The NASA solicitation for the XRISM Guest Observer Program is intended for Principal Investigators based in USA or Canada only.

Researchers in European Space Agency (ESA) member states or in EU countries which have Cooperation Agreements with ESA should apply through ESA.

Researchers in Japan or all other countries not listed above should apply through JAXA/ISAS.

BASIC INSTRUCTIONS

Utilizing 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 XRISM 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 brief "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: XRISM proposals submitted to NASA must follow the Guidelines for Anonymous Proposals for dual-anonymous peer review. (Note that, for XRISM proposals, one page is sufficient for the team expertise and resources document, but a maximum of three pages is allowed.) Proposers should fill in all required information on the forms, as detailed below. All fields (except those fields that specifically request names or institutions) should not contain personally identifying information. If a field does, NASA will need 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 fields specifically for names or institutions), and your justification PDF should not include language that identifies the names of investigators or their institutions.

In order to access the XRISM RPS web form, you must first create an ARK account and/or join the XRISM group.

If you already have an ARK account, login first and select "Join Group" from the menu next to "XRISM RPS (XRISM)" 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 "XRISM RPS (XRISM)" 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 XRISM 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, instrument parameters, 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 XRISM 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 INSTRUCTIONS

Cover Page

This 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.

Subject Category

The type of object(s) to be studied in the proposal. Required. Specify one of the following categories:

     Solar System
     Stellar Coronae, Winds, and Young Stars
     Accreting White Dwarfs and Novae
     BH and NS Binaries
     Non-Accreting Neutron Stars
     Supernova Remnants
     Galactic Diffuse Emission and Surveys
     Normal Galaxies: Integrated Emission
     Extragalactic Transients: SNe, GRBs, GW Events, and TDEs
     Blazars and Other Jet-Dominated AGN
     Non-Jet-Dominated AGN
     Groups and Clusters of Galaxies
     Extragalactic Diffuse Emission and Surveys
     Astrophysical Processes

For proposals on individual objects in nearby galaxies, the category of these individual objects should be chosen. For example, use "BH and NS Binaries" for a proposal on ultraluminous X-ray sources. The "Normal Galaxies" category can be used for proposals on X-ray binary population, as well as of diffuse gas in nearby galaxies. The category of "Astrophysical Processes" can be used when the physical processes are the focus of investigation or, for example, dark matter searches.

Proposal Title

The title of the proposal. Up to 120 characters are allowed. Required.

Abstract

800 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.

Do you agree to potential international merging of proposals?

If proposals for a target are accepted by multiple agencies, one possible outcome is to merge the investigations. Indicate if your team is willing for this investigation to be merged. Required.

Principal Investigator Title

Your 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 Name

Your 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 Initial

If 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 Name

Your 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.

Department

The 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.

Institution

Your 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 1

The 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 2

The 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/Town

Your 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/Province

The 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 Code

The 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.

Country

The 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.

Telephone Number

Your 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.

E-mail Address

Your 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 Form

This section contains fields for details about your collaborators, if any, and additional contact information. It also contains some fields related to the type of proposal and your proposal's Target(s) of Opportunity, if applicable. Up to 20 Co-Investigators can be specified. If you have more than 20 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 Name

The first name of each Co-Investigator. Up to 20 characters.

Co-Investigator Last Name

The last name of each Co-Investigator. Up to 20 characters.

Co-Investigator Institution

The 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 Country

The 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.

Co-Investigator E-mail Address

The 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-Investigator

Telephone 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.

Target(s) of Opportunity Proposal?

If your proposal consists of Target(s) of Opportunity (TOOs), activate this checkbox and fill in the following TOO-related fields. TOO and non-TOO targets may not be mixed in a single proposal. TOO proposals must list specific candidate targets. Up to 10 candidates may be included in a TOO proposal. Proposals for unknown targets (such as "nearby supernova") are not allowed in XRISM Cycle 1. Required.

TOO Proposal: Trigger Probability

Enter the estimated probability that this proposal can be triggered. For a single object TOO proposal, this is the estimated probability that the object will satisfy the triggering criteria during the observing cycle; note that the duration of target visibility must be folded into this probability. For a proposal with multiple candidate objects, this is the estimated probability that the proposed program can be executed. Required only if your proposal is a TOO proposal.

