ESO
The central EU ARC node is located at ESO in Garching. The central ARC is responsible for the preparation of the call for proposals, quality assurance and delivery of data to users, the maintenance and development of the ALMA data archive, guide the scientific requirements of the software relevant for ALMA science operations, and running the Helpdesk. It furthermore provides support towards ALMA operations, commissioning and development, and coordinates the science support provided by the regional nodes and centres of expertise.
The German ARC node
The German ARC node is hosted by the astronomical institutes at the universities of Bonn and Cologne, with the headquarters at the Argelander-Institut für Astronomie in Bonn. Besides face-to-face and remote user support, the German node offers training opportunities, provides IT infrastructure for ALMA-related work, organizes community events and engages in public outreach. The node's special expertise include mmVLBI, the combination of interferometric data with single-dish data as well as advanced analysis and modelling of spectral line data. The node maintains and continuously extends the Cologne Database for Molecular Spectroscopy and offers a number of data analysis tools developed in-house. The German ARC node representative is Frank Bertoldi.
Allegro
Allegro provides general user support for the ALMA community and offers expert help on high-frequency ALMA observations, and science analysis tools. The Allegro representative is Michiel Hogerheijde.
The Czech ARC node
The Czech ARC node is hosted as a national research infrastructure at the Astronomical Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences and provides support to the ALMA user community fo central and eastern Europe. The node has significant expertise in the scientific and technical support of solar and (extra) galactic research with ALMA. The Czech node is the unique solar support location within the European ALMA network. The Czech ARC node representative is Pavel Jachym.
The Nordic ARC node
The mission of the Nordic ARC node is to provide full user support for ALMA users in the Nordic and Baltic countries. The Nordic node develops and supports software tools for analysis of interferometric data and also supports the development of tools by the user community. The node is hosted by Onsala Space Observatory, part of Chalmers University of Technology. The Nordic ARC node representative is Carmen Toribio.
The UK ARC node
The UK ALMA node is hosted by the Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics at the University of Manchester, part of the Interferometer Centre of Excellence providing user support for ALMA, e-MERLIN, EVN, and other major interferometer facilities. As well as a team of support staff for all UK PI ALMA programmes, the Node provides dedicated high-end computer facilities for enhanced data reduction and analysis of major programmes and consortia which we are also able to host. The UK ARC node representative is Tom Muxlow.
The IRAM ARC node
IRAM has established an ALMA user support centre, which forms a node of the European ALMA Regional Centre (ARC). The IRAM ARC node is open to all interested scientists, with an emphasis on the IRAM community (France, Germany, and Spain). The role of the ARC node is to provide direct user support, including training and schools, assistance in the preparation for observing proposals and setups, and data processing. IRAM operates the NOEMA interferometer and the 30-m telescope, develops the GILDAS software tools and was involved in the construction of ALMA. The IRAM ARC node shares the existing user support facilities with the NOEMA interferometer and benefits from the in-house expertise in millimeter interferometry. The IRAM ARC node representative is Frédéric Gueth.
The Italian ARC node
The Italian ARC node is hosted by the INAF-Istituto di Radioastronomia in Bologna. Support is offered with proposal preparation and submission, tracking of accepted ALMA projects, data reduction with CASA, face-to-face visits, and with ALMA archive mining, polarimetry and mm-VLBI with ALMA, our three areas of expertise.
The Italian ARC node also investigates new techniques of data reduction and handling and is heavily involved in the development of the ALMA science data archive. It organizes seminars, tutorials and workshops to inform and train the Italian community and to stimulate scientific discussion and collaborations. ARC personnel is involved (sub-)millimetre scientific projects and in teaching and supervising students. The Italian ARC node representative is Jan Brand.