# Presentation: 545685

## Radio, Millimeter and Submillimeter Planning Group

- Martha P. Haynes (Cornell University)
- on behalf of the RMSPG

- Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory Committee
- May 16, 2005

## R*M*S Planning Group

- Premise:   Recommendations as outlined in:
*Astro & Astrophys in the New Millenium*
*From the Sun to the Earth – And Beyond*
*Connecting Quarks with the Cosmos*
*New Frontiers in the Solar System*
- Objective:   Update/Implementation Plan
- Membership:   Same as 2000 AASC Radio/Submm Panel

- Martha Haynes, Cornell/NAIC
- Geoff Blake, Caltech
- Don Campbell, Cornell
- John Carlstrom, Chicago
- Neal Evans, Texas
- Jackie Hewitt, MIT

- Ken Kellermann, NRAO
- Alan Marscher, BU
- Jim Moran, Harvard
- Steve Myers, NRAO
- Mark  Reid, SAO
- Jack Welch, Berkeley

- A community “volunteer” effort
- No special interaction with AUI/NRAO director

*http://www.astro.cornell.edu/~haynes/rmspg*
- Site includes a compilation of RMS facilities

## Progress towards AANM Initiatives

- Prior Decade
- ALMA (Atacama Large Millimeter Array)
- Major Initiatives
- EVLA (Expanded Very Large Array)
- Moderate Initiatives
- SKA (Square Kilometer Array) Technology
- CARMA (Combined Array for Research in mm Astronomy)
- FASR (Frequency Agile Solar Radiotelescope)
- SPT (South Pole Telescope)
- Small Initiatives
- “LOFAR” (Low Frequency Array)
- CMB experiments
- Numerous (ACBAR, CBI, CAPMAP, DASI, SZA, etc)

- New Ground Based Initiatives

## Progress towards AANM Initiatives

- Prior Decade
- ALMA: under construction
- Major Initiatives
- EVLA: Phase I underway; Phase II under review
- Moderate Initiatives
- SKA: US effort limited by lack of NSF funding
- CARMA: under construction
- FASR: proposal for D&D about to be submitted
- SPT: under construction
- Small Initiatives
- “LOFAR”: Several initiatives underway/pending
- CMB experiments
- Numerous, on-going (TFCR)

- New Ground Based Initiatives

**Notes:**
SPT observations begin March 2007

## RMS Roadmap

- Elements:
- Complete and support ALMA
- Complete and support EVLA
- Exploit those investments via other unique facilities
- Pursue aggressively the SKA concept as the next generation radio telescope
- Develop the new technologies required for new science
- Maintain competitive strength
- Train the next generation

## ALMA: Imaging Origins

- Exploit the ALMA investment pre-ALMA:
- CARMA: pathfinder for ALMA science and development
- Wide area survey instruments
- Redshift machines
- Support ALMA beginning with partial array operations in 2008
- Complement ALMA in ALMA era with unique capabilities

- Under construction; expected completion in 2012

**Notes:**
CO or CI emission from Milky Way at z = 3
Gas kinematics in protostars and protoplanetary disks around young Sun-like stars at 150 pc
Detection of gaps created by forming planets in disks
Precision imaging at angular resolution of 0.1”

## Exploiting the ALMA Investment

- Full return on the US investment in ALMA requires additional capabilities at these same wavelengths currently provided by UROs, GBT and SMA.

- Fast survey capabilities
- - Broad bandwidth incoherent detectors (mapping speed)
- Redshifts for large numbers of dusty objects
- Blind molecular searches over wide areas
- Unique instantaneous spatial dynamic range and image fidelity of CARMA’s hybrid array
- Legacy surveys especially of Galactic plane (north and south)

**Notes:**
CO or CI emission from Milky Way at z = 3
Gas kinematics in protostars and protoplanetary disks around young Sun-like stars at 150 pc
Detection of gaps created by forming planets in disks
Precision imaging at angular resolution of 0.1”

## EVLA: Revolutionized Capabilities

- Multiply by at least 10X the capabilities of the  current VLA

- Phase I: underway; completion in 2012
- Funded out of AST (not MREFC)
- Contributions from Canada and Mexico
- Phase II: proposal submitted; “ready to go”

**Notes:**
Speed increase of factor of 80; sensitivity increase of factor of 9
Equivalent to going from 10m to 30m optical telescope, for $50M in new money!

