Frequently Asked Questions about Swift Cycle 6
Topics
Questions
Foreign PIs (PIs at non-U.S. institutions)
- Do you have to be a PI at a U.S. Institution to
Propose?
- Do I need to do anything special to be a
PI on a non-GRB observing proposal if I am at a non-US institution?
- Can non-US PIs propose a non-GRB observing
proposal and have a US co-I receive the funding?
Funding-only Proposals (GRB Science)
- How does the "2-Phase Review" process apply
to funding-only proposals?
- What types of proposals are allowed?
- Does the $40K budget ceiling apply to
funding-only proposals?
- Are there any exceptions to the $40K budget
ceiling?
- How accurate does my "anticipated total
budget" for Phase 1 have to be?
- Do I submit my proposal to NSPIRES, or to
ARK/RPS?
- What types of non-GRB proposals are allowed?
- Will the observations be proprietary?
- What is the difference between "AKBAR/RPS", used
in Cycle 3, and "ARK/RPS", used in
Cycles 4 & 5?
- Do I have to submit anything to NSPIRES for
Cycle 6?
- Can I combine ToO and non-ToO observations
in one proposal?
- Can I combine Fill-in and non-Fill-in
targets in one proposal?
- What constitutes a monitoring program?
- What are the restrictions on observation length?
- What are the restrictions on
time-constrained observation?
New Fill-in Target observations
- What are Fill-in Targets?
- Are there any restrictions on Fill-in Target
observations?
- How much time will be allocated to Fill-in
Targets?
- What priority will Fill-in Targets have in
Swift's observing schedule?
- Will all my accepted Fill-in Targets be
observed?
Non-ToO pointed observations (not Fill-in)
- How much time will be allocated to non-GRB
non-ToO observations?
- Will Swift slew to my non-GRB, non-ToO source
autonomously?
- What priority will non-GRB, non-ToO observations
have in Swift's observing schedule?
- Am I assured of obtaining all awarded observing
time on my non-GRB,
non-ToO target?
- What rules and limitations should I be aware of
for non-GRB, non-ToO Swift observations?
ToO proposals
- How much time will be allocated to non-GRB ToO
observations?
- Will Swift slew to my non-GRB ToO source
autonomously?
- How many High and Highest priority ToOs can
be accepted in Cycle 6?
- What rules and limitations should I be aware of
for non-GRB ToO Swift
observations?
- What should I put for RA, Dec, and object name
if I am proposing observations of a 'yet-to-be-discovered' object?
- The target form asks for a "trigger
probability" - what should I put?
Proposal Format and Submission
- Do I have to fill out a Notice of Intent (NOI) to
propose?
- Do I submit the proposal to NSPIRES, or to
ARK/RPS, or both?
- What are the page limits for the proposal text?
- How accurate does my "anticipated total
budget" for Phase 1 have to be?
- What is "NASA FTE Commitment"? Do I have to fill
it out?
- Is there a template for the Scientific
Justification part of the proposal?
- How do I submit the PDF file containing my
Scientific Justification?
- I submitted my proposal but never
received an email confirmation. Was my proposal received?
NRA Reference Materials
- Where can I find the ROSES-2008 Announcement and
its amendments, including the appendix describing Swift Cycle 6?
- Where can I find the NASA Proposers Handbook,
and its supplementary material?
Other/Help
- Who do I write to if I still have questions?
Answers
Foreign PIs (PIs at non-U.S. institutions)
-
Do you have to be a PI at a U.S. Institution to Propose?
No. PIs at non-US institutions may submit proposals for
observing
time only. PIs at non-US institutions are not eligible for funding.
(And
therefore may not submit "funding only" proposals, even if they would
have
US Co-Is.)
-
Do I need to do anything special to be a PI on a non-GRB
observing proposal if I am at a non-US institution?
No. There is no need to "affiliate" with the Swift
Science
Center, as in previous years. On both your NOI (submitted to NSPIRES)
and your proposal
(submitted to ARK/RPS), you may give your home institution and submit
the forms,
yourself. For further instructions on submitting a Swift Cycle 6
proposal, see our Cycle 6
Guest
Investigator Program
Web page.
