European ALMA Regional Centre

The European ALMA Regional Centre (ARC) provides the interface between the ALMA project and the European science community. It supports its users mainly in the areas of proposal preparation, observation preparation, data reduction, and data analysis.

Unlike its partner ARCs in North America and Japan, the European ARC is organized as a coordinated network of scientific support nodes distributed across Europe. The central node is located at ESO Headquarters in Garching bei München and carries the responsibility for all the core ARC activities as well as the coordination of the additional science support provided by the regional nodes.

The European ARC is the point of contact for European ALMA users from the moment of proposal submission to the to the actual distribution of calibrated data and subsequent analysis via the ALMA Helpdesk.

User Support at the EU ARC

The ESO ARC is resposible for the following tasks of direct relevance to ALMA users:

  • Running the ALMA Helpdesk: The ALMA Helpdesk contains a publicly accessible knowledgebase of frequently asked questions as well as the facility to submit tickets for ALMA-related queries, comments or requests for user support (registered users only).It is the official ALMA point of contact for the scientific community.
  • Phase I operations support: This includes the distribution of the Call for Proposals to prospective European ALMA users and support during proposal preparation. We also provide assistance in coordinating the refereeing process and assessing the technical feasibility of ALMA proposals.
  • Phase II operations support: Staff at the ESO ARC work closely with the PIs of accepted observing programs to ensure the optimal preparation of the technical details necessary to schedule and execute the proposed observations at the telescope.
  • Data product support: The final raw and pipeline-reduced data products are delivered to the PIs. The ESO ARC is also responsible for collecting and forwarding feedback on the data quality and pipeline back to the ALMA project.
  • Archive operations: The ESO ARC holds a complete synchronised copy of the ALMA archive.
  • Community development and outreach: While community develpment is mainly provided by the ARC nodes, the ESO ARC regularly organises ALMA-related talks at ESO, participates in the training events at the ARC nodes,and hosts its own events.

    The following services are provided by the ARC nodes:

  • Face-to-face support: Face-to-face support, including help with proposal preparation, data reduction and archival research is provided by the ARC nodes. You can request face-to-face support at your local ARC node via the ALMA Helpdesk (submit a ticket to the Visits department).
  • Community development and outreach: The ARC nodes are responsible for outreach and training activities in their communities, including giving ALMA talks at local institutes, producing training material and hosting regular training events.

    Would you like more information on the European ARC and the services provided? Download the Guide to the European ARC.

    • Questions?

    Please direct any questions or comments to the ALMA Helpdesk. Detailed technical information about ALMA, including software download and documentation can be found at the ALMA Science Portal.


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