Proposing
ALMA Cycle 9 Call for Proposals is now closed
ALMA Cycle 9 is scheduled for observations from October 2022 to September 2023. Users of any nationality or affiliation are invited to submit proposals before the deadline.The Cycle 9 proposal submission deadline was 15:00 UT on Thursday, 21 April 2022.
For Cycle 9, the JAO anticipates having 4300 hours of approved science time on each of the 12-m, 7-m, and the Total Power arrays. Together, the 7-m Array and Total Power Array form the Atacama Compact Array (ACA), also known as the Morita Array. Projects with observations in the highest-frequency Bands 8, 9, and 10 are strongly encouraged.
Cycle 9 will not include a Supplemental CfP for stand-alone ACA observations. The community is encouraged to submit ACA standalone projects, especially in the LST range of 20h to 10h, for the April 2022 deadline.
Find more details here.
| Date | Milestone |
| 24 March 2022 | Release of Cycle 9 CfP, Observing Tool, and supporting documents, and opening of the Archive for proposal submission |
| 21 April 2022 (15:00 UT) | Proposal submission deadline |
| August 2022 | Announcement of the outcome of the proposal review process |
| October 2022 | Start of Cycle 9 science observations |
| September 2023 | End of ALMA Cycle 9 |
The proposal types in Cycle 9 will be the same as in Cycle 8 2021. Principal Investigators submitting a proposal to ALMA for Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) observations in ALMA Band 3 made in concert with the Global mm-VLBI Array (GMVA) at 3 mm must also submit a proposal to the GMVA by its 1 February 2022 deadline.
In the main 12-m Array, antenna configurations C-1 to C-10, with maximum baselines between 0.16 and 16.2 km, will be offered.
For Cycle 9 the JAO will only issue a Supplemental Call for the ACA in stand-alone mode if needed for scheduling purposes. Therefore, proposers are encouraged to submit ACA stand-alone proposals for the Main Call. In particular, proposers are encouraged to submit ACA stand-alone observations for targets that can be observed in the LST range of 20h to 10h.
New in Cycle 9
The following technical capabilities will be available this Cycle for the first time:
- Solar Total Power regional mapping scans in bands 3, 5, 6, and 7
- VLBI continuum observations in Band 7
- VLBI spectral line observations in Band 3
- High-frequency and long-baseline observations, including Band 8 in configurations up through C-10, Band 9 in configurations up through C-9, and Band 10 in configurations up through C-8
The total time available for projects needing band-to-band phase transfer calibration is expected to be capped at approximately 45 hours.
Updates to the Proposal Review Process
- All proposal requesting less than 50 hours on the 12-m Array, and ACA stand-alone proposals requesting less than 150 hours on the 7-m Array, will be reviewed through the distributed peer review system.
- Large Programs will be reviewed by a panel of experts.
- As done in Cycle 8 2021, all Cycle 9 proposals will be reviewed through a dual-anonymous procedure.