Insight-HXMT Announcement of Opportunity for Cycle 7 Proposals Dear colleagues, I am pleased to invite you to respond to the 7th “Announcement of Opportunity” by submitting proposals for observations to be performed with the Insight-HXMT satellite. The Insight-HXMT Cycle 7 guest observation program is open completely to the whole international scientific community. Insight-HXMT is China's first X-ray astronomy satellite. It was launched on 15th June 2017 and is currently in service smoothly. There are three main payloads onboard Insight-HXMT, the high energy X-ray telescope (20–250 keV, 5100 cm2), the medium energy X-ray telescope (8–35 keV, 952 cm2), and the low energy X-ray telescope (1–12 keV, 384 cm2). The main scientific objectives of Insight-HXMT are: (1) to scan the Galactic Plane to find new transient sources and to monitor the known variable sources; (2) to observe X-ray binaries to study the dynamics and emission mechanism in strong gravitational or magnetic fields; (3) to monitor and study Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) and Gravitational Wave Electromagnetic counterparts (GWEM). The Insight-HXMT Data Analysis Software (HXMTDAS, V2.05) and the CALDB have been frequently updated and the latest version (V2.05) has been released in February of 2022. In this software version, some bugs have been fixed and some other useful modules have been provided. The new update notes are available on the portal (http://hxmtweb.ihep.ac.cn/documents/646.jhtml). To facilitate the analysis of the GRB data, the Insight-HXMT GRB Data Analysis software (version: beta 1.4) has been released. Users can download Level-1 data products from the Insight-HXMT official website (http://archive.hxmt.cn/proposal ). Members of core science team can apply for the core observation data within the proprietary period; PI of the guest observation can download the corresponding data; the data beyond the proprietary period or ad hoc ToO observation data are open to the public. Up to Mar 31, 2024, 3366 data product and 427 GRB data have been publicly released. The key milestones for this announcements(UTC-8): Proposals Submissions Open time: Apr. 21, 2024 Proposals Due: Jun. 15, 2024 Announcement of accepted proposals: Aug. 30, 2024 Start time of the AO-07 Observations: Sept. 1, 2024 End time of the AO-07 Observations: Aug. 31, 2025 Note: (1) Approximately 47 Ms of exposure time (also called effective observation time; for 50% observation efficiency, the actual observation time is two times longer) will be available in the observing period, in which the ratio for core proposals and guest proposals is 2:3, as shown in Table 1 1. Up to 12 Ms of exposure time will be assigned for non-ToO observations (quiescent or persistent sources) and up to 35 Ms of exposure time would be assigned for ToO observations (transient sources, for whom the probability of the outbursts is approximately 10%). Accepted proposals will be awarded with priority A (30%), B (50%), and C (20%) targets, respectively, and priority C targets will be observed depending on the available time allocation. In addition, up to 2 Ms of exposure time will be reserved for the ad hoc observations, such as not pre-approved ToO or calibration observations. Table 1 1 The assignment of exposure time for different types of proposals. