NIKA2 Homepage

The New IRAM KID Array 2 (NIKA2) is a dual-band camera operating with three frequency-multiplexed kilopixels arrays of Lumped Element Kinetic Inductance Detectors (LEKID) cooled at 150mK. NIKA2 is designed to observe simultaneously the intensity at 1.15 and 2.0 mm. In addition, it allows for polarisation observations at 1.15 mm. NIKA2 is built by an international consortium, led by the Institute Neel (Grenoble, France).

NIKA2 in the web:

• NIKA2 website at IPAG

• NIKA2-internal wiki at IRAM-FR.

NIKA2 Overview

Overview of NIKA2 capabilities

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Open Time Programs

Winter 2017/2018, Summer 2017

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The five Guaranteed Time Large Programs

Listing of the Guaranteed Time Large Programs and abstracts

List of NIKA2 Publications

Listing NIKA2 Publications

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Technical Documentation

• Cryostat & Electronics

  • Pulse Tube Adjustment, M.Calvo, Jan-2017

  • Guide to replace electronic boxes for thermometer readout

  • Instrument-related documentation page

  • Documentation on Cryostat, Cooling procedure, etc. by the Granada Receiver Group (internal)

  • Spectral bands

• Network

  • Computer Network, M.Calvo, June-2017

  • Remote network access to nika2-a computer

• Acquisition and tuning

  • Data Acquisition: HOWTO, M.Calvo, Feb-2017

  • Data Acquisition: Recovery, M.Calvo, Mar-2018

  • Tuning procedure and data flagging description, M.Calvo, Feb-2016

  • Checking Noise traces

• Observations

  • Pool observations provides information on the observing modes offered for NIKA2 and examples of the scripts that you must prepare to observe your project.

  • Observing session provides an example of a typical session with NIKA2 at the 30m telescope.

  • Pointing sources and calibrators provides a list of pointing sources and calibrators.

• Data reduction
  • IDL pipeline

Science runs (Oct-2017 - May-2018)

• Accepted projects in open time and in guaranteed time.

• See the progress of observations in the Pool data base and in TAPAS. Both databases are synchronized and can be used to write/read a logsheet.

• Observing session Page

• 24-31 October 2017 - s17 [= Cryo Run 25, 12^th of NIKA2]

  • Observers and staff at the telescope

  • Daily Reports

  • Day to day logbook : Scan types table, Pipeline RTA logbook (Quicklook plots table)

  • Proposed Technical Observations

• 16-23 January 2018 - w17 Pool #1 [= Cryo Run 27, 14^th of NIKA2]

  • Observers and staff at the telescope

  • Daily Reports

  • Day to day logbook : Pipeline RTA logbook (Quicklook plots table)

  • Calibration : Calibration Observation Plan & Summary

• 13-20 February 2018 - w17 Pool #2 [= Cryo Run 28, 15^th of NIKA2]

  • Observers and staff at the telescope

  • Daily Reports

  • Day to day logbook : Pipeline RTA logbook (Quicklook plots table)

  • Calibration : Calibration Observation Plan & Summary

• 13-20 March 2018 - w17 Pool #3 [= Cryo Run 30, 17^th of NIKA2]

  • Observers and staff at the telescope

  • Daily Reports

  • Day to day logbook : Pipeline RTA logbook (Quicklook plots table)

  • Calibration : Calibration Observation Plan & Summary

• 22-29 May 2018 - w17 Night time Pool #4 [= Cryo Run 31, 18^th of NIKA2]

  • Observers and staff at the telescope

  • Daily Reports

  • Day to day logbook : Pipeline RTA logbook (Quicklook plots table)

  • Calibration : Calibration Observation Plan & Summary

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Commissioning runs

Phase I (October 2015 - April 2017)

• 1^st run of NIKA2 (test): 29-October-2015 till 10-November-2015. Installation, cool down at the 30m, testing/debugging/developing. [= Run 13 of a NIKA instrument]

  • Go to the 1st run Wiki page

  • Private Wiki detailing the organization of the run and the instrument characterization plan

• 2^nd run of NIKA2 (test): 24-November-2015 till 02-December-2015. Continue tests started during run 1, in particular Beam maps and NEFD with the 13 NIKEL boards assembled the last days of run 1. [= Run 14 of a NIKA instrument]

  • Go to the 2nd run Wiki page

• 3^rd run of NIKA2 (test): 12-January-2016 till 01-February-2016. Implementation of new NIKEL boards; the 20 data lines of NIKA2 are foreseen to be plugged simultaneously. With the 3 arrays fully read, continue and redo tests started with runs 1 & 2, in particular Beam maps and NEFD. [= Run 15 of a NIKA instrument]

  • Go to the 3rd run Wiki page

• 4^th run of NIKA2 (test): 1-March-2016 till 15-March-2016. Continue tests started with previous runs, in particular investigate deeper beam patterns (XY focus, beam maps), synchronization, array 1 & 3 performances vs electronic boards, NEFD, mapping strategies. [= Run 16 of a NIKA instrument]

