MATISSE is the newly commissioned mid-infrared 4-telescope beam combiner for the Very Large Telescope Interferometer. ESO will offer MATISSE with fringe tracking for Science Verification (SV) on four AT nights. While MATISSE has already been offered since Period 103 (starting 1 April 2019), this SV call aims to demonstrate the new capabilities enabled by using GRAVITY as a fringe tracker for MATISSE: updated sensitivity limits and extend spectral coverage.
Call for Science Verification Proposals for GRAVITY for MATISSE (GRA4MAT)
Published: 30 Jan 2020
All astronomers are invited to participate in this opportunity to demonstrate the scientific potential of using MATISSE with a fringe tracker. Proposals will be reviewed by an internal panel and allocated time on the basis of scientific merit and feasibility, as well as the demonstrated ability of the proposing teams to deliver results in a timely way. Proposals will be screened against currently accepted proposals, including MATISSE Guaranteed Time Observations, to avoid duplication.
Proposing teams should carefully read the documentation on VLTI, and MATISSE documentation released with the Period 105 Call for Proposals. Additional information about GRA4MAT (in particular about the sensitivity and spectral range) can be found on the GRA4MAT SV website.
The observations will be conducted in Service Mode. Note that all SV data are made public worldwide immediately after passing the usual quality control checks. The latest version of the MATISSE data reduction pipeline will be available for reduction of the SV data and the SV team will try - on a best efforts basis - to provide pipeline-reduced data to all SV PIs. The reduced data will be made public as well.
The proposals should be submitted using the Phase 1 web interface and selecting "GRA4MAT SV" in the Cycle option. Observations will be carried out during 4 nights with ATs in May 2020.
The deadline for proposal submission is Monday 24 February 2020, 18:00 CET. Please contact gra4matsv@eso.org if you have any questions.