ALMA OT Release Notes for Cycle 3

Summary list of the key new capabilities, features and improvements since Cycle 2.

  1. Band 10 is now available for limited use.
  2. Free choice of TDM frequency for full polarization observations, in Bands 3, 6 and 7.
  3. Increase in number of antennas: 36 12-m array, 10 7-m array, 2 Total Power array.
  4. Introduction of non-standard modes.
  5. New antenna beamsize definition in use.
  6. Sesame is now used to query source information.
  7. A Science Goal may now contain multiple sources with rectangular field definitions.
  8. The Total Power mapping area is automatically calculated for custom mosaics or single pointings.
  9. Fuller Import/export of pointing positions.
  10. Absolute positions are now supported for pointing centres.
  11. The “Point source” button has been removed.
  12. Source declination is taken into account when determining which array configurations are required.
  13. Total Power will not be scheduled if the 7-m array can achieve the requested Largest Angular Scale.
  14. Noise contribution from the image sideband is now explicitly calculated for DSB receivers (Bands 9 and 10).
  15. Improvements to the time-constrained interface.
  16. Overhaul of Technical Justification node:
  17. The total time for a proposal can be displayed in the main OT GUI - see under "Tool" on the top-level menu bar.
  18. J2000 coordinate system name changed to "FK5 J2000".
  19. The target linewidth may only be specified in velocity units, km/s or m/s.
More detailed information on the above can be found in the Science Portal under Documents and Tools.