Below is an overview of the support and resources provided by each of the VLTI Expertise Centres. Please refer to individual webpages for details

Jean-Marie Mariotti Centre (JMMC)

• Support FTE
  • 0.8
• Support for MATISSE and GRAVITY
  • data reduction 
  • model fitting
  • image reconstruction
• ESO pipelines are installed on a dedicated server

 Portuguese VLTI Expertise Centre

• Support FTE
  • 0.1
• Expertise
  • as of March 2021, and due to the ORP Program, the centre offers reduction of GRAVITY archive data in coordination with ESO
• Support for GRAVITY
  • data reduction
  • model fitting
  • image reconstruction
• ESO pipelines are installed on a dedicated workstation

University of Exeter

• Support FTE
  • 0.06
• Expertise
  • advice on coordinated observations with US interferometers
• Support for GRAVITY 
  • data reduction
  • model fitting
  • Image reconstruction
• ESO pipelines are installed on a dedicated server

KU Leuven

• Support FTE
  • 0.25
• Expertise
  • high contrast imaging
• Support for PIONIER and GRAVITY
  • data reduction (only GRAVITY)
  • model fitting
  • image reconstruction
    
• ESO pipelines are installed on dedicated laptops

Leiden Observatory

• Under construction
  • Support FTE
    • 0.1
  • Support for all VLTI instrument archival data and limited support MATISSE
    • data reduction
    • model fitting
    • image reconstruction
      
  • Ample data storage and processing facilities are available, with ESO pipeline installed

Konkoly Observatory

• Under construction
• Support FTE
  • 0.25
• Support for MATISSE

• data reduction
• model fitting
• image reconstruction
• ESO pipelines are installed on dedicated laptops and data storage available via a server

ESO USD

For User Support at ESO, the VLTI instruments are fully integrated into the general support of ESO facilities. The ESO User Support Department operates a helpdesk system  where users can address questions and request assistance on all aspects of ESO telescope Service Mode operations (observing proposals writing, Phase 2 material preparation, and post-observation activities). General information on observing with ESO telescopes is available.

Data Protection Policy

The VLTI Expertise Centres are open to every researcher wanting to reduce a raw VLTI dataset to which they have access (either as PI or CoI, or because the ESO protection period lapsed). A VLTI Expertise Centre can accept several requests on the same raw dataset. Any dataset reduced with the help of a VLTI Expertise Centre is put on OIDB (Optical Interferometry DataBase) in a private collection only accessible by the user and his/her designated colleagues. Such a collection will be kept private until the first publication of scientific results based on the reduced dataset, or ultimately until one year after the end of the ESO protection period on the raw data.

Therefore, the general rule is that all data reduced with the help of a VLTI Expertise Centre will be made publicly available after the first scientific publication, or ultimately one year after the release of the raw data. As a corollary, if a VLTI Expertise Centre reduces raw data that have been public for more than one year, the reduced data will be made public immediately on OIDB.