BASIC INSTRUCTIONSUtilizing ARK, the Astrophysics Research Knowledgebase, a service of NASA's High Energy Astrophysics Science Archive Research Center, RPS provides a facility for filling out the Swift proposal forms, as part of the ROSES NRA. Electronic submission of the proposal forms is required. The anonymized scientific/technical justification must be submitted electronically, uploaded as a PDF file after the initial submission of the electronic proposal forms. A separate "team expertise and resources" (not anonymized) PDF also will need to be uploaded. Please note that each of these PDFs cannot exceed 10 MB in size and each have specified page limits. Note: Swift proposals must follow the Guidelines for Anonymous Proposals for dual-anonymous peer review. Proposers should fill in all required information on the forms, as detailed below. Fields should not contain personally identifying information. If a field does, NASA will have to redact it from the information provided to reviewers. With especially egregious cases (too many violations to readily redact, for example), NASA reserves the right to return your proposal without review. Your abstract, the contents of all other RPS form fields (except those specifically for names and institutions), and your justification PDF should not include language that identifies the names of investigators or their institutions. In order to access the Swift RPS web form, you must first create an ARK account and/or join the SWIFTRPS group. If you already have an ARK account, login first and select "Join Group" from the menu next to "Swift RPS (SWIFTRPS)" and then click on the Submit Changes button. If you do not already have an ARK account, enter your e-mail address in the input field provided and click on the checkbox next to "Swift RPS (SWIFTRPS)" and then click on the Join ARK button. Check your e-mail and follow the registration URL found therein. Fill out the ARK registration form and submit. Next, proceed to the Joint Swift RPS web form and fill out the form as directed below. Targets can be added at the end of the form or by clicking the Add Targets button at the top or bottom of the page. The Add Targets button can be used to add blank targets or to upload a plain text file containing a list of target names and/or positions. Please note that this latter method will only fill in the fields for the target name and pointing position; you will still need to enter other information (observation time, number of observations, constraints, etc.) for each target using the web interface. Alternatively, after adding some targets, you can use the Save button to download a plain text representation of the RPS form, which you can edit in your favorite text editor and then Reload into ARK. Note that the file format used by the Reload mechanism is the same as the format of the files generated by the Save button. After you have filled out the form, click the Verify button to make sure you have entered the form information correctly. If the form does not validate, ARK/RPS will identify the reason(s) why it did not, which you will need to correct. Once the form verifies successfully, a Submit button will appear, allowing you to submit the proposal to RPS. Note that you must Verify successfully before the Submit button will be revealed and you must use the Submit to submit your proposal. The PostScript, PDF, and LaTeX buttons can be used to generate formatted versions of the proposal forms. We recommend that PIs keep formatted copies of the forms for their personal records, but it is not a required part of the proposal submission process. After clicking on the Submit button, go to your Recent Activity page. Summary information for the proposal that you just submitted should be listed here, indicating that you have successfully submitted your Swift proposal forms to ARK/RPS. You may now upload your scientific/technical justification (anonymized) and your team expertise and resources (not anonymized) documents in PDF format. From the Recent Activity page, click on the Files button next to the proposal you submitted, and then click on the Upload button and follow the instructions on that page. After you have successfully uploaded both of those files required for your proposal, you will have completed your RPS electronic submission. Note: After submission and before the proposal deadline, you may still Modify or Discard your proposal using the appropriate buttons on the Recent Activity page. The Files button also enables you to Download, Discard, or Replace any file that you previously uploaded. Additional information on how to use RPS and the answers to some frequently asked questions can be found on the RPS Quick Help page. Short descriptions of the forms and fields are below. The fields are listed in the same order as found on the web page. The labels for the fields in the web form will link to the appropriate field description below. FORM/FIELD-SPECIFIC INSTRUCTIONSCover PageThis section contains fields for the proposal title, the type of proposal, the proposal abstract, and information about the Principal Investigator of the proposal, such as name, institution, address, telephone number, etc.Joint ProgramSpecify the mission/observatory for which your joint program proposal was accepted for observation by selecting from the following list of options:
