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 IXPE 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 one-page "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. The page limit for the anonymized scientific/technical justification PDF is 5 pages (4 pages for text/figures + 1 page for references) for Regular and Theory proposals and 6 pages for Large and/or joint IXPE-NICER proposals (5 pages for text/figures + 1 page for references).

Note: IXPE proposals must follow the Guidelines for Anonymous Proposals for dual-anonymous peer review. (Note that, for IXPE proposals, the page limit for the team expertise document is one page, i.e. further constrained compared to the "no more than three pages" from this general guidelines document.) 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 IXPE RPS web form, you must first create an ARK account and/or join the IXPE group.

If you already have an ARK account, login first and select "Join Group" from the menu next to "IXPE RPS (IXPE)" 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 "IXPE RPS (IXPE)" 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 IXPE 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, expected rates, 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 IXPE 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.

Proposal Type

Select the type of proposal, either Regular or Large or Theory. Note that Theory proposals cannot have any targets. If you are proposing for any kind of observation, please select Regular or Large and add at least one Target form to your proposal, according to the above instructions. Regular proposals may request up to a maximum total exposure time of 1500 ks. Proposals requesting a total exposure time more than 1500 ks must be classified as Large. Large program proposals may request up to a maximum total exposure time of 4000 ks.

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.

Joint Proposal?

It is possible to propose for joint IXPE/NICER observations in the IXPE General Observer Program cycle.

Select the NICER checkbox if NICER observation time is desired for any of the proposed targets. If NICER is checked, then you must specify the preferred NICER exposure times and other relevant observation parameters for each target in the proposal in the individual target form(s). Enter a zero (0) for the exposure time for any target for which NICER observations are NOT requested. The total amount of NICER observing time available in the entire IXPE/NICER joint program is 300 ks.

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. 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 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.

Fax Number

Your 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 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. Up to 30 Co-Investigators can be specified here. However, only the first 15 will be displayed in the PDF, PostScript, and LaTeX output options. If you have more than 30 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. 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 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.

Data to Be Used by a Student as Part of a Thesis Project?

Select the Yes checkbox if the data from this proposal is part of a student's thesis.

Exclusive Use Requested?

Indicate whether or not exclusive use of the data is requested. The default is no. By default IXPE data are archived and publicly released within two weeks of acquisition. IXPE proposers can request an exclusive use period of up to 6 months if scientifically warranted. Proposers will need to justify the need for exclusive use in the Exclusive Use Justification box, and should also describe the need for exclusive use in the scientific justification of the proposal.

Exclusive Use Duration

Specify the duration of the desired exclusivity period between 1 month and 6 months, inclusively. Required for exclusive use requests.

Exclusive Use Justification

Give reasoning and/or specifics for the exclusivity requirement. Up to 400 characters. Required for exclusive use requests.

Maximum Number of Triggers Requested for Target(s) of Opportunity

Only fill in this field if this proposal requests Target(s) of Opportunity (ToO) observations. Both Regular and Large proposals may request ToO observations. A ToO proposal may request that all listed targets which 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 this case, the number of ToOs which should be triggered (a number less than the number of targets) should be entered here. For example, a ToO proposal may list 10 possible targets which may be triggered, but only 3 triggers are required to accomplish the proposed science. In this case the maximum number of triggers would be 3. The proposal text must include a justification for the number of triggers, if greater than 1.

Maximum Total Time Requested for Target(s) of Opportunity

Only fill in this field if this proposal requests Target(s) of Opportunity (ToO) observations. If it does, then you must specify the maximum time requested in kiloseconds. The value should be a sum of the Total Observation Time values for either a subset of your targets or all of your targets, depending on the number of ToOs you want to trigger. The value must be between 10 and 1,500 kiloseconds for Regular proposals or between 1,501 and 4,000 kiloseconds for Large proposals.

Example #1: Suppose you have three Targets of Opportunity of 40 ksec each (i.e., you have completed three target forms), but you only need two of them to be observed, you should specify 80 ksec for this field.

Example #2: If you have three Targets of Opportunity of 40 ksec each (i.e., you have completed three target forms) and you want all three of them to be observed, then you should specify 120 ksec for this field.

Example #3: If you have three Targets of Opportunity with requested exposure times of 25, 40, and 50 ksec, respectively, and you only want to trigger one of the three ToOs to be observed, then you should specify 50 ksec (since 50 ksec is the largest time request) for this field.

Example #4: If you have three Targets of Opportunity with requested exposure times of 25, 40, and 50 ksec, respectively, and you only want to trigger two of the three ToOs to be observed, then you should specify 90 ksec (40 ksec + 50 ksec, i.e., the sum of the two largest time requests) for this field.

Target Form(s)

This section contains all of the details regarding how each different target should be observed. For IXPE, only a maximum of 6 targets are allowed.

Target Name

The commonly accepted name for the object. Up to 20 characters. For known targets, please use names (e.g., NGC 2237 or Eta Car) which are recognized by standard astronomical object databases such as SIMBAD or NED. Required.

Target Category

Specify one of the following categories that best describes this target. Required.

