The Atacama Large Aperture Submillimeter Telescope (AtLAST)
Pamela Klaassen (UK Astronomy Technology Centre), Tony Mroczkowski (European Southern Observatory), Sean Bryan (Arizona State University), Christopher Groppi (Arizona State University), Kaustuv Basu (University of Bonn), Claudia Cicone (University of Oslo), Helmut Dannerbauer (Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias Universidad de La Laguna), Carlos De Breuck (European Southern Observatory), William J. Fischer (Space Telescope Science Institute), James Geach (University of Hertfordshire), Evanthia Hatziminaoglou (European Southern Observatory), Wayne Holland (UK Astronomy Technology Centre), Ryohei Kawabe (National Astronomical Observatory of Japan), Neelima Sehgal (Stony Brook University and Flatiron Institute), Thomas Stanke (European Southern Observatory), Eelco van Kampen (European Southern Observatory)
(Submitted on 10 Jul 2019)
The sub-mm sky is a unique window for probing the architecture of the Universe and structures within it. From the discovery of dusty sub-mm galaxies, to the ringed nature of protostellar disks, our understanding of the formation, destruction, and evolution of objects in the Universe requires a comprehensive view of the sub-mm sky. The current generation single-dish sub-mm facilities have shown of the potential for discovery, while interferometers have presented a high resolution view into the finer details. However, our understanding of large-scale structure and our full use of these interferometers is now hampered by the limited sensitivity of our sub-mm view of the universe at larger scales. Thus, now is the time to start planning the next generation of sub-mm single dish facilities, to build on these revolutions in our understanding of the sub-mm sky. Here we present the case for the Atacama Large Aperture Submillimeter Telescope (AtLAST), a concept for a 50m class single dish telescope. We envision AtLAST as a facility operating as an international partnership with a suite of instruments to deliver the transformative science described in many Astro2020 science white papers. A 50m telescope with a high throughput and 1∘ FoV with a full complement of advanced instrumentation, including highly multiplexed high-resolution spectrometers, continuum cameras and Integral Field Units, AtLAST will have mapping speeds thousands of times greater than any current or planned facility. It will reach confusion limits below L∗ in the distant universe and resolve low-mass protostellar cores at the distance of the Galactic Center, providing synergies with upcoming facilities across the spectrum. Located on the Atacama plateau, to observe frequencies un-obtainable by other observatories, AtLAST will enable a fundamentally new understanding of the sub-mm universe at unprecedented depths.
Comments: Submitted to call for Astro2020 APC papers
Subjects: Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics (astro-ph.IM)
Cite as: arXiv:1907.04756 [astro-ph.IM]
(or arXiv:1907.04756v1 [astro-ph.IM] for this version)
Submission history
From: Pamela Klaassen
[v1] Wed, 10 Jul 2019 14:37:22 UTC (3,458 KB)
