2026.02.25

ALMA Total Power GPU Spectrometer Passes Preliminary Design Review

The preliminary design review of Total Power GPU Spectrometer (TPGS) for the ALMA telescope has been successfully completed. TPGS is one of the major East Asian contributions to the enhancement of ALMA’s capabilities through the Wideband Sensitivity Upgrade (WSU) program. This new spectrometer is being jointly developed by Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (KASI) and National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ). It is designed to replace the spectrometer currently in operation for the ACA Total Power Array, with the aim of providing wider bandwidth and improved spectral performance.

The preliminary design review is a crucial process for evaluating the validity of the requirements and external interfaces, the progress of the development, the feasibility of the baseline design, and the risks associated with its design. For that evaluation, the development team submitted a set of documents in early December, the reviewers and stakeholders from various countries reviewed the documents and they provided questions and comments to the development team. Based on these questions and comments, all those parties continued deep discussion for about two months. After that process, the review meeting, which brought together members of the development team, reviewers, and stakeholders, was held from January 28 to 29, 2026, in Daejeon, Korea. During the review, various technical issues and the compatibility with external interfaces were discussed, and the review panel made the final evaluation.

The review panel expressed confidence in the overall consistency of the design and its technical maturity. At the same time, constructive recommendations were provided on points to be considered as the development progresses. Having passed this important milestone, the team will continue its development under close international collaboration, aiming to enhance ALMA’s scientific performance and to support stable and reliable long-term operations.