    Pulsar Wind Nebulae and Radio Pulsars
    Accreting Stellar Mass Black Holes
    Accreting White Dwarfs and Neutron Stars
    Magnetars
    Radio-Quiet Active Galactic Nuclei and Sgr A*
    Blazars and Radio Galaxies
    Supernova Remnants
    Other

R.A.

The J2000 right ascension of the requested pointing. 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.

Dec.

The J2000 declination of the requested pointing. 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.

Total Observation Time

Required. The total requested exposure time (i.e., total amount of good on-source data, after standard screening) in kiloseconds for this target. For Regular proposals the value must be between 10 and 1,500 kiloseconds. For Large proposals the value must be between 10 and 4,000 kiloseconds. Note that the minimum visit time is 10 kiloseconds. For Regular non-ToO proposals, note that the sum total amount of time that can be requested for all targets in the whole proposal is 1,500 kiloseconds. For Large non-ToO proposals, the sum total amount of time requested for all targets in the whole proposal must be between 1,501 and 4,000 kiloseconds.

ToO proposals can be either Regular or Large proposals, and the sum total amount of time requested for all targets in the whole proposal can exceed 1,500 kiloseconds for Regular proposals and 4,000 kiloseconds for Large proposals. That is because the requested number of ToO triggers can be less than the number of targets. However, the Maximum Total Time Requested for Target(s) of Opportunity value cannot exceed 1,500 kiloseconds for Regular proposals or 4,000 kiloseconds for Large proposals.

Number of Observations

Enter the number of desired observations (visits) of the target. The number must be between 1 (the default) and 5, inclusive. For monitoring observations (i.e., number of observations greater than 1), this will give the number of parts into which the Total Observation Time will be evenly divided. If varied exposure times for the observations are desired, an additional target form is required for each variation. Note that the minimum visit time is 10 kiloseconds, so increasing the number of observations also increases the minimum Total Observation Time by 10 ks per observation/visit. Required.

Extended Source?

If the target is not a point source, mark this checkbox.

Source Extent

Specify the diameter (in arcminutes) of the circle that completely encloses the region of interest and is centered on the pointing position. This is to assure that all of your targets will remain in the observing field in case the field center needs to be shifted. Round to the nearest hundredth of an arcminute, with a minimum of 0.01 arcminutes.

Expected Count Rates Above Background

Give the expected count rates of the source in counts/second in the 0.5 - 10 keV and the 2.0 - 8.0 keV bands with no deadtime. Proposers may use WebPIMMS to estimate IXPE count rates, or WebSpec or XSPEC for more detailed simulations. Proposers who wish to observe very bright sources (brighter than ~2 Crab) should consult with the IXPE team on the observing strategy. Required.

Minimum Detectable Polarization (MDP99)

Specify the minimum detectable polarization (MDP99) for the observation as a number (percentage) between 0.10 and 99.99, inclusive. For example, a MDP99 of 25% should be entered as 25.00. Proposers are strongly encouraged to read the instructions for using WebPIMMS to estimate MDP99 before performing their calculations. Details of any source modeling, assumptions about energy bands, phase bins, etc. used to estimate MDP should be included in the science justification.

Dither Size

Select the size of the dither to be used to observe the target. The default is Medium. The other possible options are Small and Large.

Observations must be dithered to minimize the impact of detector-induced polarization. The dither pattern is a circular and the radius can be selected to be 0.8 arcmin (Small), 1.6 arcmin (Medium) and 2.6 arcmin (Large).

For a point source, proposers should use the Medium dither, which is the default option. If observing an extended source that fills a large portion of the detector field-of-view (more than half), the proposer should use the Small dither. The Large dither averages the largest number of pixels, but reduces the size of the region that you can use to extract the background. The Large dither option is typically only used for telescope checkout.

Neutral Filter

Specify the type of filter to be used to observe the target. The default is Open. The only other option is Gray.

The Gray filter is recommended for sources that are brighter than twice the Crab to reduce the instrumental deadtime and the load on the telemetry. Note that bright sources can only be observed for short intervals before the on-board storage fills up. If the source is unexpectedly bright and the storage fills, there is then a chance of loss of some science data.

Coordinated Observation?

Indicate whether or not the observation is linked with observations by another observatory/mission. The default is No.

     No
     Yes
     Preferred But Not Essential

Coordinating Observatory

Indicate the other ground-based, airborne, and/or space-based observatories with which the observation(s) should be coordinated. Required for coordinated observations.

Coordinated Observation Description

Give specific details regarding the coordination of the observation(s). Details should include relative frequency, timing, duration etc. between IXPE and the other observatory or observatories. The need for strict simultaneity should be strongly justified. Up to 400 characters. Required for coordinated observations.

Phase Dependent Observations?

Answering Yes indicates that the observation needs to occur at one or more specified phase intervals of the orbital period, spin period, or other periodic phenomena. The "Epoch" is the reference date given in MJD and the "Period" is the period in days. The "Minimum Phase" and "Maximum Phase" are the minimum and maximum phases desired for observation of this target, i.e. the observation will be done at phase φ between φ_min ≤ φ ≤ φ_max, where φ_min is the minimum phase and φ_max the maximum phase. If approved, the PI will be expected to provide the IXPE Science Team with time windows that meet the required phase constraints.

