3.4 Archival Research (AR) Proposals

Observations in the HST Data Archive that are no longer proprietary (see Section 1.4.7) are available for analysis by interested scientists through direct retrieval (which is free and does not involve financial support). The HST Archival Research (AR) program can provide financial support for the analysis of the data. An AR proposal must request a specific amount of funding (see Section 8.6.3) and must provide a narrative that describes the proposed use of the funds (see Section 9.7). Detailed budgets are not requested in Phase I, but are due in Phase II only (as is the case for GO and SNAP proposals; see Chapter 12 for details). Proposals for AR funding are considered at the same time, and by the same reviewers, as proposals for observing time. Observing and AR proposals are compared competitively on the basis of scientific merit.

Only U.S. Investigators (as defined in Section 12.2) are eligible for funding of Archival Research.

An Archival Research proposal may be submitted by a non-U.S. PI if there are one or more U.S. CoIs who request funding.

HST has produced an extraordinary quantity of high-quality observations over its thirteen years in orbit. The category of Regular AR proposals (see Section 3.4.1) has existed for many cycles. To encourage fuller use of available data and to achieve the full potential of the Data Archive, the opportunities for large-scale archival research were expanded in Cycle 11 with the introduction of the category of Legacy AR proposals ( Section 3.4.2).

3.4.1 Regular AR Proposals

The general goal of a Regular AR proposal is to analyze a subset of data from the HST Archive to address a specific scientific issue. The analysis must improve on the previous use(s) of the data, or the scientific questions that are being addressed must differ from those tackled by the original programs that obtained the data.

There is no limit to the amount of funding that may be requested for a Regular AR program. The majority of the awards in recent cycles have been under $100,000, with a median around $50,000. However, STScI actively encourages the submission of more ambitious AR programs for which larger amounts of funding may be justified. For reference, 41 Regular AR proposals were approved in Cycle 12.

An AR proposal will be considered to be a Regular AR proposal, unless it is identified in the 'Special Proposal Types' section of the proposal (see Section 8.10) as a Legacy AR or Theory proposal.

3.4.2 Legacy AR Proposals

A Legacy AR project is defined by the following characteristics:

• The project should perform a homogeneous analysis of a well-defined subset of data in the HST Archive.
• The main goal should be to provide a homogeneous set of calibrated data and/or ancillary data products (catalogs, software tools, web interfaces etc.) to the scientific community.
• The results of the project should enable a variety of new and important types of scientific investigations.

The main difference between a Regular and a Legacy AR project is that the former aims at performing a specific scientific investigation, while the latter will in addition create data products and/or tools for the benefit of the community. While Legacy proposals will be judged primarily on the basis of scientific merit, the importance and broad applicability of the products produced by the Legacy program will be key features in judging the overall scientific merit of the proposal.

It is a strict requirement for Legacy AR proposals that the proposed data products be created and distributed to the community in a timely manner. Data products should also be delivered to STScI in suitable digital formats, to allow dissemination via the HST Data Archive or related channels.

It is anticipated that Legacy AR proposals will be larger in scope and requested funds than most Regular AR proposals. While there is no lower limit on the requested amount of funding, it is expected that most proposals will require at least $100,000, and possibly up to a few times more than this, to accomplish their goals. Commensurate with the expected scope, Legacy AR proposals are allowed to be multi-year projects, although this is not a requirement. Multi-year projects will be funded on a yearly basis, with continued funding beyond the first year subject to a performance review. Legacy AR proposals will be evaluated by the TAC (see Section 6.1.2) in conjunction with Large and Treasury GO programs (see Section 3.2.2 and Section 3.2.4).

For reference, four AR Legacy proposals were approved in Cycle 11 and none in Cycle 12. Descriptions of these programs are available on the HST Treasury/Large/Legacy Programs Web Page.

Legacy AR Proposals must be identified in the 'Special Proposal Types' section of the proposal (see Section 8.10).

The 'Scientific Justification' section of the proposal (see Section 9.1) should include a description of the scientific investigations that will be enabled by the final data products, and their importance. The 'Analysis Plan' section of the proposal (see Section 9.6) should not only describe the plans for data analysis, but should also discuss the data products that will be made available to STScI and the community, the method of dissemination, and a realistic time line.

3.4.3 Guidelines for AR Proposals

Please consider the following when developing your AR Proposal:

• Any data that you wish to analyze must reside (or be expected to reside) in the Archive, and be released from proprietary rights, by the start of Cycle 13 (July 2004, nominally).
• Programs that require funding for Archival Research and also new observations should be submitted as two separate proposals: one requesting funding for the Archival Research, and the other proposing the new observations. The proposals should refer to each other so that the reviewers will be aware that the proposals are part of the same project.
• Investigators are allowed to submit an AR proposal to analyze data that was obtained in a previous GO program on which they were themselves PI or CoI, but only if the goals of the AR proposal differ significantly from those for which GO-funding was awarded previously.
• STScI encourages the submission of AR proposals that combine HST data with data from other space-missions or ground-based observatories, especially those data contained in the Multimission Archive at STScI(MAST). Also, STScI is actively participating in plans for a National Virtual Observatory (NVO), and any (pilot) programs that tie in with the NVO effort are particularly encouraged; see the Virtual Observatory Forum Web Page for information. Note however that HST data must form the primary focus of any AR proposal; requests for support of AR programs using data primarily from other missions should follow the guidelines in the appropriate NASA Research Announcements.

3.4.4 Suggestions for AR Proposals

STScI would like to point out in particular the following rich sources of information for Archival Research:

• The data obtained in the context of the HST Archival Pure Parallel Program (see Section 4.2.2).
• The data obtained for the Hubble Deep Field (HDF) and Hubble Deep Field-South (HDF-S).
• The data obtained in the context of the HST Treasury Programs. Descriptions of these programs are available on the HST Treasury/Large/Legacy Programs Web Page.