  • Go to the 4th run Wiki page

• Dark run: 4-May-2016. Test sensitivity of NIKA2 to external electromagnetic perturbations, with the entrance window of the cryostat closed. [= Run 17 of a NIKA instrument]

• 5^th run of NIKA2 (test): 16-September-2016 till 11-October-2016. Upgrade NIKA2 with new dichroic, new corrugated lenses and window, new 2mm array, new NIKEL boards (get the 20 lines with homogeneous electronics, v3); redo better the tests started with previous runs (mostly beam maps in best weather conditions, but also various types of scan to investigate deeper beams and noise, synchronization, NEFD, skydips, mapping strategies, possibly polarization. [= Run 18 of a NIKA instrument]

  • Go to the 5th run Wiki page

• 6^th run of NIKA2 (test): 25-October-2016 till 1-November-2016. Continue NIKA2 commissioning. [= Run 19 of a NIKA instrument]

  • Go to the 6th run Wiki page

• 7^th run of NIKA2 (test): 6-December-2016 till 13-December-2016. Test DRO based external calibrator, continue NIKA2 commissioning. [= Run 20 of a NIKA instrument]

  • Go to the 7th run Wiki page

• 8^th run of NIKA2 (test): 9-January-2017 to 13-January-2017, then 23-January to 27-January. Reverse array 1 lens to smooth version + adjust fixation of cold mirrors block (M7-M8) to get better radio alignment of the internal optics (degraded during run 5 intervention), short test on sky to see effect of the intervention. [= Run 21 of a NIKA instrument]

  • Go to the 8th run Wiki page

• 9^th run of NIKA2 (test): 21-February-2017 to 28-February-2017. Resume NIKA2 commissioning after run 8 intervention. [= Run 22 of a NIKA instrument]

  • Go to the 9th run Wiki page

• 10^th run of NIKA2 (test): 18-April-2017 to 25-April-2017. End of commissioning phase 1, science verification. [= Run 23 of a NIKA instrument]

  • Go to the 10th run Wiki page

Phase II (June, November 2017; March, June 2018)

• 11^th run of NIKA2 (test): 8-June-2017 to 13-June-2017. Start commissioning phase 2: polarization. [= Run 24 of a NIKA instrument]

  • Go to the 11th run Wiki page

• 13^th run of NIKA2 (test): 21-November-2017 to 28-November-2017. Continuation of commissioning in polarization mode. [= Run 26 of a NIKA instrument]

  • Go to the 13th run Wiki page

• 16^th run of NIKA2 (test): 6 to 13-March-2018. Continuation of commissioning in polarization mode. [= Run 29 of a NIKA instrument]

  • Go to the 16th run Wiki page

• 12 to 17-June-2018. Continuation of commissioning in polarisation mode.

Support teams

• Overall coordinator:

  • Samuel Leclercq (IRAM/Grenoble, <leclercq@iram.fr>)

• NIKA2 team:

  • Alessandro Monfardini <monfardini@neel.cnrs.fr> (PI, IN)

  • Alain Benoit <alain.benoit@grenoble.cnrs.fr>

  • François-Xavier Désert <francois-xavier.desert@univ-grenoble-alpes.fr> (IPAG)

  • Martino Calvo <martino.calvo@neel.cnrs.fr> (IN)

  • Johannes Goupy <johannes.goupy@neel.cnrs.fr> (IN)

  • Nicolas Ponthieu <nicolas.ponthieu@univ-grenoble-alpes.fr> (IPAG)

  • Juan Macias-Perez <macias@lpsc.in2p3.fr> (LPSC)

  • Andrea Catalano <catalano@lpsc.in2p3.fr> (LPSC)

  • Laurence Perotto <laurence.perotto@lpsc.in2p3.fr> (LPSC)

• IRAM/Granada NIKA2 support team:

  • Carsten Kramer (30m Station Manager and Scheduler, <kramer@iram.es>)

  • Alessia Ritacco (commissioning of polarization capabilities, <ritaccoa@iram.es>)

  • Albrecht Sievers (IMBfits/Data, <sievers@iram.es>)

  • Hans Ungerechts (NCS/pako, <ungerechts@iram.es>)

  • Pablo Mellado, Francesco Pierfederici (Computers/Network, <mellado@iram.es>, <fpierfed@iram.es>)

  • Santiago Navarro, Dave John (Cryostat, <john@ira.es>, <navarro@iram.es>)

• IRAM/Grenoble NIKA2 support team:

  • Samuel Leclercq (Coordinator, Optics <leclercq@iram.fr>)

  • Robert Zylka (Data Processing Software, <zylka@iram.fr>)

  • Eduard Driessen (Detectors, <driessen@iram.fr>)

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Created: 2015.AUG.05 by Israel Hermelo. This page is maintained by AR, SL, CK, and the NIKA2 team.