Page History

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1. Overview of MS: check if EB as executed is SRDP compliant (many of these problems may have been caught at the SB submission stage, but some observers may choose to ignore recommendations anyway). If any of the conditions below are violated the pipeline should be run only once and no SRDP QA should be set (jump to step 15):
   1. The EB uses only Ku-band or above for science.
   2. The project is A or B-ranked (check against list with link on this page - or just do all??)
   3. intents for amplitude and gain calibration (and bandpass if needed, fallback is amplitude) all present.
      
   4. the amplitude (flux) calibrator is appropriate for the frequency and configuration (i.e. a good model exists). See  https://science.nrao.edu/facilities/vla/docs/manuals/oss/performance/fdscale
      
   5. all science spw are calibrated
      
   6. gain calibrations are at appropriate intervals for the frequency being observed i.e. <10-60min <12GHz, <2-20min >12GHz, depending on configuration (see https://science.nrao.edu/facilities/vla/docs/manuals/obsguide/calibration#CalibrationCycle for details), and bracket the science observations.
      
   7. appropriate setup scans were performed: see https://science.nrao.edu/facilities/vla/docs/manuals/obsguide/set-up
      
   8. antenna reference pointing calibrations were performed for high frequency (>15GHz) observations.
      
   9. check that the observation has continuum windows (at least 64 MHz bandwidth).
   10. check for missing scans due to system issues (or data fetcher errors)
       
2. hifv_flagdata - online flags. Check the flagging plot for systematic issues and for the fraction of zeros in the data. Notify scientist if >30% flagged.
   
3. hifv_priorcals - check for gain compression due to severe RFI.
4. hifv_testBPdcals - check for Data Transmission System (DTS) problems.
5. hifv_flagbaddef - check that any DTS issues have been flagged.
6. hifv_semiFinalBPdcals - check for any remaining DTS issues.
7. hifv_solint - check solints for calibrators are reasonable (< a few mins for the long interval, > 0.05s for the short interval. Note if the short interval is > the integration time) - if in doubt, e.g. long solint > scan duration, check with a scientist.
8. hifv_fluxboot:
   1. check the input tables look clean 
   2. check that  the model is reasonable and covers all science spws.
   3. make a note of the phase calibrator flux densities.
      
9. hifv_finalcals:
   
   1. check for delay outliers
   2. check for unusual bandpass shapes
   3. check for outlying bandpass phases
   4. phase (short) gain solution: check for large phase scatter
   5. final amp/time: check for outliers >+/-50%
   6. final amp/freq: check that outliers fall into known bad spw
   7. Final phase - check that mean phase is close to zero on the calibrators and not too scattered.
10. hifv_applycals: check end of CASA log and note final % flagged. If over 50%, check with a scientist
11. hifv_plotsummary:
    1. phase vs time plots: check all are centered on zero
    2. amp vs uvwave:
       1. check calibrators are point-like (constant flux) if not, check with a scientist to possibly set a uvrange in flux.csv and rerun.
       2. check there is no evidence of decorrelation (strong "waterfall")
       3. check RFI is fully flagged
    3. amp vs frequency:
       
       1. check for residual RFI on calibrators
       2. check for residual RFI on targets, flag if obvious.
          
12. Update google spreadsheet with run details
    
13. Rerun with additional flagging if needed using script to be supplied by SSA. Can we say that only whole spw if >50% of channels affected, and/or whole antennas will be flagged? If so, DAs may not need to run plotms. Maybe look at wt*amplitude given we are running statwt? Baseline-based flagging too intensive.
    
14. Once satisfied, write a short overall evaluation suitable for archiving and transmission to the PI using the attached template qa_notes.html, and add this to the weblog html directory (as qa_notes.html). Make sure this file is either created by owner vlapipe, or it is chmod'ed to 777 to prevent ingestion problems.
    In the comments section:
    
    • If the EB fails SRDP QA, briefly explain whyNote final QA decision, if fail, briefly give a reason.
      
    • Note any significant problems with data acquisition and telescope hardware.
      
    • Note any manually added flags (at the level of an antenna/spw).
      
    • Add any other comments.
      
15. Trigger archive ingest with script to be supplied by SSA.
    
16. Run cleanup script (to be supplied by SSA) to remove pipeline run after data ingested successfully into the archive.
17. Send user an email via the helpdesk with the summary from step (14) and instructions on how to obtain their calibrated data.
    

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