Joint Program Proposal NumberThe proposal number your accepted joint program proposal was assigned. If your proposal was accepted by Chandra, then this is the proposal number assigned to it by the CXC. If your proposal was accepted by INTEGRAL or XMM-Newton, then this is the proposal number assigned to it by the European Space Agency (ESA). If your proposal was accepted by the NRAO, then this is the proposal number assigned to it by the NRAO. If your proposal was accepted by the NuSTAR, then this is the proposal number assigned to it by the NuSTAR Project. Up to 20 characters are allowed. INTEGRAL proposal numbers should be 7 digits. NuSTAR proposal numbers are usually 4 digits. Required.Proposal TypeFor submissions for a joint proposal program, there is only one option available for this field:
Science SubjectSelect the main science focus for your proposal from the list provided. If you select "Other," then you must elaborate in the space provided (up to 25 characters). Required.Proposal TitleThe title of the proposal. Up to 120 characters are allowed. Required.Abstract800 characters maximum. Abstracts exceeding this limit will cause an error and must be shortened. Please do not use special characters or LaTeX markup in the abstract. In accordance with the Guidelines for Anonymous Proposals for dual-anonymous peer review, the abstract should not include language that identifies the names of investigators or their institutions. Required.Principal Investigator TitleYour title (Dr., Ms., Mr., Prof.). The value for this field comes from your ARK user profile. If it is incorrect, update your ARK user profile prior to proposal submission.First NameYour first name. Up to 30 characters are allowed. Required. The value for this field comes from your ARK user profile. If it is incorrect, update your ARK user profile prior to proposal submission.Middle Name or InitialIf you like, you may add your middle name or initial(s). Optional. Up to 30 characters are allowed. The value for this field comes from your ARK user profile. If it is incorrect, update your ARK user profile prior to proposal submission.Last NameYour last name (surname). Up to 30 characters are allowed. Required. The value for this field comes from your ARK user profile. If it is incorrect, update your ARK user profile prior to proposal submission.DepartmentThe name of your department at your institution. Up to 60 characters are allowed. The value for this field comes from your ARK user profile. If it is incorrect, update your ARK user profile prior to proposal submission.InstitutionYour institutional affiliation. Required. The value for this field comes from your ARK user profile. If it is incorrect, update your ARK user profile prior to proposal submission.Address 1The first line of your institution's address, e.g., the street name, any number within it, etc. Up to 60 characters. The value for this field comes from your ARK user profile. If it is incorrect, update your ARK user profile prior to proposal submission.Address 2The second line of your institution's address, if needed. Up to 60 characters. The value for this field comes from your ARK user profile. If it is incorrect, update your ARK user profile prior to proposal submission.City/TownYour city or town. Up to 32 characters. Required. The value for this field comes from your ARK user profile. If it is incorrect, update your ARK user profile prior to proposal submission.State/ProvinceThe name of the state/province/prefecture in which your institution is located. Up to 30 characters. Required. For states in the U.S., please use USPS-standard, two-letter abbreviations. The value for this field comes from your ARK user profile. If it is incorrect, update your ARK user profile prior to proposal submission.Zip/Postal CodeThe postal code, ZIP code, or the equivalent of your institution. Up to 10 characters. The value for this field comes from your ARK user profile. If it is incorrect, update your ARK user profile prior to proposal submission.CountryThe name of the country in which your institution is located. Required. The value for this field comes from your ARK user profile. If it is incorrect, update your ARK user profile prior to proposal submission. If your country is not listed, please contact the RPS Help Desk. Note: Proposals from PIs affiliated with People's Republic of China (PRC) organizations and bilateral collaborations between scientists affiliated with institutions from the USA and the PRC are not eligible for NASA support under United States Federal law. Multilateral collaborations that involve scientists from institutions in the USA, the PRC, and other countries are allowed, however. Refer to the PRC FAQ for ROSES for details.Telephone NumberYour telephone number, plus any extension. Please include the international prefix, if appropriate. Up to 24 characters allowed. The value for this field comes from your ARK user profile. If it is incorrect, update your ARK user profile prior to proposal submission.Fax NumberYour fax number, if available. 