Director's Discretionary Time Proposals

Which proposals qualify for a DDT request

A small fraction of the available observing time at the Plateau de Bure interferometer and the 30-meter telescope can be assigned to Director's Discretionary Time Proposals (DDT).

A DDT proposal must fulfill at least one of the following criteria:

• Proposals of Target-of-Opportunity (ToO) nature requiring the immediate observation of an unanticipated, short-lived astronomical event;
• Proposals that are urgent either addressing highly competitive scientific topics or asking for observations that will lead to break-through results or requesting follow-up observations of recent discoveries using ground or space facilities that require urgent complementary IRAM data.
• Proposals testing news ideas or including an element of risk, that can be tested with small amounts of observing time
   

How to submit a DDT Proposal

DDT proposals may be submitted any time. They must be written using the regular 30-meter or Plateau de Bure interferometer proposal template and should be sent as an e-mail attachment (tex file AND postscript file) to ddt@iram.fr, specifying in the subject field of the e-mail: DDT Proposal for the 30-meter telescope / Plateau de Bure interferometer.

DDT proposals should include a clear justification why the program should be considered for DDT allocation and was not submitted for the regular proposal deadline.

Please indicate on the proposal cover page if the proposed DDT observations are related to a previous or an on-going IRAM program. If so, the corresponding proposal number should be indicated.

Proposal evaluation

DDT proposals will be evaluated in swift manner, in particular the ToO proposals. For other DDT proposals provide a minimum of two weeks notice for the time requested.

Please note that within one month following the observations, the PI of an accepted DDT proposal should submit a feedback report to the IRAM Director (ddt@iram.fr).