TOO Proposal: Maximum Number of Triggers

A TOO proposal may request all listed targets that satisfy the triggering criteria be observed; in this case, the maximum number of triggers is equal to the number of targets. Alternatively, a TOO proposal may request that only the first (or first several) targets to satisfy the triggering criteria be observed. In the latter case, the number of times this proposal can be triggered (less than the number of targets) should be entered here. The proposal text must include a justification for the number of triggers, if greater than 1. Required only if your proposal is a TOO proposal.

TOO Proposal: Exposure Expectation Value

This is the effective exposure time to be charged for this proposal, if it is accepted. For a single target TOO proposal, this is well defined as the requested exposure time times the trigger probability. For multi-target TOO proposals in which the team wishes to observe all listed targets if/when the triggers are met, this is also well defined as the sum of exposure times multiplied by the trigger probability of individual targets. For multi-candidate, single-trigger TOO proposals, in which the requested exposure times are identical, this is the exposure time multiplied by the joint probability that one of the candidates will meet the triggering criteria. More complicated cases (multi-candidate TOO in which different exposure times are requested for different candidates, multi-candidate multi-trigger proposals in which number of candidates > maximum number of triggers > 1) are allowed but both the scientific rational and the basis for estimating the exposure expectation value must be explicitly justified. Required only if your proposal is a TOO proposal.

TOO Proposal: Remarks

Provide a brief summary of triggering criteria, as well as how the trigger probability and the exposure expectation value were estimated. Up to 400 characters. Required only if your proposal is a TOO proposal.

Target Form(s)

This section contains all of the details regarding how each different target should be observed.

Target Name

The 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. Required.

Note: If you are proposing to observe a moving target (i.e., a solar system object), please specify "0.0" for both the R.A. and Dec. fields.

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. Required.

Note: If you are proposing to observe a moving target (i.e., a solar system object), please specify "0.0" for both the R.A. and Dec. fields.

Total Observation Time

The preferred exposure (i.e., total amount of good on-source data, after standard screening such as excluding Earth occultations and SAA passages, but not accounting for dead times) in kiloseconds for the observation. This is the total observation time, so for monitoring observations, this is the sum of all pointings/exposures. For example, for two observations of 40 ksec each, specify 80 ksec as the Total Observation Time and 2 for the Number of Observations. The minimum time for one pointing is 10 ksec. The maximum Total Observation Time for any single target is 300 ksec. Required.

Number of Observations

Enter the desired number of observations of the target. This is the number of intervals into which the Total Observation Time will be evenly divided. If varied exposure times are desired, multiple target form entries will be needed for each variation. The number of observations must be between 1 (the default) and 30. If the value is greater than 1, then the Monitoring Program field should be set to "Yes" and details provided. Required.

Resolve Count Rate

Enter the estimated Resolve count rate of the target in counts per second. Required.

Resolve Branching Ratio

For bright sources, the optimal algorithm to determine the pulse heights of individual photons cannot be always used, leading to degraded spectral resolution for some of the events. Only high resolution (Hp) and medium resolution primary (Mp) events are expected to have the the ~5-eV spectral resolution. Provide an estimate of the fraction of Hp+Mp events among the Resolve data. This ratio should be specified as a floating point number between 0.001 and 1.000. Required.

Resolve Filter

Indicate the Resolve filter (default: Open) to be used when observing the target. Required. Specify one of the following options:

     Open
     ND (Neutral Density Filter)
     Be

Xtend Count Rate

Enter the estimated Xtend count rate of the target in counts per second. Required.

Xtend Option

Indicate which Xtend option (default: Full) should be used when observing the target. Required. Specify one of the following options:

     Full
     1/8
     1/8+Burst

Do you agree to Xtend Transient Search by the XRISM team?

Indicate whether or not you agree to let the XRISM team to perform Xtend Transient Search (XTS) on your observation(s), outside the Resolve field-of-view. Required.

Do you want to be a co-author of the telegram?

