PI Name
In the order: first name, middle name (initials), last name.
Co-I's name, institute, country, phone number, e-mail
The first name of the list should be that of a coinvestigator who can act as an alternate contact in case the PI is unavailable. Communications between the scheduling and operations teams and the PI, or his designated contact, may be necessary prior to an observation to check coordinates or to redefine the observation modes.
Designation of a contact CoI is mandatory for TOO proposals. The proposal template has been prepared for a maximum of 10 CoI's. It is however possible to add more CoI's if necessary.
Observation Program Reference
GOP for Guest Observer Program.
Proposal Subject Category
Write the identificator of the item that best describes the requested observation.
1 = Stars
2 = Compact Galactic Sources
3 = Supernova Remnants
4 = Normal Galaxies
5 = Active Galactic Nuclei
6 = Clusters of Galaxies
7 = Other
Proposal Type
STANDARD or TOO. The proposal cannot be of mixed type, that is a STANDARD proposal cannot contain TOO targets and vice. This is due to the fact that TOO proposals are ``incomplete", in that some information (coordinates, time windows) necessary for the schedule generation is missing. Only after the TOO event, when the necessary information will be available, the proposal data will be processed in the scheduling procedure. In the case of recurrent transients and of changes in persistent sources, the TOO proposal might contain the request of a monitoring program with BeppoSAX aiming at catching and qualifying the event. In this case, it is mandatory to submit, also and separately, a standard proposal describing the monitor program. In case of a TOO proposal the proponents must specify in the scientific justification and in the additional information if the program is a continuation of an approved AO4 TOO proposal.
Proposal Abstract
Please keep the abstract brief (
characters).
Total Observing Time
Give the total amount of time requested in the proposal in units of ksec.
Note that the exposure time refers to the MECS instruments, and that the exposure times of ALL NFI instruments must be set equal to the MECS exposure.
Media Type
Select one of the following:
DAT, Digital Audio tape;
Media Density
select COMPRESSED.
Institution Authority Endorsing the Proposal
Authority that guarantees availability of adequate funding and facilities for data exploitation.
Target Name
Use commonly accepted names for objects so that coordinate checks are facilitated.
Position
Use J2000.0 coordinates given as hh mm ss.s ,
dd mm ss.
Instrument Class
Specify NFI or WFC.
WFC Maximum Pointing Offset
This field is relevant only if the Instrument Class is WFC and specifies the maximum acceptable offset angle of the target from the center of the field. Default is 10 degrees.
Time Constraint
Seven types of time constraints are supported:
None;
Fully Constrained;
Partially Constrained;
Periodically Repeated;
Aperiodically Repeated;
Phase Dependent
For a Fully Constrained pointing the observer must specify one Time Window.
For a Partially Constrained pointing the observer can specify up to 5 different alternative Time Windows.
For a Periodically Repeated series of pointings the observer must specify the Period and the Period Tolerance, as a % of the Period.
For an Aperiodically Repeated series of pointings the observer can specify up to 10 Time Spacings and one Time Spacing Tolerance, units of days.
For Phase Dependent pointings the observer must specify the Phase, the Phase Tolerance, as a % of the Phase, and the Binary Period and the Epoch Of Zero Phase (as close as possible to the start of the AO phase). Note that due to the uncertainty on the satellite position along the orbit on time scales longer than a month (basically due to atmospheric drag) phase dependent observations cannot be planned if the duration of the phase window lasts less than the earth occultation time of the source. It is intended that the exposure will be centered at the requested Phase. For simultaneous and phase dependant observations please note that the best accurancy of the scheduling is of the order of one day.
Period
For Periodically Repeated series of observations, in units of DD HH:MM:SS.ss
Period Tolerance
For Periodically Repeated series of observations, as a percentage of ``Period''.
Time Spacing
For Aperiodically Repeated series of observations, in units of days.
Time Spacing Tolerance
For Periodically Repeated series of observations, as a percentage of ``Time Spacing''.
Phase
For Phase Dependent observations, range 0.0-1.0.
Phase Tolerance
For Phase Dependent observations, as a percentage of ``Phase''.
Binary Period
For Phase Dependent observations, binary period in units of DD HH:MM:SS.ss.
Epoch of Zero Phase
For Phase Dependent observations, epoch of zero phase, in units of DD-MMM-YYYY HH:MM:SS.ss.
Time Windows
For a time constrained pointing it is possible to specify up to 5 different alternative time windows during which the pointing could be performed. Keep the time windows as wide as possible to allow some flexibility in the scheduling.
Number Of Pointings
Requested number of pointings for a given target in the Periodic or Aperiodic modes.
TRU speed
Tape recorder speed. D = default, corresponding to a bit rate available to instruments of 60 Kbit/s. In this case data over the entire orbit will be available. If tape speed = H, telemetry available to instruments is 95 Kbit/s, allowing only 55 min of continuous data stream per orbit (see section 4.9 of the handbook). Selection of high TRU speed can be considered for bright sources (brighter than about 0.3 Crab), but the use of this option will be limited to few cases to avoid stressing the TRU: the proponent is invited to look for alternative solutions. For sources fainter than this value, TRU speed=D gives enough telemetry to allocate all the instruments in the default direct modes.
