The ALMA Reginal Centre (ARC) provides user support for all levels of ALMA users. It also serves as a basis for public outreach and a training site that offers specialized courses, schools, and workshops to advance the knowledge of radio-interferometric techniques and science.

In addition to the general tasks of an ARC node, the German ARC node focusses on several specific areas of expertise including:

  • The development of advanced data analysis tools
  • Maintainance and upgrade of the Cologne Database for Molecular Spectroscopy (CDMS)
  • Polarization calibration and observation optimization
For more background on the node, please go to 'About the German ARC node'.

Contact the German ARC node

German ARC node newsletter

 If you wish to stay informed about the latest ALMA developments, calls for proposals, data releases, conferences/workshops and other information relevant to the German ALMA community, please join the mailing list or visit the mailing list archive. More information on the mailing list such as a short description and an alternative way of subscribing to it can be found here.

Recent News:

2013 European Radio Interferometry School - ERIS 2013

[22 March 2013] This school is the fifth of a series of summer schools supported by RadioNet. ERIS will provide a week of lectures and tutorials on how to achieve scientific results from radio interferometry.[more ...]

UK National Astronomy Meeting NAM2013

[22 March 2013] The UK National Astronomy Meeting will take place in St. Andrews, Scotland, from 1-5 July 2013. There are two sessions focusing on ALMA science. [more ...]

Science with ALMA Band 2 Workshop

[22 March 2013] ALMA Band 2 covers 65 GHz to about 90 GHz (3.3 - 4.6 mm wavelength). The workshop is to discuss and develop the science case for Band 2 in preparation for the future funding of the design and development of receivers for this band.[more ...]

myXCLASS-Interface for CASA

[21 February 2013] A new toolbox containing an interface for the model optimizer package MAGIX (modeling and analysis generic interface for external numerical codes). [more ...]

CASA 4.0.1 fixes serious bug

[21 February 2013] A serious bug was reported in the CASA-4.0 release. The CASA team have analyzed the error and found an inconsistency in the uvw sign convention in CASA. [more ...]

First announcement: Science with ALMA band 11

[23 January 2013] Open workshop: SCIENCE WITH ALMA BAND 11. Queen's College, University of Oxford, UK, March 19th-20th, 2013. [more ...]

CASA 4.0.0 released

[23 January 2013] Linux and Mac distributions of CASA 4.0.0 have been released and can now be downloaded from the CASA webpage. [more ...]

First ALMA science data have become public

[23 January 2013] It is ALMA policy to make all science data public after a proprietary period of (usually) one year. [more ...]


More news about ALMA and the German ARC node can be found at the bottom of this page and in the menu on the left.

ARTIST

 Within the framework of the ASTRONET programme, "Common Tools for Future Large Submillimeter Facilities", we have initiated a project, "Adaptable Radiative Transfer Innovations for Submillimeter Telescopes (ARTIST)", to develop a next generation model suite for comprehensive multi-dimensional radiative transfer calculations of the dust and line emission, as well as their polarization.
More information on the project can be found at the ARTIST homepage.

CATS

 The CATS program ("Coherent Set if Astrophysical Tools for Spectroscopy") uses a flexible modeling tool (MAGIX) which provides a connection between existing numerical codes and model parameters. Many models, including non-astrophysical ones, can be incorporated to MAGIX so as to explore their parameter space. The CATS program was developed within the framework of ASTRONET at the University of Cologne.

CDMS

 The Cologne Database for Molecular Spectroscopy (CDMS) provides a molecular line catalogue in the millimeter and sub-millimeter frequency range, making a large database available to all users. It is part of the European project VAMDC (Virtual Atomic and Molecular Data Centre) and is maintained by the University of Cologne.

Practical Radio-Interferometry Lectures

 A lecture series on practical issues of radio interferometry and a hands-on tutorial on data reduction with AIPS and CASA, held from October 2011 to February 2012.

ALMA/ARC News

 ALMA Update: End of Cycle 0 and start of Cycle 1
New server hardware for the German ARC node
ARTIST Radiative Transfer package released
Results of the Proposal Review Process released
New installment of Science Verification data
ESO Science Release eso1239: Surprising Spiral Structure around R Scl
International ALMA conference "The first year of ALMA science"
ALMA splinter meeting at the AG meeting in Hamburg
ALMA Cycle 1 Call for Proposals now closed
Third batch of Science Verification data available
Pre-announcement of ALMA Cycle 1 Science Observations
German ALMA Community Days 2012
Cycle 0 status report and timeline for Cycle 1
ALMA at the Germany-UK Astronomy Meeting and RAS National Astronomy Meeting
New Science Verification data released
Early Science has started!
ALMA at the meeting of the Astronomische Gesellschaft
ALMA Cycle 0 proposal assessment finished
New Science Verification Data Release
ALMA Cycle 0 proposal submission finished
First European antenna arrives to the AOS
ALMA Science Verification Data Release
ALMA Call for Proposals - Cycle 0
Plan for ALMA Early Science Cycle 0 and Science Verification