The Rapid Response Mode

Rapid Response Mode: Introduction

• An observation trigger signal is sent via an ASCII file to the ftp server acweb.hq.eso.org (134.171.2.5), requesting the execution of a specific Observation Block (OB).
• A program at the telescope is continuously monitoring the dedicated ftp directory.
• When a valid trigger signal is found in the ftp directory the on-going observation is ended, the telescope automatically presets to the coordinates specified in the ftp file, and performs the requested observations as specified in the trigger signal.
  

RRM Phase 2 Preparations

• Once a RRM proposal is approved, a complete Phase 2 package (Observation Blocks and Readme file) needs to be prepared and submitted to ESO following the standard Phase 2 preparation procedures. In particular, please note that the deadline for the submission of the Phase 2 package applies for RRM runs as well.
• The names of OBs for execution in RRM mode must be preceded by the RRM prefix (e.g. RRM_grb346+580_3x600s). They should not contain any spaces or special characters, but only letters, digits, dashes, plus signs and/or underscores.
• Once an activation has been successfully triggered, the OB executed cannot be used for another activation.
• Besides the RRM OBs, the users should also prepare normal ToO OBs in case non-RRM observations are required: for instance, for follow-up of the RRM activation (since with RRM only one OB can be activated), or if observations of the target are desired when the 4-hour RRM deadline has passed (see below).
• The ESO User Support Department or the La Silla Science Operations verifies the submitted material. The instructions on how to upload trigger signals are communicated to the Principal Investigator of the programme following verification of the Phase 2 package.
• To activate the RRM, an ASCII file must be received at the dedicated ftp server in Garching with the following characteristics:
  • Its name must be the same as that of the OB that needs to be executed, preceded by a string of the generic form [instrument]_[p2pp ID]_ (e.g. UVES_5291_RRM_grb346+580_3x600s). Your p2pp ID is not your User Portal username, but rather a number which will be supplied to you by your Support Scientist.
  • Its content must be a single line with the J2000.0 coordinates of the target. The format is hhmmss.ss for the right ascension, sddmmss.s for the declination (e.g. 004727.32 -251738.3)
• The activation file must be uploaded to the relevant instrument sub-directory, such as:
  • /home/rrm/UVES/ for UVES activations,
  • /home/rrm/ISAAC/ for ISAAC activations,
  • /home/rrm/FORS1/ for FORS1 activations,
  • /home/rrm/FORS2/ for FORS2 activations,
  • /home/rrm/SINFONI/ for SINFONI activations
  An analogous procedure exists for GROND activations.

RRM Guidelines for Activation

• Along with the RRM trigger signal, accompanying RRM information, including a finding chart, must be sent to Paranal or La Silla using established Target of Opportunity (ToO) procedures. For RRM activations only, an email template, can be used as a substitute for filling out the ToO activation webpage:
  • For Paranal, use this email template, with these specific requirements. The e-mail must be sent to parmail@eso.org.
  • For La Silla, use this email template, with these specific requirements. In this case, the e-mail must be sent to esoarsls@eso.org.

  Do not attach the finding chart to the email, but include a link to a webpage that contains the finding chart in the comments section. For the time being, a simple activation email (to either antu@eso.org for UT1, kueyen@eso.org for UT2 or lasilla@eso.org for the 2.2m) with the finding chart attached will also be accepted.

• Only requests from the end of evening nautical twilight to the beginning of morning nautical twilight (i.e., received when the Sun is more than 12 degrees below the horizon) will activate the RRM.
• Any RRM activation arriving outside the time interval noted in the previous point will be discarded with no trigger counted.
• It is the responsibility of the activators to ensure that the target is observable, bright enough, and easy to identify by the night astronomer.
• To prevent long-term remnants in the detector that may affect future observations, ISAAC RRM triggers of targets with objects brighter than J=9, H=9, or K=9 within 2.5 arcmin from the field center will not be accepted.
• Any successful activation will be counted as an RRM trigger, whether the requested observations could be successfully performed or not.
• The RRM will only operate in Service Mode and activations arriving during Visitor Mode observations will be discarded with no trigger counted. The only exceptions are cases in which the OPC may have granted over-running status over Visitor Mode observations for events with exceptional characteristics. In such cases, ToO observations immediately following the RRM one have the same override status over Visitor Mode.
• The requested instrument must be already in operation. Due to the need to provide an immediate response to the event switch between telescope foci is not possible. RRMs arriving for an instrument that is not in operation will be discarded with no trigger counted.
• In case of gamma-ray burst RRM observations: the RRM should only be used if the time since the GRB is shorter than 4 hours; after 4 hours the observations should be requested through the normal ToO procedure. The user should have prepared normal ToO OBs (before the Phase 2 deadline!) for this to be possible.
• It is possible that the RRM status ( for Paranal or for La Silla) does not allow an alert to be triggered, but that ToO observations are possible during the same night (e.g. due to a focus switch to the relevant instrument). If desired, these observations should be requested through the normal Target of Opportunity (ToO) procedures, and the proper ToO OBs must have been prepared. These ToO observations, if successful, will be counted as a RRM trigger.
• Any desired immediate follow-up observations of a successful RRM trigger must be requested through the normal ToO procedure, since only one OB can be executed as RRM. Such a ToO request can be already specified in the RRM alert email, or in a separate ToO request. Also in this case, ToO OBs must have been prepared before the Phase 2 deadline for this to be possible. The execution of such follow-up observations cannot be guaranteed.
• RRM data will be made available immediately to all the PIs of OPC-approved GRB proposals in ToO and RRM for the current period, through a dedicated ftp account. The username and password of this account are communicated to the corresponding PIs at the beginning of each period. The default (12 months) proprietary period will apply for the rest of the world, unless a shorter period has been specified in the Phase 1 proposal.
• Any intentional misuse of the RRM (e.g. for the observation of events unrelated to the science case in the approved proposal or for late-time follow-up not justifying the use of the RRM) will result in the cancellation of the program in question.

Time accounting

• The time accounting is performed in the same way as for normal ToOs; if a program has used up all its hours or number of (RRM) triggers, no more triggers will be accepted.
• The time used by a RRM is counted from the start of the OB that was interrupted until the start of the first OB after the RRM OB.
• In special cases RRM runs may be allowed to indistinctly use either FORS1 or FORS2. In such cases only one trigger will be counted if both FORS1 and FORS2 are activated at the same time. However, the time accounting will be performed for both telescopes,. i.e. counting from the start of the OBs that were interrupted by the triggers.

Checking the status of the RRM system and of activation requests

• http://www.eso.org/paranal/sciops/RRM for Paranal
• http://www.ls.eso.org/lasilla/sciops/RRM for La Silla