Instrument Code
If NFI has been selected in the Instrument Class field of the Pointing Information Form select one of the following:
LECS, MECS, HPGSPC, PDS
and fill a separate Instrument Information Form for each of the NFI's necessary for the observation. For example, to use all the NFI, fill 4 forms, one for LECS, one for MECS (note that MECS identify the complete set of 2 units), one for HPGSPC and one for PDS. It will be possible to change the instrument configuration during the same pointing by giving the details in the Additional Information form. Note that the HPGSPC will normally be operated only for targets brighter than approximately 10 mCrabs.
If the Instrument Class field = WFC, then WFC must be selected.
Observation Duration
Duration of the observation (exposure time) with the selected instrument in ksec. Note that the LECS efficiency compared to MECS is on average 40% and that exposure times are based on MECS. To avoid confusion calculate the MECS exposure and use this number for all NFI instruments.
Collimator Law
For PDS and HPGSPC only. Select a numerical value as explained in the SOH sect. 4 (currently the only value allowed for HPGSPC is 3; 1 to 22 for PDS)
Collimator Law Stay Time
For PDS and HPGSPC only. Dwelling time of the collimator on and off-axis (SOH sect.4 on HPGSPC and PDS). Default=96 sec for PDS only. Default (and currently the only allowed value)=2047 for HPGSPC
Count Rate
The source expected count rate, which can be estimated by using the flux to
count rate conversion factors is Sect. 4.10 of SOH, or using PIMMS, see
Sect. 3.1 above. For
sources brighter than about 0.3 Crab
(or
erg cm
s
, 2-10 keV)
the investigator should also
compute the telemetry bit rate, in order to select the appropriate
Data Collecting Mode.
Data Collecting Mode
Data Collecting Mode, used for all instruments. More details on supported modes are given in Sect. 4 of SOH. Direct modes are already recommended in the proposal form template and are the default choice. For sources brighter than 0.3 Crab see sect. 4.9 of SOH.
Spectrum Accumulation Time
Default=blank
To be specified for HPGSPC and PDS only, in case an indirect mode is chosen. See sect. 4 of SOH on HPGSPC and PDS.
TP Bin Accumulation Time
Default=blank
To be specified for HPGSPC and PDS only, in case an indirect mode is chosen. See sect. 4 of SOH on HPGSPC and PDS.
MECS active Units
For MECS only.
Identify the number of MECS active units. Accepted value: 2
Additional Information
This field (text with a maximum length 1 A4 page) can contain any additional information the user wishes to provide to specify constraints or requirements not included in the standard forms. Primary purpose of this field is:
The proponent can add details, not specified in the pointing form that can simplify the scheduling process.
The proponent should first give the identification criteria to classify an event as a specific TOO (e.g. flux thresholds, rise time, spectral shape, etc). This information should allow the BeppoSAX team to take appropriate and quick decisions about the follow up observation of the target.
The proponent must also give the minimum acquisition time to the target to comply with the scientific requirements. It should be considered that operational constraints impose a minimum of about 30 hours to acquire the target. Then the follow up observing plan must be specified, giving the observing window times in days after the discovery of the event and the pointing duration (in ksec), as follows:
1st observation window start= window end= pointing duration= 2nd observation window start= window end= pointing duration= ....
The proponent must also fill in the Instrument configuration and Data Collection Modes (DCM) on the basis of the expected count rate. This will allow to plan the TOO observation. The observer can provide updated values of DCM in the TOO request.
The scientific motivations leading to the proposed observational strategy must be provided in the Scientific Justification form, in the "Observational Strategy" section. On the basis of this information the TAC will know the validation criteria and follow-up plan and will establish a ``protocol" specifying procedures to be followed at the Scientific Operation Centre (SOC) and SDC for implementing the TOO observing plan.
Maximum 4 pages including feasibility and figures. The scientific justification is to be structured as follows:
Illustrate the scientific problem to be addressed, with relevant scientific background and references to previous works. Show how the proposed observations are expected to address the issue and improve on previous results.
In case of complex programs illustrate and justify the observational strategy to be followed to achieve the proposed goal. Typical information is: number and duration of observations per source and list of priorities.
In case of TOO give and justify the identification criteria (e.g. flux thresholds, rise time, spectral shape,..) and the follow up observation plan.
Demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed objective within the required time. List clearly assumptions about source characteristics (flux, spectrum,..). Estimates of count rates are required as a minimum (Flux to count rate conversion factors are given in instrument sections of SOH; a WWW interface to PIMMS is available at BeppoSAX SDC WWW pages; The use of XSPEC or other equivalent simulation software is encouraged, see Sect. 3.1 for details).