Operations and Maintenance of the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA)

国际阿塔卡马大型毫米/亚毫米阵列（ALMA）的建设正在进行中，目前计划在2011年第三季度开始早期科学操作，并计划在2012年第四季度开始全面科学操作。从灵敏度、频率覆盖、分辨率、成像和光谱能力的综合改进来看，ALMA是地面天文学观测能力有史以来取得的最大进步之一，比从配备光电倍增管和照相板的4m级光学望远镜到配备ccd的10m级望远镜的进步还要大。ALMA将解决我们这个时代许多最重要的天体物理学问题，从星系形成的最早时期，到银河系中恒星和行星的详细形成。这样一个变革性的设施将吸引绝大多数天文学界使用ALMA。为了支持这一非常广泛的用户群体充分实现ALMA在科学能力方面的巨大进步，已经制定了与全球ALMA操作计划（AOP）完全一致的具有成本效益的操作模型和计划。AOP经过了几年的国际工作组的广泛审查，并得到了ALMA理事会（ALMA的国际监督机构）的批准。ALMA的运作包括(i)联合ALMA天文台（JAO）在智利开展的设施运作，并得到受奖方和其他国际合作伙伴在当地提供的支持；（ii）由各自的ALMA区域中心（ARC）在ALMA合作伙伴的每个区域支持ALMA的基本核心功能；以及（iii）用户社区的全面科学支持，以实现ALMA的科学承诺。位于弗吉尼亚州夏洛茨维尔NRAO总部的北美ALMA科学中心（NAASC）将为北美ALMA用户社区提供支持。该CSA是将合作协议0223851下的AST-0705244 （SPO-8）合同转让给AUI/NRAO的新合作协议（0836064）。

Construction of the international Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array(ALMA) is underway, with early science operations currently planned to begin inQ3 2011 and full science operations planned for Q4 2012. ALMA is among the largest advances in observational capabilities in ground-based astronomy ever made, larger than the step from 4m-class optical telescopes with photomultipliers and photographic plates to 10m-class telescopes with CCDs, in terms of combined improvements in sensitivity, frequency coverage, resolution, imaging, and spectral capabilities. ALMA will address many of the paramount astrophysical questions of our day, from the earliest epochs of galaxy formation, through the detailed formation of stars and planets in our Galaxy. Such a transformational facility will attract a largemajority of the astronomical community to use ALMA. To support this very broad user community in fully realizing the dramatic advance in scientific capabilities afforded by ALMA, a cost-effective operations model and plan that is fully consistent with the global ALMA Operations Plan (AOP) has been developed. The AOP has been vetted extensively by an international working group over several years and is approved by the ALMA Board, the international oversight body for the ALMA. ALMA operations consists of (i) the facility operations in Chile carried out by the Joint ALMA Observatory (JAO) in cooperation with local support provided by the Awardee and the other international partners, (ii) the support of the basic core functions of ALMA in each region of the ALMA partners by the respective ALMA Regional Center (ARC), and (iii) the full science support of the user communities to realize the scientific promise of ALMA. The North American ALMA Science Center (NAASC), located at the NRAO Headquarters in Charlottesville, VA, will provide the support to the ALMA user community in North America.This CSA is a transfer of award AST-0705244 (SPO-8) under Cooperative Agreement 0223851 into the new Cooperative Agreement for AUI/NRAO (0836064).