-
Can non-US PIs propose a non-GRB observing proposal and have a
US co-I receive the funding?
No. The US collaborator must be the PI in order for
him/her
to receive funding.
Funding-only Proposals (GRB Science)
-
How does the "2-Phase Review" process apply to funding-only
proposals?
Proposals for funding only will submit a cover page, general form, and
scientific justification
to Swift ARK/RPS
for Phase
1 of Swift Cycle 6. The general form asks for the "anticipated
total budget" and the scientific justification should include a
paragraph describing at a high level how funds
would be spent and the scale of workforce needed for the project. No
other budget information is required for Phase 1. The Phase 1 proposal
will be reviewed for scientific merit (the main budget
consideration will be whether the anticipated budget falls below the $40K budget ceiling). The Phase 1 review will
determine the accepted Swift Cycle 6 program. PIs with successful
Phase 1 proposals will then be invited to submit a detailed budget
proposal for Phase 2.
The Phase 2 review will finalize the funding for all accepted
proposals. (Note
that the budget proposed for Phase 2 cannot exceed the anticipated
total budget submitted
in Phase 1.) See our Swift
Cycle 6 Web page
for further details.
-
What types of proposals are allowed?
The Swift project will provide funds for three broad areas of research:
theoretical investigations of GRBs, new GRB projects, and
follow-up GRB observations. In Cycle 6, Swift would especially like
to encourage the development of rapid IR ground-based response to
potentially high redshift GRBs,
therefore special consideration will be given to such projects.
Proposals to develop these capabilities
will be allowed to exceed the $40K budget ceiling imposed for all other
proposals. See the
ROSES-09 Amendment for Swift Cycle 6 for further details.
-
Does the $40K budget ceiling apply to funding-only proposals?
Yes. All Cycle 6 proposers must plan an investigation that
can be accomplished within a budget
ceiling of $40K for the total cost to NASA (including overhead). The
only two exceptions are for development of rapid IR ground-based
response to
potentially high redshift GRBs and Fill-in programs (see next
question).
-
Are there any exceptions to the $40K budget ceiling?
Yes, two: 1) proposals to develop rapid IR
ground-based response to potentially high
redshift GRBs receive special consideration for Swift Cycle 6; they
alone are allowed to exceed
the $40K budget ceiling. Budgets for such projects may be in the $100K
range of previous ROSES APRA
awards, provided they are strongly justified. (Note that "$100K range"
is very broad, and could
include such things as $50k or $150K for outfitting a telescope with an
IR
spectrograph.) 2) The budget ceiling for Fill-in programs has been
lowered to $20k.
Proposals for non-GRB Observations
-
What types of non-GRB proposals are allowed?
Any non-GRB proposal should have mild impact on the GRB
detecting
and follow-up schedule. This means it should not be too close to the
Sun, not require uninterrupted viewing or highly specific start or stop
times.
HEASARC's Viewing
tool can help you detemine the Sun angle for your source, and other
observational parameters.
Proposals for non-GRB Swift observations fall into three
categories:
ToO observations
non-ToO observations
Fill-in targets
Each type has their own specific restrictions - see the sections in this
FAQ on each for
further details, or consult the ROSES-2009
Amendment for Swift Cycle 6.
In addition, there are limits on monitoring
proposals
and limits on the length of an observation.
-
Will the non-GRB observations be proprietary?
No. Swift does not perform proprietary observations.
All
observations will be publically available immediately. Non-GRB
proposers are eligible for funds to help analyze the observations
they propose, however.
-
What is the difference between "AKBAR/RPS", used in Cycle 3,
and "ARK/RPS", used in Cycles 4, 5, and 6?
Only the name. It is literally the same software and
Web
site, and
your login and associated information remains the same, if you
registered with
AKBAR/RPS. For more information on using ARK/RPS, see our Swift Cycle 6 GI page.
-
Do I have to submit anything to NSPIRES for Cycle 6?
Not during Phase 1. Both the Notices of Intent (NOI)
and
scientific/technical proposal submission will
be through ARK/RPS
for Swift
Cycle 6 Phase 1, including cover page, general form, target forms, and
upload of proposal text. Successful Phase 1
proposers will then be told where to submit budget proposals for review
in Phase 2.
