May 2023 Fast Turnaround Call for Proposals

Gemini South is accepting proposals for the Fast Turnaround (FT) program.  We are not currently accepting proposals for Gemini North.   Here, we give information specific to this proposal cycle. Please see the other FT pages - particularly the rules - for general information about the program. FT (dual anonymous)-specific proposal templates (GemPhaseI_FT_dual) must now be used for all FT proposals. See the "PIT information" section below. The 2023B PIT must be used.

Important dates

• Proposal deadline: 12:00pm (NOON), Hawaiian Standard Time (HST), May 31.

• Please ensure the latest version of the PIT is used for submission (see the PIT information below).
• Reviews must be completed by 23:59 HST, June 14. If you have submitted a proposal, but by the 2nd of the month have not received an email from FT regarding reviewing proposals, contact FT as soon as possible.
• Results will be announced by June 21, 2023.
• The deadline for preparing observations (Phase II) is June 30. Accepted programs meeting this deadline will be active from 1 July until 30 September 2023.
• FT observations will be merged with the queue and observed on queue nights.

Dual Anonymous Review Process (DARP)

• Since Feb 2021, we have been using a dual anonymous review process. New proposal templates for FT have been updated. DARP compliance is mandatory. Proposals using the wrong template will be removed from consideration.  Proposals that do not follow all the DARP guidelines will either be removed from consideration or sent to the directorate for review.  
• Guideline for PIs
  • Enter information of the proposing team with the Phase I Tool (PIT) as usual.
  • Use the FT specific template.
  • The proposal template has been updated to be compliant with DARP since Feb 1, 2021
  • Avoid mentioning names and affiliations of the team in the PDF attachment that could be used to identify the proposing team.
  • Avoid claiming ownership of past work. (E.g., “my successful Gemini program in the previous semester (GS-18A-xxx)”, or “our analysis shown in Doe et al. 2020…”)
  • Including text in proposals discussing previous use of Gemini is ok, as long as that work is not referenced and program IDs are not listed.
  • Cite references in passive third person, e.g., “Analysis shown in Doe et al. 2020”, including references to data and software.
  • Do describe the proposed work, e.g., “We propose to do the following…”, or “We will measure the effects of …”
  • Unpublished work can be referred to as “obtained in private communication” or “from private consultation”.
• Guideline for Reviewers
  • Accept the assigned proposals based on abstracts whether you can provide an unbiased review or not.
  • Review proposals solely based on the scientific merit of what is proposed.
  • Do not spend any time attempting to identify the PI or the team. Even if you think you know, you can be wrong.
  • Utilize neutral pronouns (they/the PI/the team) when you write comments.
  • Flag the proposals that have not been sufficiently anonymized but DO NOT penalize them by lowering grades. (The FT support team will check the flagged proposals and send any violations to the Gemini Directorate for review.)  
• More detailed guidelines can be found on the FT webpage. 

Eligibility

• PIs from all participant countries (except Chile) taking part in the FT program may apply for this cycle.
• Chile has withdrawn from Fast Turnaround since 2021A.
• Japanese community PIs may submit proposals for this cycle.  In agreement with Subaru Observatory, starting with the September 2021 CfP, Japanese community proposers may only apply for up to 4 hrs of time on a single proposal (and no more than 4hrs total will be awarded to Japanese community PIs in a cycle) and only on odd numbered cycles. Japanese proposals will only be accepted in Call for Proposals for months: Jan/Mar/May/July/Sep/Nov.  
• PIs from participant countries whose FT time for the semester has been used up should not apply for the remainder of the semester. At this point, BR has used up its time for 23A. AR has only 2.2h available at GS for 23A. Note that some participant countries only have very small amounts of FT time available each semester.  See Rule #4 and Q&A for more information.

Acceptable RA ranges

• Gemini North: N/A
• Gemini South: Targets from about RA = 11.5 hr to 6.5 hr are acceptable during this cycle. Note that RAs near 11.5h will only be accessible for a couple hours during the first half of the first month (July) and only at favorable declinations (Dec< 0) . Likewise, RAs near 6.5h will only be accessible for a couple hours during the final month (September) and again only in the above declination range. Note Rule #9; an FT program may not fully backload its three-month active period; at least one of its targets must be observable during its first active month.

Available instruments and observing modes

Gemini North

• N/A

Gemini South

• GMOS-S and F2 are available this cycle.  GMOS-S is expected to be unavailable for at least the first half of July.  
• IGRINS and Zorro will also be available for some parts of this cycle, but please contact the FT team in advance with any specific questions (Fast.Turnaround at gemini.edu).  
• F2 MOS is limited by the number of masks that can be inserted in the instrument and is not offered every FT cycle. It is offered in this cycle. Please read about its capabilities carefully. Since pre-images will be needed for most programs, F2 MOS targets are further restricted between RA 16 hr and 2.5 hr in this cycle.  Please contact the Fast Turnaround team before submission if you believe you will not need pre-imaging.  A maximum of 8 masks can be installed in the instrument.  
• Make sure to check the 23A instrument schedule for the detailed availabilities, including for GMOS-S.  The 23B instrument schedule (for August-Sept) is not yet available but it is expected that GMOS-S and F2 will be available.  
• GeMS/GSAOI are not offered via FT.

Both telescopes

• FT observations may not be executed during classical observing, or priority visitor (PV), depending on the prevailing conditions.
• For visiting instruments not listed above, please contact the FT team to check availability (Fast.Turnaround at gemini.edu).
• The R600 grating in each GMOS instrument is NOT offered for FT (or regular queue) observations.
• MOS observations are available for FT, subject to some caveats/restrictions.
• As discussed in the rules and Q&A, please contact the Fast Turnaround team in advance of the deadline if you would like to propose for an unusual instrument configuration or observing mode.

Time available

• Up to 20 (17.5) hrs per cycle at GN (GS) is available for FT observations. Very roughly, this implies:
  • 4 (3.5) hrs of 20%-ile conditions (IQ=20, for example; see this web page)
  • 10 (9) hrs of 50%-ile conditions
  • 14 (12) hrs of 70%-ile conditions
  • 17 (15) hrs of 85%-ile conditions
• PIs may propose for up to the amount of time in their most restrictive observing conditions, subject to partner's time availability - see rule #4. For example, a proposal requesting CC50 IQ20 SB50 WVany conditions can request no more than 4 (3.5) hrs of observing time at a single telescope.

PIT information

• Proposals must be submitted using the version of the Phase I Tool specified on this web page. 
• In the Time Requests tab, select "Fast Turnaround Observing at Gemini" as the proposal class and specify the reviewer (and mentor, if appropriate). Note that this is where the reviewer is defined; changes cannot be made after the proposal has been submitted.
• For the pdf attachment to the proposal, the dedicated LaTeX/Word template specifically for FT proposals must be used: tex | sty | doc. This is compulsory for all FT proposals.
• Submitting the same proposal more than once during a given month (e.g. after correcting/editing a submitted version) should be avoided if at all possible. Only submit when you are sure your proposal is ready to be reviewed.