Atacama Large Aperture Submillimeter Telescope (AtLAST) science: Our Galaxy

<ns4:p>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.</ns4:p>

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Publication Details

Journal
Open Research Europe
Published
2025-02-10
DOI
https://doi.org/10.12688/openreseurope.17450.2
Primary Topic
Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Atacama Large Aperture Submillimeter Telescope (AtLAST) science: Our Galaxy

S. Spezzano, Gaspard Duchêne, Patricia Luppe, Sven Wedemeyer et al.
1 links
Open Research Europe
Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies
article

Atacama Large Aperture Submillimeter Telescope (AtLAST) science: Our Galaxy

S. Spezzano, Gaspard Duchêne, Patricia Luppe, Sven Wedemeyer, Jens Kauffmann, Mark Booth, Thomas J. Maccarone, C. Cicone, Luca Di Mascolo, A. J. Rigby, Caroline Bot, Alexander E. Thelen, A. Duarte-Cabral, Antonio Hales, Joshua B. Lovell, Thomas Stanke, David J. Eden, Pamela Klaassen, A. Saintonge, Brandt A. L. Gaches, Á. Sánchez-Monge, D. Semenov, Sebastián Marino, N. Peretto, A. Traficante, J. P. Marshall, E. Redaelli, Kate Pattle, D. Arzoumanian, Doug Johnstone, M. T. Beltrán, Martin Cordiner, Tony Mroczkowski, M. W. L. Smith, A. Hacar, Daizhong Liu, E. van Kampen, Minju Lee, Friedrich Wyrowski, Mark Thompson, E. Schisano
article en

Abstract

<ns4:p>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.</ns4:p>

Open Research EuropeVol. 4
Leiden University (NL), California Institute of Technology (US), