NOEMA/LLAMA commissioning plan & the millimetric emission of the proto-planetary nebula CRL618

• Grant number: 15/12001-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor
• Effective date (Start): October 01, 2015
• Effective date (End): July 31, 2016
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Astronomy - Stellar Astrophysics
• Principal Investigator: Zulema Abraham
• Grantee: Pedro Paulo Bonetti Beaklini
• Supervisor: Roberto Neri
• Host Institution: Instituto de Astronomia, Geofísica e Ciências Atmosféricas (IAG). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Research place: Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM), France
• Associated to the scholarship: 14/07460-0 - Targets for LLAMA: study of variability of radio sources at 43 GHz (band 1) and search for correlation with interferometric images, BP.PD

Abstract

The Commissioning and Science Verification (CSV) phase of a telescope is a very important and fundamental step in the process of preparing and supporting the scientific mission of an observatory. The LLAMA observatory, a joint project between Brazil and Argentina located on the Argentine side of the Atacama Desert, will harbor a 12 m antenna. The antenna is under-construction by Vertex and is scheduled for delivery in the first semester of 2016. After its physical installation, its performance will be verified and validated according to technical specifications. This involves a sequence of observations on the sky to check the surface quality of the primary mirror, the antenna pointing and focusing accuracy, receiver sensitivity and stability, etc. To ensure a successful preparation for CSV and a timely delivery of LLAMA for scientific operation, we deem it necessary to actively participate in the CSV operations of the next IRAM 15 m NOEMA antenna. Such cooperation is considered essential to establish and implement a comprehensive commissioning plan for LLAMA, which, according to the current timeline should start in the second semester of 2016, shortly after the BEPE period. Beyond the technical aspects, we will also lead a scientific research project centered on the physics of proto-planetary nebulae. We plan to calibrate, reduce and analyze recent observations made with NOEMA of the rapidly evolving proto-planetary nebula CRL618, a C-rich star surrounded by a circumstellar shell with a very complex chemical, dynamic and morphological structure. (AU)