Introduction

The Observational Status Summary (OSS) summarizes the instrumental status of the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) for the CnB, B & BnA configurations starting August 23, 2013, and should be used when preparing for proposing for the February 1, 2013 deadline.  For capabilities prior to that date, please consult the previous version of the OSS.

The OSS is intended as a ready reference for those contemplating use of the VLA for their astronomical research. The information is in summary form - those requiring greater detail should consult the VLA's staff members, listed in Key Personnel, or refer to the manuals and documentation listed in Documentation. Most of the information contained here, and much more, is available through the VLA science web pages, and the companion document for the VLBA.

The VLA is a large and complex modern instrument. Some familiarity with the principles and practices of its operation is necessary for efficient use to be made of it.  Although the NRAO strives to make using the VLA as simple as possible, users must be aware that proper selection of observing mode and calibration technique is often crucial to the success of an observing program. Inexperienced and first-time users are encouraged to enlist the assistance of an experienced colleague or NRAO staff member for advice on, or direct participation in, an observing program. Refer to Help for Visitors to the VLA and SOC for details. The VLA is an extremely flexible instrument, and we are always interested in imaginative and innovative ways of using it.

The Expanded VLA (EVLA) project is a program to modernize the electronics of the Very Large Array (VLA) that was built in the 1970s and 1980s in order to improve several key observational parameters by an order of magnitude or more.  Some of the details of the EVLA Project may be found on the web, at http://www.aoc.nrao.edu/evla/.   The EVLA project is funded jointly by the US National Science Foundation (NSF), the Canadian National Research Council, and the CONACyT funding agency in Mexico.   Total funding was approximately $94 million in Year 2006 dollars, including $59 million in new NSF funding, $16 million in redistributed effort from the NRAO Operations budget, $17 million for the correlator from Canada, and $2 million from Mexico.

The EVLA project was completed on time and on budget at the end of 2012, 11 years after it began.  Its key observational goals were (1) complete frequency coverage from 1 to 50 GHz; (2) continuum sensitivity improvement by up to an order of magnitude (nearly two orders of magnitude in speed) by increasing the bandwidth from the VLA's 100 MHz per polarization to 8 GHz per polarization; and (3) implementation of a new correlator that can process the large bandwidth with a minimum of 16,384 spectral channels per baseline.  All goals were met.   A comparison of some of the EVLA performance parameters with those of the original VLA is provided in Table 1.

Note: The "Factor" gives the factor by which the EVLA parameter will be an improvement over the equivalent VLA parameter.