For more info on submitting proposals, see our Swift Cycle 6 GI page.
-
Can I combine ToO and non-ToO observations in one proposal?
No. A proposal must be either ToO or non-ToO; it cannot
be
both. If you wish to
perform both non-ToO and ToO observations of the same source, you must
submit two separate
proposals. Please make sure the proposals have different titles, so
they can
be easily distinguished. (Eg., "ToO observations of SRC-XYZ" and
"non-ToO
observations of SRC-XYZ") Also, if the proposals should be reviewed
together (e.g., if you will trigger the ToO based on results from the
non-ToO), then please state in your abstract that one proposal is the
companion to the other, and
specify the title of the other proposal. We will use that information
to make sure they are reviewed by the same panel.
-
Can I combine Fill-in and non-Fill-in targets in one proposal?
No. A proposal for observation must be one of three
types: ToO, non-ToO,
or Fill-in. Targets in a proposal must all be of the given type. The
ARK/RPS
cover page form requires you to select one of these proposal types, and
your
targets will then be considered in that category.
-
What constitutes a monitoring program?
Monitoring programs are defined as programs
requiring two or more observations (or "visits", where each "visit" is
a scheduled observation of a particular target) to the same object. No
more than 800 total short (<4 ks) visits and 100 long (>4ks)
visits will be accepted in Cycle 6 (total for all proposal
categories). Please note the restrictions on the observations lengths
and time windows below.
-
What are the restrictions on observation length?
Requested observing time is limited to between 1 ks (minimum)
and 20 ks (maximum) per
observation. The total time requested for the source may consist of
several observations. Use the "Number of Observations" field on the
ARK/RPS form to state how many observations, and put the total time
(ie., adding up all observations) in the target form. Don't worry if
you don't want
the total time divided evenly among the observations. For example,
suppose you want the first
observation of your source to be 20ks, and 3 later observations of 5
ksec each.
On the ARK/RPS target form, you would put "num_obs" as 4 (4 total
observations); "Total Observation Time" as 35 ksec (20+5+5+5); and in
the "Remarks" section, you would put
"First observation should be 20 ksec, followed by 3 observations of 5
ksec each." If the
observations are to be constrained by time, phase, or other criteria,
fill out the Constraints section of the form. Then, in the scientific
justification, you should explain why this observing strategy is
necessary for your science.
Also note that a single observation may be broken up over
several orbits, and involve multiple pointings, in order to accommodate
Swift's schedule. Proposers should
not assume continous, uninterrupted viewing of their targets for any
observation longer
than 1 ksec.
-
What are the Restrictions on Time-Constrained Observations?
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 or non-monitoring observations, but not Fill-in
observations. These include phase-constrained proposals, coordinated
observing campaigns with ground- or pace-based facilities, etc.
Time-constrained observations are subject to the following limits:
- The window duration must exceed 3 hours.
- No more than 300 time-constrained observations will be accepted
for Cycle 6.
For coordinated and constrained observations, it is the proposer's
responsibility to inform the Swift Science Operaions Team of the
observing time window at least one week before observations commence.
Fill-in Target observations
-
What are Fill-in Targets?
Fill-in targets provide a set of peer-reviewed targets to be
used to fill
in gaps in the pre-planned science timeline. They were first
introduced during Cycle
5, and are a separate
proposal category, distinct from ToO and regular non-ToO observations.
Please see the next
two questions for further details.
-
Are there any restrictions on Fill-in Target observations?
Yes.
Fill-in Targets:
- cannot be ToO observations
- must have no observational constraints
- can only be observed once (no multiple observations of
the same target)
- are limited to no more than 50 targets per proposer (i.e.,
among all fill-in target proposals for that proposer)
- will be scheduled as needed, after GRB follow-up, ToO, and
regular non-ToO observations (ie., they are lower priority than all of
these)
- will be added to the observing program at the discretion of
the science operations team, to maximize the Swift science program
- are not guaranteed to be observed; PIs should have no
expectation that their entire list of accepted fill-in targets will be
observed
Funding will be contingent upon at least one target being
observed for
no less than 80% of the requested
time. Please note that the budget
ceiling for Fill-in proposals has been lowered to $20k in Cycle 6.
