Fill-in Target observations
Non-ToO pointed observations (not Fill-in)
ToO proposals
No. PIs at non-US institutions may submit proposals for observing time only. PIs at non-US institutions are not eligible for funding. (And therefore may not submit "funding only" proposals, even if they would have US Co-Is.)
No. There is no need to "affiliate" with the Swift Science Center, as in previous years. On your proposal (submitted to ARK/RPS), you may give your home institution and submit the forms yourself. For further instructions on submitting a Swift Cycle 7 proposal, see our Cycle 7 Guest Investigator Program Web page.
No. The US collaborator must be the PI in order for him/her to receive funding.
Any non-GRB proposal should have mild impact on the GRB detecting and follow-up schedule. This means it should not be too close to the Sun (>9 hours Sun angle), not require uninterrupted viewing or highly specific start or stop times.
HEASARC's Viewing tool can help you detemine the Sun angle for your source, and other observational parameters.
Proposals for non-GRB Swift observations fall into three categories:
Each type has their own specific restrictions - see the sections in this FAQ on each for further details, or consult the ROSES 2010 Amendment for Swift Cycle 7. In addition, there are limits on monitoring proposals and limits on the length of an observation.
Yes, you can submit as many proposals (observing or funding only) as you would like. Please note that if you intend to submit more than one Fill-in proposal, you are restricted to no more than 50 targets total (sum of all your proposals).
No. Swift does not perform proprietary observations. All observations will be publically available immediately. Non-GRB proposers are eligible for funds to help analyze the observations they propose, however.
Only the name. It is literally the same software and Web site, and your login and associated information remains the same, if you registered with AKBAR/RPS. For more information on using ARK/RPS, see our Swift Cycle 7 GI page.
Not during Phase 1. Both the scientific/technical proposal submission will be through ARK/RPS for Swift Cycle 7 Phase 1, including cover page, general form, target forms, and upload of proposal text. Successful Phase 1 proposers will then be told where to submit budget proposals for review in Phase 2. For more info on submitting proposals, see our Swift Cycle 7 GI page.
No. A proposal must be either ToO or non-ToO; it cannot be both. If you wish to perform both non-ToO and ToO observations of the same source, you must submit two separate proposals. Please make sure the proposals have different titles, so they can be easily distinguished. (Eg., "ToO observations of SRC-XYZ" and "non-ToO observations of SRC-XYZ") Also, if the proposals should be reviewed together (e.g., if you will trigger the ToO based on results from the non-ToO), then please state in your abstract that one proposal is the companion to the other, and specify the title of the other proposal. We will use that information to make sure they are reviewed by the same panel.
No. A proposal for observation must be one of three types: ToO, non-ToO, or Fill-in. Targets in a proposal must all be of the given type. The ARK/RPS cover page form requires you to select one of these proposal types, and your targets will then be considered in that category.
Also note that a single observation will most likely be broken up over several orbits, and involve multiple pointings, in order to accommodate Swift's schedule. Proposers should not assume continous, uninterrupted viewing of their targets for any observation longer than 1 ksec.
Funding will be contingent upon at least one target being
observed for
no less than 80% of the requested
time. Please note that the budget
ceiling for Fill-in proposals is $20k.
2 Ms. A total of 2 million seconds of observing time will be made available to the non-ToO GO program during Cycle 7. Note that the Fill-in Target program is separate, and has its own time allocation.
No. Swift GO observations will be performed only as the result of an uploaded ground command through the normal planning process and will not be slewed to autonomously.
Low. GI observations will have a lower scheduling priority than GRBs or ToOs and will be observed on a best-effort basis when time is available in the observing schedule.
No. Because of Swift's observing restrictions, successful PIs should be aware that they are not assured 100 percent of the time awarded. Every effort will be made to observe 80% or more of an accepted program within schedule limitations of the mission.
1 Ms. A total of one million second of observing time will be made available to ToO proposals.
No. See the explanation for "Will Swift slew to my non-GRB, non-ToO source autonomously?" above.
There are no restrictions how many Highest Priority and High Priority ToOs can be performed for Cycle 7.
4 pages total for scientific justification, figures,
tables,
and references.
The page limits are discussed in Appendix
D.6
of
ROSES 2010 "Swift Guest Investigator - Cycle 7". Do not submit
a PI Vita, current & pending support, or any other supporting
documenation. Please note:
if you are requesting funding
should your proposal be accepted, please include a budget narrative
that describes in sufficient detail how the funds would be used and the
scale of the workforce
needed to carry out the proposed
work. The budget narrative has a
1-page limit that does NOT count toward
the overall page limit. We encourange you to use our LaTex and
MS Word
template for
writing the scientific justification.
The ROSES 2010 NRA and the specific ROSES 2010 Appendix D.6 "Swift Guest Investigator Cycle 7" web pages are available from NSPIRES.
The NRA Proposers Guidebook and any clarifications are found on the NRA Proposers Guidebook page.
If you have questions about any of the above, or similar, items, write to the Swift Science Center via our Feedback form.
If you have questions about how to submit a proposal for Swift Cycle 7, please see our Cycle 7 Guest Investigator Program Web page. It contains instructions, links, supporting materials, and help desk addresses for support with proposal submission.