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Type |Exposure time for core proposals(Ms)Non-ToO |Exposure time for guest proposals(Ms)ToO |Total exposure time (Ms) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Core Proposals |4 (2.5 for galactic plane survey) |14 |18 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Guest Proposals |6 |21 |27 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Calibration Proposals|2 |0 |2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (2) The core science group members can submit the guest proposals, and follow the data policy of guest proposals. (3) Proposals for the Galactic Plane scan, background observations and calibration observations are ONLY open to the core science groups now. (4) Joint proposals are open to coordinated observations with other ground- or space-based observatories. If accepted, the proposers should secure the requested observations of other observatories before requesting trigger to Insight-HXMT and coordinate all observations. (5) The data proprietary periods for this AO are one year for approved non-ToO observations and three months for approved ToO observations, if not specified and approved otherwise. (6) “PhD Research Program”: Up to 20% of the data from the regular observations can be made for exclusive-use for PhD research. The PhD supervisors from the core science groups can apply for data protection in the proposals. If approved, the data will be protected during the proprietary periods. (7) Data protection can also be applied to Ad Hoc ToO observations. If approved, the data proprietary period will be three months. Otherwise, Ad Hoc ToO data will be released immediately. (8) Approved but not yet fully executed Priority A non-ToO observations from AO-6 will be moved to AO-7 automatically; the other approved but not yet fully executed AO-6 observations need to be re-proposed with scientific justifications. Useful links: Submit via the website (registration reuired): http://proposal.ihep.ac.cn/proposal.jspx Guide for proposal submission: http://enghxmt.ihep.ac.cn/doc/170.jhtml Observation time estimator: http://proposal.ihep.ac.cn/calc/calc.jsp Target Visibility Predictor: http://proposal.ihep.ac.cn/TargetVisibilityPredictor/ Bright source warning tool: http://proposal.ihep.ac.cn/soft/soft2.jspx Spectrum simulation tool: http://proposal.ihep.ac.cn/soft/user_spec_2020.zip Instructions for proposal submission: http://enghxmt.ihep.ac.cn/doc/170.jhtml Proposal forms download: http://enghxmt.ihep.ac.cn/doc/282.jhtml List of Sources observed: http://hxmten.ihep.ac.cn/ObsSrcList.jhtml Data Policy: http://enghxmt.ihep.ac.cn/policy/174.jhtml Insight-HXMT core team composition and paper authorship rules: http://hxmten.ihep.ac.cn/policy/173.jhtml Insight-HXMT publications: http://hxmten.ihep.ac.cn/papers.jhtml I look forward to receiving your Insight-HXMT proposals. Yours sincerely, Prof. Shuang-Nan Zhang, PI of Insight-HXMT Insight-HXMT Science Center, Institute of High Energy Physics, the Chinese Academy of Sciences Apr. 20, 2024 For any questions, please send emails to: Zheng Shijie:zhengsj@ihep.ac.cn Ou Ge:oug@ihep.ac.cn FAQ & Feedback: http://hxmten.ihep.ac.cn/faq/246.jhtml 慧眼卫星第7轮提案征集公告 各位天文届同仁: 慧眼卫星第7轮提案的征集即将开始,特此邀请各位提交核心和客座观测提案申请慧眼卫星的观测时间。核心观测提案将由慧眼核心科学团队提出,客座观测对全球科学界开放。 “慧眼”硬X射线调制望远镜(Insight-HXMT)卫星(以下简称慧眼卫星)是我国第一颗空间X射线天文卫星,它既可以实现宽波段、大视场的X射线巡天,又能够研究黑洞、中子星等高能天体的短时标光变和宽波段能谱,同时也是大视场(~60%全天)和大面积(0.2-3 MeV,~1000 cm2)的伽马射线暴全天监视器。它包含三个主要的在轨探测器:高能X射线望远镜 (20-250 keV, 5100 cm2),中能X射线望远镜 (8-35 keV, 952 cm2)以及低能X射线望远镜 (1-12 keV, 384 cm2)。 “慧眼”卫星自2017年6月15日于酒泉卫星发射中心发射升空,目前已在轨运行82个月,运行良好(Zhang et al. 2020),正处在第二次延寿阶段。