If you indicated Yes to the previous question, indicate here if you want to be a co-author of any ATel and/or GCN notice/circular that may result. Note: Due to the need for rapid circulation, your name will be added as a co-author without necessarily consulting you on the content if you answer "Yes" to this question.

Coordinated Observation?

Indicate whether or not the observation(s) of the target should be linked with simultaneous observation(s) by another observatory/mission. The default is no.

Coordinated Observation: Observatory

Indicate the other observatory(ies)/mission(s) with which the observation(s) should be coordinated. If you desire to coordinate with more than one observatory/mission, please list all of them here, separated by a slash ("/"). Required for coordinated observation(s).

Coordinated Observation: Description

Give specifics regarding the coordination of the observation(s). Up to 400 characters. Required for coordinated observation(s).

Specific Date Range?

Answering Yes indicates that the observation should be made within a specific date/time range. This may be used, for example, if the observation of this target needs to be coordinated with another observatory and if the time of the observation with that observatory is already known.

Specifying a date/time range means that the observations are considered to be time-constrained.

Specific Date Range: Start

The start date/time of the observation, in MJD. The observation should start no earlier than this date/time. Required only for specific-date-range observation(s).

Specific Date Range: End

The end date/time of the observation, in MJD. The observation should end no later than this date/time. This value should be greater than the Start value. Required only for specific-date-range observation(s).

Monitoring Program?

Indicates whether or not the observation is to be made in several parts at fixed intervals. The number of parts is specified on the target form in the Number of Observations field. The default is no.

Monitoring Program: Minimum Interval

The desired minimum time interval between monitoring observations, in kiloseconds. An interval is defined from the start of the observations. Values can range from 80 ksec to 20,000 ksec. Required only for targets with a monitoring program.

Monitoring Program: Maximum Interval

The desired maximum time interval between monitoring observations, in kiloseconds. An interval is defined from the start of the observations. Values can range from 80 ksec to 20,000 ksec. This value should be greater than the Minimum Interval value. Required only for targets with a monitoring program.

Phase-Dependent Observation?

Indicates that the observation is to be carried out during a specific phase interval of an orbital (or a superorbital) cycle. The Epoch is the reference date given in MJD and the Period is the orbital (or superorbital) period of the source in days. The Minimum (Start) Phase and Maximum (End) Phase are the minimum and maximum orbital phases. The default is no.

Phase-Dependent Observation: Phase Ephemeris Epoch

For phase-dependent observations, this is the reference date in Modified Julian Date (MJD) number format. The observations will be made at an integral number of "Period" values from this date. Required only for phase-dependent observation(s).

Phase-Dependent Observation: Phase Ephemeris Period

The period of the source in days. Required only for phase-dependent observation(s).

Phase-Dependent Observation: Minimum Phase

Minimum orbital phase to be observed. Values must be between 0 and 1. Required only for phase-dependent observation(s).

Phase-Dependent Observation: Maximum Phase

Maximum orbital phase to be observed. Values must be between 0 and 1. This value should be greater than the Minimum Phase value. Required only for phase-dependent observation(s).

Roll-Dependent Observation?

Indicate whether or not the observation is dependent on the roll angle of the spacecraft. The default is no.

Minimum Roll

Minimum roll angle in degrees. The value must be between 0.0000 and 359.9999 degrees. A roll angle of 0.0 is defined such that the DETY axis of the detectors points north-south; the array rotates counterclockwise with increasing roll angle. The proposer is responsible for verifying that the scientifically desirable roll angle is achievable within the operational constraints. Required only for roll-dependent observation(s).

Maximum Roll

Maximum roll angle in degrees. The value must be between 0.0000 and 359.9999 degrees, and it must be greater than the Minimum Roll angle. A roll angle of 0.0 is defined such that the DETY axis of the detectors points north-south; the array rotates counterclockwise with increasing roll angle. The proposer is responsible for verifying that the scientifically desirable roll angle is achievable within the operational constraints. Required only for roll-dependent observation(s).

Remarks

Any relevant comments you wish to make regarding the target and how it should be observed. Up to 500 characters.

Last Modified: Thursday, 8-Feb-2024 15:41:09 EDT

For assistance please contact the ARK Help Desk

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