Atacama Large Aperture Submillimeter Telescope (AtLAST) science: Our Galaxy
Artikel i vetenskaplig tidskrift, 2024

As we learn more about the multi-scale interstellar medium (ISM) of our Galaxy, we develop a greater understanding for the complex relationships between the large-scale diffuse gas and dust in Giant Molecular Clouds (GMCs), how it moves, how it is affected by the nearby massive stars, and which portions of those GMCs eventually collapse into star forming regions. The complex interactions of those gas, dust and stellar populations form what has come to be known as the ecology of our Galaxy. Because we are deeply embedded in the plane of our Galaxy, it takes up a significant fraction of the sky, with complex dust lanes scattered throughout the optically recognizable bands of the Milky Way. These bands become bright at (sub-)millimetre wavelengths, where we can study dust thermal emission and the chemical and kinematic signatures of the gas. To properly study such large-scale environments, requires deep, large area surveys that are not possible with current facilities. Moreover, where stars form, so too do planetary systems, growing from the dust and gas in circumstellar discs, to planets and planetesimal belts. Understanding the evolution of these belts requires deep imaging capable of studying belts around young stellar objects to Kuiper belt analogues around the nearest stars. Here we present a plan for observing the Galactic Plane and circumstellar environments to quantify the physical structure, the magnetic fields, the dynamics, chemistry, star formation, and planetary system evolution of the galaxy in which we live with AtLAST; a concept for a new, 50m single-dish sub-mm telescope with a large field of view which is the only type of facility that will allow us to observe our Galaxy deeply and widely enough to make a leap forward in our understanding of our local ecology.

Submillimeter Magnetic fields

Submillimeter Surveys

Telescopes

Submillimeter planetary systems

Submillimeter ISM

Astronomical instrumentation methods and techniques

solar neighborhood

The Galaxy

Författare

Pamela Klaassen

Royal Observatory

A. Traficante

Istituto nazionale di astrofisica (INAF)

M. T. Beltrán

Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri

Kate Pattle

University College London (UCL)

M. Booth

Royal Observatory

Joshua Lovell

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

J. P. Marshall

Academia Sinica

A. Hacar

Universität Wien

Universiteit Leiden

Brandt Gaches

Chalmers, Rymd-, geo- och miljövetenskap, Astronomi och plasmafysik

Caroline Bot

Observatoire Astronomique de Strasbourg

Nicolas Peretto

Cardiff University

T. Stanke

Max-Planck-Gesellschaft

Doris Arzoumanian

National Astronomical Observatory of Japan

A. Duarte-Cabral

Cardiff University

G. Duchene

University of California

Université Grenoble Alpes

D. J. Eden

Armagh Observatory and Planetarium

Antonio Hales

National Radio Astronomy Observatory

J. K. F. Mann

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Patricia Luppe

Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena

Trinity College Dublin

Sebastian Marino

University of Exeter

Elena Redaelli

Max-Planck-Gesellschaft

Andrew Rigby

University of Leeds

A. Sanchez-Monge

Institut de Ciènces de l'Espai

E. Schisano

Istituto nazionale di astrofisica (INAF)

Dmitry Semenov

Max-Planck-Gesellschaft

S. Spezzano

Max-Planck-Gesellschaft

Mark Thompson

University of Leeds

F. Wyrowski

Max-Planck-Gesellschaft

C. Cicone

Universitetet i Oslo

Tony Mroczkowski

European Southern Observatory (ESO)

M. A. Cordiner

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Luca Di Mascolo

Universita degli Studi di Trieste

Osservatorio Astronomico di Trieste

Laboratoire Joseph-Louis Lagrange

IFPU—Institute for Fundamental Physics of the Universe

D. Johnstone

National Research Council Canada

University of Victoria

E. van Kampen

European Southern Observatory (ESO)

Minju Lee

Danmarks Tekniske Universitet (DTU)

Cosmic Dawn Center (DAWN)

Daizhong Liu

Chinese Academy of Sciences

Max-Planck-Gesellschaft

T. J. Maccarone

Texas Tech University at Lubbock

Amélie Saintonge

University College London (UCL)

Max-Planck-Gesellschaft

M. W.L. Smith

Cardiff University

Alexander Thelen

California Institute of Technology (Caltech)

S. Wedemeyer

Universitetet i Oslo

Open Research Europe

27325121 (eISSN)

Vol. 4 112

Ämneskategorier (SSIF 2011)

Astronomi, astrofysik och kosmologi

DOI

10.12688/openreseurope.17450.1

Mer information

Senast uppdaterat

2025-04-07