在此期间,慧眼卫星获得了银道面扫描巡天、黑洞、中子星、太阳耀发等大量观测数据,伽马射线暴探测率约80个/年。到目前为止,“慧眼”卫星已经取得了多项有显示度的成果:参与监测了首个双中子星并合引力波事件(GW170817)的电磁对应体;探测到迄今为止最亮的伽马射线暴GRB 221009A;测量到了超过146 keV的中子星磁场回旋吸收线;发现了高于200 keV的黑洞双星系统的准周期振荡;发现了黑洞双星向外高速运动的等离子体流,并且首次在黑洞双星中观测到冕的速度演化;联合地面射电和光学望远镜观测,在黑洞X射线双星MAXI J1820+070中观测到迄今为止磁囚禁盘存在的最直接观测证据,发现了中子星的单个Ⅰ型核爆对吸积盘冕的冷却现象;首次发现并证认了快速射电暴的X射线对应体;首次观测到黑洞“q”图的产生是由于硬X射线辐射演化早于软X射线辐射;探测到第24太阳活动周最大耀斑并揭示非热电子演化;对银盘的扫描监测获得了大量X射线天体的宽波段爆发活动的监测并且发现了多个新变源的候选体;完成了国内最高精度的脉冲星导航试验;还多次参加国际空间和地面联测。这些观测研究表明,“慧眼”卫星不仅能实现其预定的科学目标,而且已经取得了超出预期的重要科学成果。 慧眼的主要科学目标包括: (1)搜寻银盘面上的新的暂现源,监测已知的变源; (2)观测X射线双星以研究强引力场或强磁场中的运动和辐射机制; (3)监测研究伽马射线暴和引力波电磁对应体。 “慧眼”卫星的用户数据分析软件和标定数据库(CALDB)不断完善。利用空天区,Cas A、Crab星云及脉冲星等观测数据不断监测载荷性能的变化,持续更新标定数据库。用户数据分析软件会检索适合该次观测的标定文件并产生正确的响应文件。同时,本底模型考虑了更多的相关因素,有效提高了本底估计的精度。2023年12月,用户分析软件V2.06版本和最新CALDBV2.07正式发布,该版本修正了软件中的一些缺陷,并提供了更多的功能模块,标定和本底参数也有所更新。更新说明可以在门户网站进行查询(http://hxmtweb.ihep.ac.cn/documents/849.jhtml)。此外,为了方便用户利用慧眼卫星开展伽马暴研究,慧眼卫星的伽马暴观测数据已经发布,伽马暴数据分析软件beta 1.4版已于2020年11月发布。 “慧眼”卫星网站为科学用户提供了1级数据产品的下载服务(http://archive.hxmt.cn/proposal )。核心科学组成员可以在线申请保护期内的核心观测数据;客座观测提案PI可以下载相应的提案观测数据;临时ToO和超过保护期的观测数据可公开下载。截止2024年3月31日,网站已提供3981个观测的数据产品以及累计526个伽马暴观测数据的公开下载。 提案征集的主要时间节点(以下均为北京时间): 观测提案征集开始时间:2024年4月21日零时 观测提案征集截止时间:2024年6月15日24时 观测提案评审结果发布时间:2024年8月30日 本轮提案观测开始时间:2024年9月1日 本轮提案观测结束时间:2025年8月31日 注:以上时间均为北京时间。 几点说明: (1) 本次共征集47兆秒的有效观测时间(也就是对目标的曝光时间,按照50%观测效率,有效观测时间=曝光时间=实际观测时间/2),核心提案和客座提案的比例为2:3。具体时间分配如下表所示,其中非ToO观测(非暴发源或暂现源)12兆秒,ToO观测35兆秒(预估约10%的爆发几率)。批准的观测时间中A类观测占30%,B类观测占50%,C类观测占20%,其中C类观测将视年度观测执行情况进行,不确保观测。另外,预留出约2兆秒用于临时ToO观测和临时标定观测。 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 提案类型 |批准曝光时间(兆秒)非ToO观测 |批准曝光时间(兆秒)ToO观测 |总曝光时间(兆秒) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Core Proposals |4 (2.5 for galactic plane survey) |14 |18 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Guest Proposals |6 |21 |27 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Calibration Proposals |2 |0 |2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (2) 核心观测提案指“慧眼”核心科学组统一提交的观测提案。由各核心科学工作组在组内讨论确定后,由组长统一提交。在数据保护期内,数据使用权在提案所在核心工作组内共享。 (3) 客座观测提案指响应慧眼卫星征集客座观测提案的通知提出的、不与慧眼卫星核心科学目标重叠的观测提案申请。客座观测对全球开放,不限定国别,也没有预先时间分配。核心科学组成员可以个人名义提交观测提案,该提案将按照客座观测提案进行评审和执行。 (4) 涉及到银道面扫描观测的提案为核心观测提案,暂不开放为客座提案。 (5) 多波段联合观测是指慧眼卫星与地面望远镜或者其他在轨卫星联合观测目标天体。申请人可以申请多波段联合观测的观测提案,并在申请获批后负责协调各个设备的观测时间。考虑到我国主导的EP卫星已经发射运行,本轮以及后续的提案征集中,将分配一部分时间保证HXMT-EP联合观测,因此特别鼓励HXMT-EP联合观测提案。 (6) 除非特别说明,本轮观测提案中的非ToO观测的数据保护期为1年,ToO观测的数据保护期为3个月。 (7) 设置“博士生研究计划”,常规观测中20%的数据可申请数据保护,用于博士生毕业论文研究选题。由其博士生导师在提案申请书中提出数据保护申请及保护期限,获批准的数据在保护期内不公开发布。 (8) 非本轮征集(临时提交)观测提案中的ToO观测数据也可申请数据保护,如获批准,数据保护期为3个月,否则在完成预处理后立即发布。 (9) 对于上一轮观测提案中获得批准但是尚未实施的观测,除了A类非ToO观测外,在本轮中都不保留,需要重新申请。 常用链接: 提案提交界面(需要注册):http://proposal.ihep.ac.cn/proposal.jspx 提案填写指南:http://hxmten.ihep.ac.cn/doc/170.jhtml 有效曝光时间估计:http://proposal.ihep.ac.cn/calc/calc.jsp 源可见度估计:http://proposal.ihep.ac.cn/TargetVisibilityPredictor/ 视场附近亮源情况估计:http://proposal.ihep.ac.cn/soft/soft2.jspx 能谱模拟工具:http://proposal.ihep.ac.cn/soft/user_spec_2020.zip 提案及目标源可行性分析模板:http://hxmtweb.ihep.ac.cn/doc/281.jhtml 已观测源列表:http://hxmtweb.ihep.ac.cn/ObsSrcList.jhtml 慧眼卫星已发表文章列表:http://hxmtweb.ihep.ac.cn/papers.jhtml 数据发布与下载:http://archive.hxmt.cn/proposal HXMT卫星数据管理办法:http://hxmtweb.ihep.ac.cn/policy/83.jhtml 慧眼卫星核心科学研究团队的组成、职责及权利,以及论文署名规则: http://hxmtweb.ihep.ac.cn/policy/84.jhtml 再一次欢迎和感谢各位同仁使用慧眼卫星开展科学研究。 张双南 慧眼卫星首席科学家 中国科学院高能物理研究所慧眼卫星科学中心 2024年4月20日 如有问题,请联系: 郑世界:zhengsj@ihep.ac.cn 欧歌:oug@ihep.ac.cn 常见问题及反馈: http://hxmten.ihep.ac.cn/faq/246.jhtml