## The Most Distant Quasar

- VLA image of CO from the first known star formation
- Redshifted to 46 GHz

- Optical Image

- Artist’s conception of disk of molecules and dust

- Walter et al. 2003

## EVLA: Resolving Cosmic Evolution

- Resolution better than 160 light years anywhere in the universe and 3 AU at Orion

- EVLA is a pathfinder for high frequency SKA, technologically and scientifically

- AU-scale images of accretion disks and their connection to outflow regions around massive stars
- Resolve dusty cores of ULIRGs and submm galaxies: AGN or starbursts
- Evolution of GRB’s, SNe, etc

- Combine EVLA + VLBA for full image fidelity

**Notes:**
IRc2 in Orion-KL SF region. Radio continuum emission with VLA (0.04” = 20 AU resolution) appears elongated – an accretion disk? Numerous bright spots are SiO masers mapped with VLBA, color coded by velocity, showing rotation.
EVLA will have 10X better resolution with much greater sensitivity. 

## VLBA/HSA: sub-mJy at sub-mas

- - Time critical images of motions and source evolution
- - Unparalleled astrometry (microarcsec accuracy)

- GLAST/VLBA survey: both groundwork for the mission and followup
- Dark matter density in core of lensing galaxies
- Pulsar and maser parallaxes for MW structure
- Maser motions around supermassive black holes

## Square Kilometer Array

- The SKA aims to be the next generation radio telescope.
- The SKA is an international project.
- The SKA requires revolutionary technology development.
- Science potential is thrilling:
- Thermal imaging at 0.15 AU resolution out to 150 pc
- Thousands of millisec pulsars forming a “timing array” to detect gravitational waves
- A billion rotation measures: evolution of magnetic fields, connection to structure formation
- Cosmic evolution of HI
- .... Plus much more!

**Notes:**
CSO: SHARC II and Z Spec just coming on line;  Sequoia in heavy demand on FCRAO.

## International SKA Timeline

## Arecibo: Pathfinder for the SKA

- Surveys with ALFA: galactic and extragalactic
- Pulsar surveys and timing: tests of GR
- Statistical characterization of continuum transients
- High Sensitivity Array for VLBI: time domain, mJy VLBI
- Solar System radar: NEAs, planetary surfaces, rings
- SKA testbed: wide bandwidth (2-11 GHz) focal plane array
- Partnerships for surveys, instrumentation, software etc.

- Exploit AO’s HIGH SENSITIVITY and RADAR capability

## GBT: Pathfinder for EVLA, SKA, ALMA

- Beam-forming array: Galactic HI
- Penn Array: pathfinder for SZ, dust
- Heterodyne array: CO, HCN, HCO+ in star forming regions
- Multibeam at 30 GHz: blind high-z CO
- “Finder” for EVLA, ALMA
- Steerability: globular cluster pulsars
- High frequency VLBI: H20 masers
- Bi-static radar: NEA’s, Titan

- Exploit the GBT’s unique characteristics:

**Notes:**
Unique characteristics: unblocked aperture, NRQZ, frequency flexibility, full steerability
Penn Array is a 64 pixel camera, 80-100 GHz, demo science: SZ measurements, dust measuremts of protostellar cores

## Ground-based CMB Experiments

- Direct observations of the CMB lie uniquely in the domain of RMS astronomy.
- Ground based experiments probe CMB anisotropy and polarization on different scales and thus complement results from space missions.
- RMS surveys critical for foreground determination.
- SPT wil map CMB/SZA.

- Task Force on CMB Research

## Solar Radio Astronomy

- FASR
- Frequency Agile Solar Radio Telescope

- FASR was endorsed by the 2000 AASC as well as the Solar and Space Physics equivalent “From the Sun to the Earth - and Beyond”.
- A proposal to conduct D&D on FASR will be submitted to NSF GEO/ATM.
- Dedicated to solar “weather”, FASR will be a data machine not a PI facility.

## “LOFAR”

- Dutch pursuing low frequency array on their own (= LOFAR)
- Low frequency regime (< 300 MHz) largely unexplored
- Science exciting
- “Dark Ages” neutral hydrogen
- First supermassive blackholes
- Continuum transients
- Solar/ionospheric phenomena

- Modest investment in next 3-5 years :
- Detection of neutral hydrogen during the “Dark Ages”
- Technology development towards major facility

**Notes:**
CSO: SHARC II and Z Spec just coming on line;  Sequoia in heavy demand on FCRAO.

## RMS Roadmap: ALMA

- Complete and support ALMA
- Exploit that investment via other unique facilities
- Develop new technologies

- Pre-ALMA era:  - CARMA as a pathfinder for ALMA science
- - Full survey of Galactic plane in  key dust and molecular tracers
- - Wide area surveys, z-machines
- - Submm interferometry (SMA + CSO)
- ALMA era:         - CARMA as a pathfinder for ALMA development
- - Unique CARMA science niche
- - Wide area complements
-   FCRAO          LMT
-   CSO              CCAT

**Notes:**
CSO: SHARC II and Z Spec just coming on line;  Sequoia in heavy demand on FCRAO.

## RMS Roadmap: The EVLA (and Beyond)

- Complete and support EVLA
- Exploit that investment via other unique facilities
- Pursue aggressively the SKA concept as the next generation radio telescope

- The EVLA offers a huge increase in capability over the existing VLA: a new “VLA”!
- The EVLA+VLBA combination provides high fidelity imaging on all spatial scales for the first time.
- The VLBA+AO+GBT+phased VLA = HSA for precision astronomy and studies of faint sources.
- The EVLA is a critical step to the SKA as the next generation radio telescope.
- AO, GBT, ATA, MWA and LWA will likewise serve as SKA testbeds and demonstrators.

