Radio, Millimeter and Submillimeter Planning Group

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

Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory CommitteeMay 16, 2005

R*M*S Planning GroupPremise: Recommendations as outlined in:

Astro & Astrophys in the New MilleniumFrom the Sun to the Earth – And BeyondConnecting Quarks with the CosmosNew Frontiers in the Solar System

Objective: Update/Implementation PlanMembership: 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/rmspgSite 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

RMS RoadmapElements:

• 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

Exploiting the ALMA InvestmentFull 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)

EVLA: Revolutionized CapabilitiesMultiply 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”

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 EvolutionResolution 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

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!

International SKA Timeline

2015 2020

Ongoing Science Return

Construction Phase

Timeline for the International SKA Project

Science Case

Conceptual Design + Technology Prototyping

Decadal Survey Decadal Survey

2005 2010

e.g. in the US: Allen Telescope Array EVLA + VLBA Arecibo, GBT (wideband feeds) MWA LWA DSN Array (dishes) TDP (technology develop. project pending at the NSF)

Includes prototyping of subsystems on existing telescopes + demonstrator array

Site testing

Decisionon Siting

External review of technical designs

Technical design choice

Readiness Phase / Engineering Study

5-10% Prototype on selected site

Approval of Full Array

Operations

e.g. International LOFAR MWA EMBRACE (aperture array) Small-dish arrays at mid-range frequencies (Australia, India, South Africa) FAST (China) CLAR (Canada) (focal plane arrays) + other

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:

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 AstronomyFASR

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

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

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 RoadmapTechnology

Development AreaSource/Venue

Antenna Manufacture Commercial, DSNA, SKA-TDPData transport EVLA, eVLBI, SKA(Int)Broadband feeds/rcvrs ATA, AO, GBT, SKA-TDPCorrelator design EVLA, ATA, LOFAR, SKA(Int)Algorithms:

Time domainSpectral domainImaging domain

ATA, EVLA, ALMA, LOFAR, MWA, LWA, SKA-TDPMatched filtering, wide FOVWide field, high resolutionWide field, high res, high dynamic range

Data Management AO/ALFA, ATA, EVLA, ALMA, SKA-TDPLarge-N/Small D concept ATA, DSNAOperations research of large N arrays

University OR, commercial, SKA-TDP

Towards the SKA: Technology Pathway

RMS Roadmap

Science Area InstrumentEpoch of Reionization PaST, MWA, LWA, LOFARGravity, pulsars AO/ALFA, GBT, ATA, SKA-demosFirst AGNs EVLA/VLBA+OIR cross catalog, LWA, SKA-

demosProtoplanetary disks EVLA, GBTCosmic magnetism EVLA, ATA, GBT, LWA, SKA-demosTransient universe AO/ALFA, GBT, EVLA, MWA, LWA, ATA,

LOFARGalaxy evolution, e.g.

HI mass distributionWeak lensingDark 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 scienceEnabled by technologyMaintains US strength

Radio, Millimeter and Submillimeter (RMS) Facility AcronymsALMA Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array MSArecibo 305m telescope of NAIC RARO Arizona Radio Observatory MSATA Allen Telescope Array RCARMA Combined Array for Millimeter Astronomy MCCAT Cornell-Caltech Atacama Telescope SCSO Caltech Submillimeter Astronomy SDSNA Deep Space Network Array REVLA Expanded Very Large Array RFASR Frequency Agile Solar Radiotelescope RGBT Green Bank Telescope RMLMT Large Millimeter Telescope MLWA Long Wavelength Array RMWA Mileura Widefield Array RPaST Primeval Structure Telescope RSKA Square Kilometer Array RSMA Submillimeter Array SSPT South Pole Telescope SVLBA Very Long Baseline Array R

More R*M*S AcronymsEVLA 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 MexicoeVLBI: (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 reductionHSA: High Sensitivity Array (VLBA + VLA + GBT + Arecibo)Large N/Small D: Large number of small diameter dishesNAIC: National Astronomy and Ionosphere CenterNMA: New Mexico ArrayNRAO: National Radio Astronomy ObservatoryRMS: Radio, Millimeter and Submillimeter