Phase dependent observations are considered to be time-constrained. Please refer to the ROSES program element for more details.

Phase Dependent 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 for phase-dependent observations.

Phase Dependent Period

The period of the source in days. Required for phase-dependent observations.

Minimum Phase

Minimum phase to be observed. Values must be between 0 and 1. Required for phase-dependent observations.

Maximum Phase

Maximum phase to be observed. Values must be between 0 and 1. Required for phase-dependent observations.

Phase Dependent Remarks

Provide any details related to the phase-dependent observations. Up to 400 characters. Required for phase-dependent observations.

Preferred Time Range?

Answering Yes indicates that the observation should be made within a specific time range. This may be used, for example, if the observation needs to be coordinated with observation of this target by another observatory. Please refer to the ROSES program element for more details.

The start of a preferred time range request must be within the cycle being proposed, but the range may extend to include time in the following cycle.

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

Preferred Time Range Start

The start date/time of the observation, in MJD. The observation should start no earlier than this time.

Preferred Time Range End

The end date/time of the observation, in MJD. The observation should end no later than this time.

Preferred Time Range Remarks

Provide any comments related to the need for observation within the specified time range. Up to 400 characters. Required for observations for which a specific time range is indicated.

Target of Opportunity?

Indicate whether or not this object is a Target of Opportunity (ToO). A Target of Opportunity includes 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). Target of Opportunity proposals may not span multiple cycles. ToOs and non-ToOs cannot be in the same proposal.

Trigger Criteria

Specify how the IXPE observation will be triggered. For coordinated ToO observations, the triggering for IXPE and the other observatories should be given here. 400 characters maximum. This field is required for ToOs.

Trigger Probability

Give an estimate of the probability of triggering this Target of Opportunity during this Cycle. The probability should be given as a decimal number between 0.01 and 1.00. This field is required for ToOs.

Requested Response Time

Characterize the requested IXPE response time to the trigger:

     High:    IXPE observations to begin within 72 hours of the trigger
     Medium:  IXPE observations to begin between 72 hours and 3 weeks of the trigger
     Low:     IXPE observations to begin after 3 weeks of the trigger

Note that IXPE's response to a ToO depends on visibility constraints and when the ToO request is received with respect to the weekly planning cycle. This field is required for ToOs.

Other Remarks

Any other relevant comments you wish to make regarding the target or how it is to be observed. Up to 500 characters. Optional.

NICER Observation Parameters

If you are requesting an observation through the IXPE/NICER joint proposal program, you must fill in the amount of time (not including overhead) requested for NICER observation in kiloseconds. Additional information, such as the justification for the amount of time requested, must be provided in the scientific justification. Proposers should also fill out the Coordinated Observation? section with information about the coordination between IXPE and NICER, if desired.

NICER Time

Specify the total number of kiloseconds requested to observe this target by NICER. Requested exposure times may be either zero (if you do not need a particular target to be observed by NICER) or between 1 and 300 kiloseconds, which is the total time allotment of the IXPE/NICER joint program. This field should only be visible if you have specified you are applying to the IXPE/NICER joint program. If the field is visible, it is required. If you enter zero, then you do not need to enter any other fields in the NICER Observation Parameters section.

NICER Expected 0.3-10keV Count Rate

Specify the NICER expected total band (0.3-10 keV) count rate of the source in counts/second for all 52 active Focal Plane Modules (FPMs) with no deadtime. Proposers may use WebPIMMS to estimate NICER count rates, or WebSpec or XSPEC for more detailed simulations. Proposers should note that deadtime is important for very bright sources (a flux of 3 Crab, corresponding to about 60,000 NICER counts/s for 52 FPMs). Deadtime can be reduced by reading out a subset of the focal plane modules. Proposers who wish to observe very bright sources should consult with the NICER team on the observing strategy. This field should only be visible if you have specified you are applying to the IXPE/NICER joint program. If the field is visible and the NICER Time field for this target is non-zero, it is required.

NICER Background Restriction

Specify whether the observation should occur during times of low particle background (which mostly affects the high-energy band above 2 keV) and/or optical loading (which mostly affects the low-energy band below 1 keV). This field should only be visible if you have specified you are applying to the IXPE/NICER joint program. If the field is visible and the NICER Time field for this target is non-zero, it is required.

Since there is a limited amount of low-background time available, observations which require restricted background are considered to be time-constrained.

     No
     Minimize Optical Loading
     Minimize Particle Background
     Minimize Optical Loading and Particle Background

NICER Observation Remarks

Summarize any NICER observation details that may be relevant, such as NICER ToO trigger criteria and probability, monitoring criteria, and any scheduling constraints, if known. This field should only be visible if you have specified you are applying to the IXPE/NICER joint program. If that is the case and the NICER Time field for this target is non-zero, it is required. Up to 1000 characters.

Last Modified: Tuesday, 15-Aug-2023 22:02:03 EDT

For assistance please contact the ARK Help Desk

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