## RMS Roadmap

| Technology Development Area | Source/Venue |
| --- | --- |
| Antenna Manufacture | Commercial, DSNA, SKA-TDP |
| Data transport | EVLA, eVLBI, SKA(Int) |
| Broadband feeds/rcvrs | ATA, AO, GBT, SKA-TDP |
| Correlator design | EVLA, ATA, LOFAR, SKA(Int) |
| Algorithms:

Time domain
Spectral domain
Imaging domain | ATA, EVLA, ALMA, LOFAR, MWA, LWA, SKA-TDP
Matched filtering, wide FOV
Wide field, high resolution
Wide field, high res, high dynamic range |
| Data Management | AO/ALFA, ATA, EVLA, ALMA, SKA-TDP |
| Large-N/Small D concept | ATA, DSNA |
| Operations research of large N arrays | University OR, commercial, SKA-TDP |

- Towards the SKA: Technology Pathway

## RMS Roadmap

| Science Area | Instrument |
| --- | --- |
| Epoch of Reionization | PaST, MWA, LWA, LOFAR |
| Gravity, pulsars | AO/ALFA, GBT, ATA, SKA-demos |
| First AGNs | EVLA/VLBA+OIR cross catalog, LWA, SKA-demos |
| Protoplanetary disks | EVLA, GBT |
| Cosmic magnetism | EVLA, ATA, GBT, LWA, SKA-demos |
| Transient universe | AO/ALFA, GBT, EVLA, MWA, LWA, ATA, LOFAR |
| Galaxy evolution, e.g.
HI mass distribution
Weak lensing
Dark energy EOS | EVLA, VLBA, GBT, AO/ALFA, ATA, MWA, LWA, SKA demos |

- Towards the SKA: Science Pathway

- Plus connections to ALMA, JWST, GSMT, etc

## The RMS Roadmap

- Prior Decade
- ALMA
- Major Initiatives
- EVLA
- Moderate Initiatives
- SKA
- CARMA
- FASR
- SPT
- Small Initiatives
- “LOFAR”
- CMB experiments
- Numerous (ACBAR, CBI, CAPMAP, DASI)

- Follows the Decadal Survey Strategy

- Driven by science
- Enabled by technology
- Maintains US strength

## Radio, Millimeter and Submillimeter (RMS) Facility Acronyms

| ALMA | Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array | MS |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Arecibo | 305m telescope of NAIC | R |
| ARO | Arizona Radio Observatory | MS |
| ATA | Allen Telescope Array | R |
| CARMA | Combined Array for Millimeter Astronomy | M |
| CCAT | Cornell-Caltech Atacama Telescope | S |
| CSO | Caltech Submillimeter Astronomy | S |
| DSNA | Deep Space Network Array | R |
| EVLA | Expanded Very Large Array | R |
| FASR | Frequency Agile Solar Radiotelescope | R |
| GBT | Green Bank Telescope | RM |
| LMT | Large Millimeter Telescope | M |
| LWA | Long Wavelength Array | R |
| MWA | Mileura Widefield Array | R |
| PaST | Primeval Structure Telescope | R |
| SKA | Square Kilometer Array | R |
| SMA | Submillimeter Array | S |
| SPT | South Pole Telescope | S |
| VLBA | Very Long Baseline Array | R |

## More R*M*S Acronyms

- EVLA I :
- First phase of EVLA project
- Begun 2001; Expected completion 2012
- Modernize existing facility: correlator, receivers, software
- EVLA II
- 2nd phase of EVLA project
- Proposal submitted 2004; under review
- Increase angular resolution by 10X with additional antennas spread throughout New Mexico
- eVLBI: (Near) real-time VLBI imaging by transmission of data over  internet to central correlator (vs physical shipment of disks)
- e2e:  “End-to-end” development of software tools for users to aid from proposal submission to observations to data reduction
- HSA:  High Sensitivity Array (VLBA + VLA + GBT + Arecibo)
- Large N/Small D:   Large number of small diameter dishes
- NAIC:  National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center
- NMA:  New Mexico Array
- NRAO:  National Radio Astronomy Observatory
- RMS:  Radio, Millimeter and Submillimeter