Management and Operation of the Green Bank Observatory (GBO) and Long Baseline Observatory (LBO), amending AST-0836064 formerly entitled "Management and Operation of NRAO..."

Associated Universities, Inc., Vienna VA

Investigators

Abstract

ABSTRACT AST 0836064 PI: Schreier Associated Universities, Inc. (AUI) will manage the operation of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) from October 1, 2009 to September 30, 2015, maintaining the strong reputation of NRAO as the premier radio astronomy observatory in the world. The research community will be provided cutting-edge capabilities: the Green Bank Telescope (GBT), the most precise filled-aperture, fully steerable radio telescope; the Expanded Very Large Array (EVLA), replacing the Very Large Array, already the most productive radio telescope ever built; the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA), with micro-arcsecond astrometry, the highest resolution imaging telescope at any wavelength; and the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), with unprecedented millimeter-wavelength sensitivity and resolution. All will operate with state-of-the art instrumentation, advanced data processing, and broad user support, enabling the entire astronomy community to address key problems in astronomy and astrophysics. INTELLECTUAL MERIT: The opportunities for astronomy and astrophysics research have never been richer. The unique NRAO radio telescopes will complement the next generation of large ground based optical telescopes and space-based facilities covering the entire electromagnetic spectrum. Together they comprise a comprehensive suite of powerful tools to probe and decipher the full range of outstanding problems, from the origin of planets, stars, quasars and galaxies, to the structure of the Universe and the nature of dark matter and dark energy. Observations with VLBA, EVLA and ALMA will shed new light on exoplanets, and planetary and stellar formation and evolution. EVLA and ALMA will image the gas and dust of the first galaxies near the end of the epoch of reionization and normal galaxies beyond z~1. VLBA microarcsecond astrometry is making possible a new class of precision measurements of the parallax of premain sequence stars, recoil motions of stars in response to exoplanets, the structure of the Galaxy and the dynamics of the Local Group of galaxies. Accurate pulsar timing with the GBT is enabling high precision tests of General Relativity in the strong field limit and detection of the stochastic background of nanoHertz gravitational waves. Multi-epoch high resolution VLBA images will lead to a better understanding of relativistic jets from micro-quasars and supermassive black holes found in Active Galactic Nuclei, along with the nature of gamma-ray bursts seen by the GLAST satellite. GBT will discover new megamasers, and follow-up VLBA observations will provide the angular-diameter distance determination of galaxies in the Hubble flow, leading to a more accurate determination of the Hubble Constant, higher precision determination of cosmological constants, and better constraints on the equation of state of dark energy. BROADER IMPACT: NRAO facilities are used by more than one thousand scientists each year and are available to all scientists based on the intellectual merits of the proposed studies, independent of institutional or national affiliation. NRAO will provide end-to-end user support at its science centers, enabling easy access to its telescope and their data by the entire astronomical community. Calibrated images will be made available in archives accessible to both the broad research community and the public through the Virtual Astronomical Observatory. Astronomy is an important element in meeting national goals related to diversity, science and technology education, and increased U.S. competitiveness. NRAO is attracting an increasingly diverse staff. Through the undergraduate Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) and co-op programs, resident graduate fellowships and external student grants, Green Bank and Socorro summer schools, and competitive postdoctoral Jansky Fellowships, it continues to help train the next generation of scientists. The Green Bank Science Center, the VLA Visitors Center, US-Chile teacher/student exchange programs, and teacher and K-12 education programs, further serve to create a science-literate public.