ATLAS Probe: Breakthrough Science of Galaxy Evolution, Cosmology, Milky Way, and the Solar System
Creators: name: Wang, Yun
name: Robberto, Massimo
name: Dickinson, Mark
name: Hillenbrand, Lynne A.
name: Fraser, Wesley
name: Behroozi, Peter
name: Brinchmann, Jarle
name: Chuang, Chia-Hsun
name: Cimatti, Andrea
name: Content, Robert
name: Daddi, Emanuele
name: Ferguson, Henry C.
name: Hirata, Christopher
name: Hudson, Michael J.
name: Kirkpatrick, J. Davy
name: Orsi, Alvaro
name: Ryan, Russell
name: Shapley, Alice
name: Ballardini, Mario
name: Barkhouser, Robert
name: Bartlett, James
name: Benjamin, Robert
name: Chary, Ranga
name: Conroy, Charlie
name: Donahue, Megan
name: Dore, Olivier
name: Eisenhardt, Peter
name: Glazebrook, Karl
name: Helou, George
name: Malhotra, Sangeeta
name: Moscardini, Lauro
name: Newman, Jeffrey A.
name: Ninkov, Zoran
name: Ressler, Michael
name: Rhoads, James
name: Rhodes, Jason
name: Scolnic, Daniel
name: Smee, Stephen
name: Valentino, Francesco
name: Wechsler, Risa H.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2018
Subjects: subject: Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics (astro-ph.IM)
subject: Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics (astro-ph.CO)
subject: Earth and Planetary Astrophysics (astro-ph.EP)
subject: Astrophysics of Galaxies (astro-ph.GA)
subject: Solar and Stellar Astrophysics (astro-ph.SR)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: ATLAS (Astrophysics Telescope for Large Area Spectroscopy) Probe is a concept for a NASA probe-class space mission. It is the follow-up space mission to WFIRST, boosting its scientific return by obtaining deep IR slit spectroscopy for 70% of all galaxies imaged by a 2000 sq deg WFIRST High Latitude Survey at z&gt;0.5. ATLAS will measure accurate and precise redshifts for 200M galaxies out to z &lt; 7, and deliver spectra that enable a wide range of diagnostic studies of the physical properties of galaxies over most of cosmic history. ATLAS Probe science spans four broad categories: (1) Revolutionizing galaxy evolution studies by tracing the relation between galaxies and dark matter from galaxy groups to cosmic voids and filaments, from the epoch of reionization through the peak era of galaxy assembly; (2) Opening a new window into the dark Universe by weighing the dark matter filaments using 3D weak lensing with spectroscopic redshifts, and obtaining definitive measurements of dark energy and modification of General Relativity using galaxy clustering; (3) Probing the Milky Way's dust-enshrouded regions, reaching the far side of our Galaxy; and (4) Exploring the formation history of the outer Solar System by characterizing Kuiper Belt Objects. ATLAS Probe is a 1.5m telescope with a field of view of 0.4 sq deg, and uses Digital Micro-mirror Devices (DMDs) as slit selectors. It has a spectroscopic resolution of R = 1000 over 1-4 microns, and a spectroscopic multiplex factor &gt;5,000. ATLAS is designed to fit within the NASA probe-class space mission cost envelope; it has a single instrument, a telescope aperture that allows for a lighter launch vehicle, and mature technology. ATLAS Probe will lead to transformative science over the entire range of astrophysics: from galaxy evolution to the dark Universe, from Solar System objects to the dusty regions of the Milky Way.
description: 46 pages. Accepted by PASA