ALMA Tutorials draft

Introduction

This page contains tutorials to guide ALMA users through some common types of data imaging and analysis using CASA with example ALMA datasets. Here are some links to get started:

ALMA Science homepage

CASA homepage: includes download and installation information
CASA Docs
CASA Tips
Getting Started in CASA

To cite CASA, please use:
\bibitem[CASA Team et al.(2022)]{2022PASP..134k4501C} CASA Team, Bean, B., Bhatnagar, S., et al.\ 2022, PASP, 134, 114501. doi:10.1088/1538-3873/ac9642

File:Pipeline logo.png

To cite the ALMA pipeline, please use:
\bibitem[Hunter et al.(2023)]{2023PASP..135g4501H} Hunter, T.~R., Indebetouw, R., Brogan, C.~L., et al.\ 2023, PASP, 135, 074501. doi:10.1088/1538-3873/ace216

Basic Imaging and Analysis

ALMA data are delivered to users with calibrations applied and they are ready for imaging. The following "First Look" tutorials provide short examples of common next steps a user may take with their calibrated data. These guides use an example ALMA observation of TW Hydra.

First Look at Imaging (continuum)	This is a really long sentence to force the table to fill the full page width otherwise it looks bad. This is a really long sentence to force the table to fill the full page width otherwise it looks bad.
First Look at Self Calibration	description
First Look at Line Imaging	description
First Look at Image Analysis	description

Older versions of these guides are archived here: ALMA First Look

Advanced Imaging

Modified Pipeline Imaging	This is a really long sentence to force the table to fill the full page width otherwise it looks bad. This is a really long sentence to force the table to fill the full page width otherwise it looks bad.
NA Manual Imaging Templates	This guide describes the template scripts used to manually image data for quality assurance by the North America ALMA Science Center (NAASC).
Automasking	This guide describes how to automatically mask clean regions during non-interactive cleaning.

Jump to special imaging topics from the End to End guides:

End to End Guides (Manual Calibration)

These guides are useful tools for those who would like to learn the process of calibration and imaging in detail. They use publicly-available ALMA Science Verification data that illustrate several different ALMA capabilities. The links below lead to overview pages for each observation. The guides themselves are linked from the overview pages.

AntennaeBand7	Band 7 (345 GHz, 0.87 mm) CO 3-2 spectral line Antennae Galaxy Merger (NGC 4038/4039) North and South mosaics
IRAS16293Band9	Discusses full calibration of 12m interferometry Band 9 (high frequency, 650 GHz, 0.46 mm) data of a protostellar cluster, including inspection of the data for flagging, and plotms commands to recreate plots typically included in a QA2 weblog. Also discusses imaging of mosaic data, including self-calibration and generation of image cubes and moment maps.
M100 Band3	Band 3 (100 GHz, 3 mm) on M100 demonstrates Single Dish (Total Power) data reduction and 12m, 7m, Total Power data combination procedures.
3C286 Polarization	Standard calibrations and polarization calibration (XX, XY, YX, YY) of 3c286 in Band 6 (230 GHz, 1.3 mm), a quasar frequently used as a flux calibrator source. Full Stokes imaging (IQUV), self-calibration, and analysis of polarization intensity and polarization angle using both CARTA and numerical methods.
Sunspot Band6	Band 6 (230 GHz, 1.3 mm) Solar observing techniques Calibration and imaging Helper scripts

Special Topics

Renormalization: A fix for amplitude calibration issues caused by the ALMA normalization strategy for sources with strong line emission.
Data Weights: A guide to CASA data weights and how to ensure they are correct for data combination. Relevant for data from Cycles 0, 1, and 2.
Guide To Simulating ALMA Data: An overview of simulation as it pertains to ALMA.
Simulating Observations in CASA: All simulation guides (for ALMA, VLA, ngVLA, etc.)