During planet observations with the ALMA TP array, significant ripples often appear in the spectral baselines with characteristic periods of approximately 200 - 300 MHz. The exact origin of these ripples is under investigation, but one possibility is that standing waves could be formed within the TP-array system during signal transmission. These waves may be amplified when observing with strong astronomical sources, in particular planets. The current single-dish pipeline does not account for fully remove these high-order standing waves, resulting in visible ripples in the final data cubes. Delivered MOUS affected by this issue will be set to SEMIPASS in the QA2 process.
Why is there a spectral baseline ripple in Total Power observations of Bright Targets? - Knowledgebase / Offline Data Reduction and/or CASA - ALMA Science
Why is there a spectral baseline ripple in Total Power observations of Bright Targets?
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- Last updated: Mar 19, 2026 by Sarah Bagley