K-GMT Science Program for Gemini

Call for Proposals Cycle 2A (2015A)

Introduction

Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (KASI) invites proposals for observations with Gemini telescopes (North and South) as part of the Cycle 2A of the K-GMT Science Program operated by K-GMT Science Group (KGSG). For the general guideline of the program, please refer to the guideline page. The number of nights available for the year of 2015 is about 20 nights distributed between Gemini North and Gemini South, and will cover the full range of lunar phases. For the semester of 2015A, roughly a half of the nights (~10 nights) will be available to the Korean community. Here we solicit proposals from prospect proposers.

• Observing period

  • 2015 February ~ July

• There is no limit on the fields of science that prospect proposals shall aim to address. However, preference will be given to proposals with sciences that can be applicable to GMT sciences in the near future.

• For this year (2015), the classical mode will be primarily available to Korean community. The observation will be carried out in a few blocks of nights which will be allocated to Korean community. Observations may be executed as a mini-queue mode within those blocks. See below for more details on how the observations will be executed.

• You may propose ToO programs where the trigger time is not known (SNe, GRBs). However, the amount of time that can be awarded will be limited to less than a few hours in total per semester and may not be carried out within Korean blocks but by Gemini’s general queue mode observations

• Laser Guided Adaptive Optics (LGAO) mode of observations may be available but limited. This requires the Korean block to be scheduled to right next to the normal Gemini LGAO block which may not be possible. Even if this may be done, the awarded time will be less than a few hours in total per semester.

• Typical range of requesting time will be from a few hours to a few nights.

Important Dates

Table 1. Schedule and Deadlines for the cycle 2A.

Available Telescopes, Instruments & Observing Mode

For the year of 2015, the observing time will be conducted in four to eight dedicated blocks of two to five nights of Classical time (for a total of about 20 nights throughout 2015A and B). Each block of nights will be scheduled as Priority Visitor (PV) Observing runs so that the block will have more number of nights than actually assigned to Korea. The observations will be supported by Gemini staffs and during each PV block, one or more KASI/Korean observers will observe the selected programs on behalf of Korean community and other normal Gemini queue programs with Gemini staffs. KASI will nominate one PI to each block who will decide which program to run among the selected Korean programs, including ToOs, at specific time of night and/or the order of programs to run in that block. The blocks of nights will be distributed between Gemini North and Gemini South, and will cover the full range of lunar phases.

For 2015A, we plan to request two or three blocks (roughly 10 nights in total). However, please note the limitation described below.

• Primarily Classical mode.

• May be executed in mini-queue mode.

• ToO observation in the mini-queue will be available.

• ToO observation using normal Gemini queue will be limited.

• Use of LGAO mode will be limited as described above.

• Korean time in 2015 is self-contained and cannot be used in “Joint” proposals.

• Due to the limitation of the scheduling, we may not be able to schedule some qualified proposals and some proposals may be only partially scheduled.

For information on available instruments and observing modes, please refer to the Gemini Call for Proposal page (http://www.gemini.edu/node/12242).

Proposal Submission

Proposers must use Gemini's Phase-I Tool (PIT) . The PIT is a downloadable application that is used to provide "front-page" information including the title, abstract, and contact info for the investigators. Instrument configuration details, target coordinates, and observing constraints are also included in PIT. "Essay" sections are included in a single PDF attachment, which can be prepared using an MS Word or LaTeX template. Detailed help pages and video tutorials are available on the Gemini web site.

For Semester 2015A, proposals from Korean community should use an updated version of PIT that supports "Korean" backend. The details of how to use PIT to submit their proposal is described in the page below.

• The updated PIT that supports "Korean" backend is available here.
• How to use PIT to submit a proposal

Please consider these suggestions and guidelines when preparing your proposal:

• Please use the template that can be found at the PIT software distribution site to prepare the Essay section (please use non-US version of template, GemPhase1.doc or GemPhase1.tex). Note that the PIT software links to 2015A version of templates which are identical to 2015A.1.2 version of templates.

• The scientific justification page has one-page limit for the text. Two additional pages can be used for references and figures. For page limits of other part of the essay, please refer to the description in the templates.

• Be sure to include example Integration Time Calculator (ITC) output -- please see the instructions in the template.

• Even though Korean programs will be scheduled as classical programs, all Korean proposers are advised to prepare their programs as Queue observations by providing as much information as possible during the Phase I and Phase II stages. This is because some of the programs can be carried out as a part of Korean mini-queue programs.

For more details, please refer to Gemini’s page at http://www.gemini.edu/sciops/observing-gemini

How to Get Help

Our contact point regarding any questions that you might have when you prepare proposals for Gemini is Dr. Andy Adamson [aadamson@gemini.edu](mailto:aadamson@gemini.edu). He will forward your inquiries to a proper person at Gemini and help with the communication. Anyhow, we advise the Korean community to include KASI contact [kgmtprop@kasi.re.kr](mailto:kgmtprop@kasi.re.kr) in their inquiries to Gemini so that KASI can estimate the level of support service required by the community for its future Gemini operation.

For any other questions or comments, please contact us by kgmtprop@kasi.re.kr.