24 characters allowed. The value for this field comes from your ARK user profile. If it is incorrect, update your ARK user profile prior to proposal submission.E-mail AddressYour e-mail address. Up to 60 characters. Required. If the e-mail receipt option is checked in your ARK user profile, an e-mail receipt will be sent to this address within 24 hours of the electronic submission of your proposal (usually much sooner). The value for this field comes from your ARK user profile. If it is incorrect, update your ARK user profile prior to proposal submission.General FormThis section contains fields for details about your collaborators, if any, and additional contact information, as well as the anticipated budget and NASA FTE commitment. Up to 15 Co-Investigators can be specified here. If you have more than 15 Co-Investigators, additional Co-Investigators can be specified in the team expertise PDF that you will need to upload after successful submission of your proposal forms. The team expertise PDF should always include your complete list of Co-Investigators regardless of how many you have. Do not list any Co-Investigators in any comment fields of the forms, please.Co-Investigator First NameThe first name of each Co-Investigator. Up to 20 characters.Co-Investigator Last NameThe last name of each Co-Investigator. Up to 20 characters.Co-Investigator InstitutionThe institution for each Co-Investigator. Up to 60 characters. Please refer to the List of Institutions Recognized by RPS and use the official name of the institution wherever possible. Note: If your Co-I's institution is not among those listed, please contact the RPS Help Desk and request that it be added to the list. Such requests are typically answered within 24 hours, excluding weekends and U.S. Federal holidays.Co-Investigator CountryThe country for each Co-Investigator. If a country is not listed, please contact us at the RPS Help Desk and request that it be added to the list. Note: Bilateral collaborations between scientists affiliated with institutions from the USA and the People's Republic of China (PRC) are not eligible for NASA support under United States Federal law. Multilateral collaborations that involve scientists from institutions in the USA, the PRC, and other countries are allowed, however. Refer to the PRC FAQ for ROSES for details.Co-Investigator E-mail AddressThe e-mail address for each Co-Investigator. Up to 60 characters.Contact first Co-Investigator listed above?This checkbox is used to indicate whether or not the first Co-Investigator listed is also a contact person in cases where the Principal Investigator cannot be reached. The default is to contact only the Principal Investigator.Telephone Number of First Co-InvestigatorTelephone number of the Co-Investigator that should be contacted. Up to 24 characters. Be sure to include the international code if outside the United States. Only enter a value for this field if you specify that the first Co-Investigator should be contacted.Is this investigation part of a graduate student thesis?Specify whether or not the proposal is part of a graduate student's thesis.Number of Undergraduate Students InvolvedSpecify the number of undergraduate students involved in this project.Number of Graduate Students InvolvedSpecify the number of graduate students involved in this project. If you specified that the proposal is part of a graduate student's thesis, then this number must be greater than or equal to 1.Do you agree to receive your peer review evaluation by e-mail?If you agree ("Yes", which is the default), the Swift Project will send you the proposal's peer review evaluation by e-mail, which means that you will get it faster. If you don't agree to this (by specifying "No"), you will receive a hard copy letter through postal mail to the mailing address you have specified in the Cover Page form.Anticipated Total BudgetThe anticipated budget request, if this proposal is accepted. Specify a value in units of $1000 US (e.g., enter "29.5" for an anticipated total budget of $29,500). The specified value should be below or at the average funding award (~$30k), unless the Proposal Type is 2, as defined above. Also, the value must be 0.0 if the Proposal Type is 7 (Fill-In proposal). PIs from non-US institutions are ineligible for funding and should enter 0.0. Required.NASA FTE CommitmentThe number of Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) NASA civil servants (in units of years) that would be supported by this proposal, if approved. This may be a fraction or zero. This information is collected for NASA records only and does not affect acceptance of the proposal. Example: If two Co-Is are NASA civil servants and each will be supported for 10% of their time with this grant during this proposal cycle, then enter 0.2000 (0.10 + 0.10) for this field. Required.Target Form(s)This section contains the details that need to be specified for each different target. Note: If any one target in the proposal is a Target of Opportunity (TOO), then all targets in the proposal must be TOOs. TOOs and non-TOO targets may not be combined in the same proposal; they should instead be submitted as separate proposals. Similarly, Fill-in Targets are a separate category, and cannot be combined with TOO or regular non-TOO targets. If you select proposal type "7" in the Cover Page