-
How much time will be allocated to Fill-in Targets?
1000 ks. A total of one million seconds of observering time
will be made available for Fill-in
targets in Cycle 6.
-
What priority will Fill-in Targets have in Swift's observing
schedule?
The lowest. See the last three bullets in the restrictions on Fill-in
Targets question, above.
-
Will all my accepted Fill-in Targets be observed?
There is no guarantee that Fill-in Targets will be observed.
See the last bullet in the restrictions on Fill-in
Targets question,
above.
Non-ToO pointed observations
-
How much time will be allocated to non-GRB non-ToO observations?
2000 ks. A total of 2 million seconds of observing
time
will be made available
to the non-ToO GO program during Cycle 6. Note that the Fill-in Target
program is separate,
and has its own time allocation.
-
Will Swift slew to my non-GRB, non-ToO source autonomously?
No. Swift GO observations will be performed only as
the
result of an uploaded
ground command through the normal planning process and will not be
slewed to
autonomously.
-
What priority will non-GRB, non-ToO observations have in
Swift's observing
schedule?
Low. GO observations will have a lower scheduling
priority
than GRBs or ToOs and
will be observed on a best-effort basis when time is available in the
observing schedule.
-
Am I assured of obtaining all awarded observing time on my
non-GRB, non-ToO
target?
No. Because of Swift's observing restrictions,
successful
GO PIs should be aware
that they are not assured 100 percent of the time awarded. Every effort
will be made to observe 80 percent or more of an accepted program
within schedule limitations of the mission.
-
What rules and limitations should I be aware of for non-GRB,
non-ToO Swift
observations?
- There are limits on observation length. Please see our
FAQ question
"What are the restrictions on observation length?"
for further details.
- There are restrictions on monitoring programs, where
"monitoring" is defined as 2 or more observations of the same target.
Please see our FAQ question about monitoring,
above.
- No more than 500 ks of observing time will be allocated to
GO targets in each 6-hour
range of right ascension (RA) in order to ensure that GO targets
are distributed
pseudo-uniformly on the sky.
- No more than 20% of the accepted GO time will be awarded
to time-constrained
proposals. This includes phase-constrained proposals, coordinated
observing campaigns with
ground-based or satellite-based facilities, monitoring campaigns, etc.
Note that the unique scheduling requirements of Swift put severe
constraints on monitoring programs, and in particular, proposals
requesting periodic monitoring will be rejected.
Please see our FAQ question about monitoring
for further details.
- You may NOT combine ToO and non-ToO observations in a
single proposal.
If you wish to perform both ToO and non-ToO observations, please see
the guidelines
in the answer to our FAQ question, "Can I
combine ToO and non-ToO observations in a single proposal?".
- There is no carry-over time from Cycle 6 to Cycle 7.
Therefore, PIs whose
observing programs are not completed in Cycle 7 will be required to
repropose in Cycle 7 if they wish to acquire more observing time on
their targets of interest.
ToO Proposals
-
How much time will be allocated to non-GRB ToO observations?
800 ks. A total of 800 ks of observing time will be
made
available to ToO proposals.
-
Will Swift slew to my non-GRB ToO source autonomously?
No.
See the explanation for "Will Swift slew to my
non-GRB, non-ToO source autonomously?", above.
-
How many High and Highest Priority ToOs can be performed in
Cycle 6?
No more than 6 Highest Priority and no more than 50 High
Priority ToOs
can be
performed for Cycle 6. The priorities are defined as:
Priority |
Definition |
Cycle 6 Limit |
Highest |
Observation should be performed within 4 hours |
6 |
High |
Observation should be performed within 24 hours |
50 |
Medium |
Observation can be performed within days to a week |
none |
Low |
Observation can be performed within weeks |
none |
-
What rules and limitations should I be aware of for non-GRB ToO
Swift
observations?
