast switching: used at the EVLA for high frequencies and will be used at ALMA. Choose cycle time, t cyc, short enough to reduce  rms to an acceptable level. Calibrate in the normal way. Band 9 (690 GHz)Band 7 (345 GHz) 50 antennas, 2 pol, 8 GHz, 1 minute, yields 1-sigma sensitivity: 1.94 mJy/beam0.18 mJy/beam Phase measurement on one baseline: with 1 pol, 2 GHz, 1 minute at 3-sigma requires source flux density: F > 600 mJyF > 54 mJy Traditional calibrators (quasars) are more scarce at high frequency But ALMA sensitivity is high, even on a per baseline basis Key will be calibrator surveys (probably starting with ATCA survey)

54. ALMA Available Bandwidth (II) 54 Band 6 4 GHz 5 GHz 4 GHz Band 3 Band 7 4 GHz 6 GHz 7.5 GHz Band 9 8 GHz 4 GHz May 10, 2011