form, all of your targets must be Fill-in Targets. See the Swift GI Program FAQ on Fill-in Targets for further details.Target NameThe commonly accepted name for the object. Up to 20 characters. Please use standard names for known targets (e.g., NGC 2237 or Eta Car). Required.R.A.The J2000 right ascension of the source. The value can be entered in either sexagesimal format (HH MM SS.SS — hours, minutes, seconds, separated by spaces) or decimal degrees format (DDD.DDDDD). If you enter the value in sexagesimal format, it will be converted to decimal degrees format when you submit. Note: If you are proposing to observe a generic Target of Opportunity (e.g., a new supernovae) whose position is unknown at the time of proposal submission, please specify "0.0" for both the R.A. and Dec. fields. Required.Dec.The J2000 declination of the source. The value can be entered in either sexagesimal format (±DD MM SS.S — an optional sign, either + or -, followed by the degrees, minutes, and seconds, separated by spaces) or decimal degrees format (±DD.DDDDD). If you enter the value in sexagesimal format, it will be converted to decimal degrees format when you submit. If you do not specify the sign, it is assumed to be positive. Note: If you are proposing to observe a generic Target of Opportunity (e.g., new supernovae) whose position is unknown at the time of proposal submission, please specify "0.0" for both the R.A. and Dec. fields. Required.Source Type or DescriptionSelect the type/description of the targeted source from the list provided. If you select "Other," then you must elaborate in the space provided (up to 25 characters). Required.Target of Opportunity?Indicate whether or not this object is a Target of Opportunity (TOO). A Target of Opportunity can be either a non-GRB target or a GRB that was detected with an instrument other than Swift. Targets of Opportunity include any proposal to observe a source under conditions that cannot be scheduled in advance. E.g., when non-periodic phenomena such as outbursts, state changes, novae, etc., occur. TOOs must include trigger criteria for observation, such as number of counts in a given instrument. Note: If any one target in the proposal is a TOO, then all targets in the proposal must be TOOs. TOOs and non-TOO targets may not be combined in the same proposal; they should instead be submitted as separate proposals. Also, note that Fill-in Targets (proposal type "7" in the Cover Page form) cannot be TOOs.PrioritySelect the urgency of the observation from the list provided. This indicates how quickly an observation should be scheduled once the trigger criteria have been met. Specify only for Targets of Opportunity.Trigger CriteriaSpecify the criteria that should trigger observation of the target. For example, "We want to catch the end of an outburst, so the observation should be triggered when the RXTE ASM count rate falls to between 8-13 counts/sec after a burst." Up to 500 characters. Specify only for Targets of Opportunity.Trigger ProbabilityGive a realistic probability that the Target of Opportunity will be triggered during the observation cycle, based on the trigger criteria specified above. The probability must be greater than 0.00 and less than or equal to 1.00. Specify only for Targets of Opportunity.Does this ToO program include regular monitoring observations not triggered by the ToO criteria?For a Target of Opportunity with a monitoring program, indicate whether or not the program includes regular monitoring observations not triggered (or in addition to those triggered) by the ToO criteria. For example, if you want to monitor the ToO prior to it being tiggered, specify "Yes".Monitoring Program?Indicate whether or not this is a monitoring program. A monitoring program is defined as two or more observations of the same source. Specify the desired number of observations in the Number of Observations field, further down on the Target Form, and describe how the observations should be scheduled in the Monitoring Criteria field. The unique scheduling requirements of Swift put severe constraints on monitoring programs. Regular, periodic monitoring cannot be accommodated. Refer to the section on monitoring in the Swift GI Program FAQ for further details. Note: If the proposed monitoring involves observations at a specific phase or similar constraints, check Constrained? and fill in the Constraints Description field, further down on the Target Form.Monitoring CriteriaDescribe the observing scheme that meets your scientific goals. For example, "three 2-ksec observations spaced anytime from 7-20 days apart." Note that the unique scheduling requirements of Swift put severe constraints on monitoring programs. Regular, periodic monitoring cannot be accommodated. Refer to the section on monitoring in the Swift GI Program FAQ for further details. Note: If the proposed monitoring involves observations at a specific phase or similar constraints, check Constrained? and fill in the Constraints Description field, further down on the Target Form. Up to 500 characters. Specify only for monitoring programs.Coordinated Observation?Indicate whether or not the request is for coordinated observations between Swift and another observatory. Since this coordination