-
What should I put for RA, Dec, and object name if I am
proposing
observations of a 'yet-to-be-discovered' object?
Please use 0.0 for the coordinates and "new transient" or similar for
the target name.
-
The target form asks for a "trigger probability" - what should
I put?
See the 3rd bullet in the answer to our "What rules
and limitations should I be aware of for non-GRB ToO
Swift observations?" question, above.
Proposal Format and Submission
-
Do I have to fill out a Notice of Intent (NOI) to propose?
NOIs are not required, however we would really appreciate it if
all proposers filled out NOIs, since that lets us know how many
proposals
to expect (which helps with planning the review). Here's where and how to fill
out an NOI (see second bullet).
-
Do I submit the proposal to NSPIRES, or to ARK/RPS, or both?
All proposals for Phase 1 of Swift Cycle 6 go to ARK/RPS.
Unlike in previous
Swift Cycles, ARK/RPS
will be the
sole proposal submission site for all proposals (both those for
funding-only and those
which include observations). There is no NSPIRES proposal submission
for Phase 1
of Cycle 6. Notices of Intent also go to ARK/RPS (unlike during
previous Cycles).
-
What are the page limits for the proposal text?
4 pages total for scientific justification, figures,
tables,
and references.
The page limits are discussed in Appendix
D.6 of ROSES-09 "Swift Guest Investigator - Cycle 6". Do not submit
a PI Vita, current & pensing support, or any other supporting
documenation. Please note:
if you are requesting funding
should your proposal be accepted, please include a brief overview
(about a paragraph) describing at
a high level how the funds would be used and the scale of the workforce
needed to carry out the proposed
work. We encourange you to use our LaTex and MS Word template for
writing the scientific justification.
-
How accurate does my "anticipated total budget" for Phase 1
have to be?
You may not exceed the Phase 1 "anticipated total budget" in
your detailed budget for Phase 2.
If your proposal is accepted in Phase 1, you will be asked to submit a
detailed budget for Phase 2.
This detailed budget cannot exceed the anticipated total budget you
input on your Phase 1 general proposal form.
Keep in mind, also, that there is a $40K budget ceiling for all
proposals, except for special cases of correlative
(IR) observations of high redshift
GRBs.
-
What is "NASA FTE Commitment"? Do I have to fill it out?
The number of Full Time Equivalent (FTE) NASA civil servants that would
be supported by this proposal, if
approved. This may be a fraction or zero. It is collected for NASA
records, and does not affect acceptance of the proposal. This is
required for proposal submission.
-
Is there a template for the Scientific Justification part of
the proposal?
Yes. We highly encourage the use of
the LaTeX template or MS Word
template (for Word 2008
or Word 97) for the
scientific part of the proposal (i.e., the written text
component of the proposal). The style files needed to compile the LaTeX
file can be found here.
-
How do I submit the PDF file containing my Scientific
Justification?
After you hit "submit" in ARK/RPS, you will see a button that says
"upload your PDF". Please do not upload a CV or any other supporting
documents, just the Scientific Justification as described in the proposal
submission guidelines on the
Swift Cycle 6 GI Information Web page.
-
I submitted my proposal but never received an email
conformation. Was my proposal received?
The ARK
FAQ has an answer to this question. In short, you need to check a
box
in your ARK profile and turn email receipts on.
NRA Reference Materials
-
Where can I find the ROSES-09 Announcement (NRA) and its
amendments, including
the appendix describing Swift Cycle 6?
The ROSES-09 NRA and the specific amendments for Swift Cycle 6
are
available from NSPIRES's Swift
Guest Investigator - Cycle 6 Web page.
-
Where can I find the NRA Proposers Handbook, and it's
supplementary material?
The NRA Proposers Guidebook and any clarifications are found on
the NRA
Proposers Guidebook page.
Other
-
Who do I write to if I still have questions?
If you have questions about any of the above, or similar, items,
write
to the
Swift Science Center via our Feedback
form.
If you have questions about how to submit a proposal for Swift
Cycle 6, please
see our Cycle 6 Guest
Investigator Program
Web page. It contains instructions, links, supporting materials,
and help desk
addresses for support with proposal submission.