ALMA Regional Center
As a novel, high-tech observatory, ALMA challenges users with a high level of complexity in planning and data analysis. Therefore, it was decided early-on in the project that ALMA should provide high-level user support and deliver science-ready data product, allowing astronomers from various backgrounds to benefit from its exquisite capabilities. These services are now provided by the ALMA Regional Centers (ARC) of each of the three partners (ESO, NRAO, NAOJ).
The European ARC, coordinated by ESO, consists of ARC nodes located across Europe. The German ARC node is hosted by our group together with the group of Prof. Peter Schilke at the University of Cologne. We assist users in the preparation of their proposals, we ensure that the observed data meet the scientific goals, and we provide help with the calibration of their data. We are also dedicated to training and teaching radioastronomy and interferometry basics and higher level ALMA techniques.
Naturally, our group benefits from the local expertise in our research activities. In particular, we developed an automatic tool to exploit the capabilities of the ALMA Archive in for extragalactic deep field surveys.