constitutes a constraint on the observation, check Constrained? and fill in the Constraints Description field, lower down on the Form.Coordinating ObservatorySpecify the name(s) of the observatory(ies) with which the Swift observation of the taget should be coordinated. Save the description of the coordination details for the Constraints Description field, lower down on the Form. Up to 100 characters. Specify only for coordinated observations.Constrained?Indicate whether or not scheduling of the observations is constrained in some manner. Allowed constraints include the following: phase-constrained proposals, coordinated observing campaigns with ground-based or satellite-based facilities, etc. Time-constrained observations are defined as observations that have to be performed within a certain time window. These can be ToOs or non-ToOs, either monitoring (more than one visit to a source) or non-monitoring observations, but not fill-in observations. This includes phase-constrained proposals, coordinated observing campaigns with ground-based or satellite-based facilities, etc. Note that the unique scheduling requirements of Swift put severe constraints on time-constrained programs. Time-constrained observations are subject to the following limits: (1) the window duration must exceed 3 hours; (2) no more than 500 time-constrained visits will be performed during the proposal cycle. For coordinated and constrained observations, it is the proposer's responsibility to inform the Swift Science Operations Team of the observing time windows at least one week before observations commence.Constraints DescriptionIf your observation is time constrained, describe the constraints in details here, e.g., window duration (in hours), if and how the observation is coordinated with other facilities, and how far in advance the Swift Science Operations Team will be informed. Other details such as which precise part of the source phase to observe or specific times/dates that observation must be performed should also be described, if applicable. If this observation should be coordinated with another observatory, fill out the Coordinated Observation? and Coordinating Observatory fields in the Target Form. Then, put the details for that coordination here, including how contemporaneous the observations must be. For example, "Coordinate the observation with Chandra. We have an accepted Chandra AO-13 proposal for this source. Work with Chandra team to determine an observation time suitable to both satellites. Swift observation should take place within one week of the Chandra observation to be of value, and optimally within 2 days." Up to 500 characters. Specify only for constrained observations.Instrument Most Critical to Science GoalsSelect the instrument from the list provided that is most critical to achieving your science goals. Required.Aspect of Observation Most Critical to Science GoalsSelect the aspect of the observation from the list provided which is most critical to achieving your science goals. Required.Total Observation TimeThe preferred duration in kiloseconds for observing the target. This is the total observation time, so this is the sum of all pointings. The minimum time is 1 ksec. Required.Number of ObservationsEnter the number of desired observations of the target, where an observation must be between 1-40 ksec. For monitoring observations this will give the number of parts into which the Total Observation Time will be evenly divided, unless the Monitoring Criteria field indicates otherwise. Refer to the Swift GI Program FAQ on Observation Length for further discussion. Required.Estimated XRT Count RateSource count rate in counts/sec typical of the source. Required.V Magnitude of Proposed SourceThe V magnitude of the proposed source or target of the observation. If unknown, then leave this field blank.Note about optical loading of the XRT instrument: Bright optical sources can leak through the thin XRT optical blocking filter, causing "optical loading" that can severely complicate or compromise analysis of the X-ray data. There are several possible mitigations to this problem, but no good solutions. In general, objects brighter than 8 magnitude (V < 8 mag) should not be observed in PC mode. Objects brighter than 5 magnitude (V < 5 mag) should not be observed in any mode, as the data will be poorly calibrated and may be useless. If you have an extremely compelling science case that requires such an observation, we strongly suggest that you contact the Swift Help Desk to discuss the observation before submitting your proposal. XRT ModeSelect the XRT mode from the list provided. Required.
UVOT Filter ModeSelect the UVOT filter mode from the list provided. Required. In order to preserve UVOT filter wheel rotations, any filter mode other than "Filter of the Day" needs a strong justification. If you select "Custom," then you must specify the mode in the Remarks field.Note: UVOT grism observations are not part of the fill-in targets program and should not be requested through proposals of that type. RemarksAny relevant comments you wish to make regarding the target or its observation. Up to 500 characters. |
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- Last Modified: 15-Aug-2023