Achievements in reporting period: Last update Dec 16 20:30, reports are in from JIVE, MPI, ASTRON, NRAO, ESO, BORD and 0.5*(UMAN).
List of working documents
Notes on ALBiUS Developers' meeting (Laing)
Main Activities during 2009 Q3 and Q4 and Work Plan for Q1 and Q2:
1.1.1. JIVE: work on interoperability
Python / ParselTongue utilities relating to Wide field imaging and Analysis.
Python / Pyrap utilities that can be used in conjunction with Meqtrees for simulation of interferometry data.
Python / Pyrap module to convert Flag, Tsys and Gain curve data into Measurement Set tables.
1.1.2 ESO Dirk Petry joined the team in October 09
identified main ALBiUS tasks for the coming months FITS IDI to CASA MS conversion. To be used for EVN, VLBA and MERLIN use cases
Produced outline of the AIPS/CASA VLBI interoperability scheme
1.1.2. JIVE: work on parallel processing:
AIPSLite enhancements, including rsync support, 64bit support.
Continued support and bug fixes for ParselTongue
Some issues/requirements regarding FITS-IDI to MeasurementSet conversion have been written down and passed on to ESO.
2.2.1 UMAN Investigating use cases for wide-field, wide-band imaging and limitations of present AIPS and CASA.
Identifying capabilities which are likely to only be offered by one package, or which require interopeability, and the obstacles (e.g. handling of Clean Components).
2.2.2 NRAO Work started on 2.2 Mosaicing by implementing fixes and maintenance
Support/discussions with CASA users working on LOFAR and GMRT data.
2.2.2. ESO testing and improvement of CASA advanced imaging algorithms (A-projection) in mosaicing applications, as required for ALMA, EVLA and e-MERLIN use cases
Set up collaboration with Oxford group on wide field imaging
2.2.4. ASTRON Work has started. The first internal milestone (CASA Imager in distribution framework using MWImager script) was reached.
2.3 BORD work on hiring new staff, local funding secured
3.3.1 MPI initiated hiring
Meetings attended by people involved
MCCT-SKADS Workshop, Nancay. Sept 27 - Oct 10: Bourke (JIVE)
ALBiUS developers meeting, Dwingeloo. 12-13 Oct: Bourke, Cimo, Kettenis (JIVE), Nijboer, van Diepen, Noordam (ASTRON), Elias (NRAO, by telecon), Petry, Laing (ESO)
Problems / Issues
Issues - organizational, administrative or other problems foreseen
General Some institutes appear fairly non-committal towards the project. Nobody seems to own ALBiUS in these places other than the (busy) board member. No other leverage than through the RadioNet board? When is the next board meeting?
NRAO Looking for resources to investigate global fringe fitting algorithms. These were identified in South Africa, but work has not started. Otherwise the delivery will be a task with classical fitting techniques. This will still be a considerable advance as CASA will then be interoperable with VLBI and eMerlin instruments, which require the fringe fitting capability which is otherwise not available within CASA.
1.2 ESO Delay in recruitment, now solved
3.1.2 ASTRON Work within task 3.1.2 (Data inspection) has not started yet.
2.3 BORD Plan shifts 4 months due to late hire
Red flags - major problems
Must formalize collaboration with South Africa urgently
Forward Look
Plan for next quarter/half year– 3 and 6 month outlook, more detail in first 3 months (including budget)
1.1.1 JIVE work on interoperability:
Definition of data reduction use cases.
Packaging software (eg. parseltongue, pyrap) in casa compatible form.
Table conversion software for getting AIPS calibration into Casa.
1.1.2 ESO implementation of FITS IDI import to CASA. It is now scheduled to be included in CASA release 3.1.
1.1.2 JIVE on paralellization:
Merge AIPSlite into ParselTongue; this will greatly ease deployment of AIPS and ParselTongue on HPC clusters.
ParselTongue distribution with enhanced data distribution capability; optimizing data distribution is crucial for efficient parallelisation. At intermediate stages we will distribute only AIPS calibrartion tables instead of full data sets.
Identify project that can benefit from distributed ParselTongue.
2.1 NRAO Planning work on global fringe fitting
Evaluate global fringe fitting algorithms (TBD), target date 1 June 2010.
Implement version of fringe fitting task within CASA sufficient for EVLA/ALMA commissioning and related activities (NRAO), target date 1 October 2010.
Implement VLBI/eMerlin CASA fringe fitting task by augmenting the task developed in Phase 2 (JBO/JIVE), target date 1 April 2011.
Testing/tuning of fringe fitting task (All), 31 December 2011.
2.2 ESO Report on current and proposed mosaic imaging software.
2.2.4 ASTRON will continue to work on task 6.2.5. The next milestone is the ability to make facet corrected images.
Task 3.2.1 (source parametrization) will start in month 13 (January 2010).
2.3 BORD Work to start in Q2 2010
3.1.1 MPI work starts in Q2 implementing Roshi & Perley (2003) multi-rate filtering in DiFX
Expected milestones/deliverables
Nothing to report Must recalculate shifting dates due to various late starts
Expenditures - equipment, material and services
Nothing to report
Person month spent/to be spent until next EC Report
Nothing to report Most partners did not quite understand this question
Number of Persons working in JRA
JIVE Bourke full time (350h), short on matching
MPI few hours/month currently
ASTRON 1.84 man-months in 2009
NRAO work started in October at 1 FTE level
BORD 1 day
UMAN Contributed efforts from Richards, Beswick, Muxlow