Subaru/Keck Time Exchange Program

This is the instruction for Subaru users who intend to apply for Keck telescope time through the Subaru/Keck Time Exchange Program in S12A/2012A.

1. Details

Directors of Subaru Telescope and Keck Observatory agreed to continue a time exchange program for the semester which corresponds to 'S12A' of Subaru and '2012A' of Keck, both begin on 2012 February 1 and end on 2012 July 31. This time exchange program is coordinated so that astronomers in each community can mutually access unique instruments of each telescope.

Observations with both Keck and Subaru telescopes will be executed in a 'classical' mode. Keck observations are usually executed remotely from the Keck office at Waimea. Please refer to this Keck webpage .

Scientific merits of the proposals are reviewed and assessed in each TAC independently (namely, proposals from the Subaru community using Keck are reviewed by Subaru TAC). Those who have direct access to Keck time must refrain from submitting proposals to this program.

2. Available Instruments and Observing Time

Keck instruments available to the Subaru community in S12A are as follows.

Keck I telescope:
LRIS
OSIRIS (OSIRIS will be moved to Keck I in 2012 January)
+
Adaptive Optics with Laser Guide Stars (LGS-AO)
Adaptive Optics with Natural Guide Stars (NGS-AO)

Keck II telescope:
DEIMOS
ESI
NIRC2
NIRSPEC
+
Adaptive Optics with Laser Guide Stars (LGS-AO)
Adaptive Optics with Natural Guide Stars (NGS-AO)

LGS-AO or NGS-AO can be combined with OSIRIS and NIRC2, but NIRSPEC is limited only to observations without AO.

LGS-AO backup program : Those who request LGS-AO time must prepare backup programs, because cloudy conditions may hinder propagation of laser. For OSIRIS + LGS-AO proposers, OSIRIS with NGS-AO is available as a backup instrument. For NIRC2 + LGS-AO proposers, NIRC2 with NGS-AO, and NIRSPEC without AO, are available.

The unique capabilities of these Keck instruments, compared to the existing Subaru instruments, are briefly summarized below for the Subaru community.

A brief summary of Keck instruments available this time
LRIS LRIS is an optical spectrograph, with high sensitivity in the near-UV wavelength range (3300-4000 Å). LRIS is used in combination with the recently commissioned Atmospheric Dispersion Compensator which improves the efficiency of LRIS between 3100 and 11,000 Å.
DEIMOS DEIMOS is an optical multi-object slit spectrograph. For medium-resolution spectroscopy (R = 1000-2000), the field of view (5x16 arcmin2) and the number of simultaneously observable objects (up to 150 objects per slitmask) are ˜ 3 - 5 times larger than Subaru FOCAS .
ESI ESI is an optical spectrograph, with high spectral resolution (R ~ 10000) and high throughput at >7000 Å. It can cover 3900-11,000 Å in a single exposure. ESI also has a five slice IFU available. Each slice is 1.13 arcsec wide, 4 arcsec long, for a 4.0 x 5.7 arcsec field of view.
OSIRIS (with LGS/NGS-AO) OSIRIS is an infrared integral field spectrograph. It can be combined with LGS/NGS-AO. The maximum field of view is larger than Gemini NIFS . OSIRIS requires AO. In S12A, OSIRIS will be available at Keck I on a shared-risk basis in 2012 June and July.
NIRC2 (with LGS/NGS-AO) High-spatial-resolution infrared imaging, slit spectroscopy, and coronagraphy using LGS/NGS-AO is possible.
NIRSPEC (without AO) NIRSPEC is capable of medium-resolution (R=1000-2000) and high-resolution (R=25000) infrared spectroscopy at 1-5 μm.


Note that the above summary is not comprehensive. Please refer to the Keck instruments webpages for more details of the instruments.

The amount of the observing time available in S12A is maximum 5 nights (Keck I and II in total). In S12A, maximum 4 Keck II nights and maximum 2 Keck I nights , and maximum 2 LGS-AO nights are available to the Subaru community. The minimum amount of nights for each program is 1 night, because we cannot accept a number of short programs. Proposals requesting Target of Opportunity (ToO) observations are not accepted.

3. Proposal Preparation for Programs using Keck Telescopes

Table 1. Guide for Proposers Applying for Keck Time
Phase-I Subaru Submission Step 1. Proposers should submit their proposals via the webform (newly introduced) by the deadline in Subaru S12A Call for Proposals (namely, noon, 2011 September 13, JST)


3-1. Step 1. Phase-I Submission to Subaru PROMS

Proposers intending to apply Keck observations via this Subaru Call for Proposals should access the ProMS 2.0 page to fill the webform. Proposals from the Subaru community to use Keck are treated as one of Subaru Open Use Programs and are reviewed in the same way as other Subaru proposals. When the proposal has been successfully accepted, the proposer will then be asked to fill out the Keck Proposal Coversheet .

How to complete the Application Form:

Please follow the instructions detailed in 'How to Submit'.

"1-1"(Title) to "1-4"(Co-Investigators):
Fill them as other Subaru proposals.
"1-5"(Observing Run):
Give the requested 'nights' in Normal Programs Form, as other Subaru proposals.
"1-6"(Targets) to "1-12"(Backup Proposal):
Fill them as other Subaru proposals. For DEIMOS proposers, if Subaru/FOCAS and/or Gemini/GMOS are acceptable as backup instruments, please indicate so in section 13 of the normal application form.
"1-13"(Observing Method):
Describe referring to Keck Instrument page
"1-14"(Past Observations) to "1-16"(Thesis):
Fill them as other Subaru proposals.

4. Phase-I Contact

Please contact cfp_at_optik-ml.mtk.nao.ac.jp.



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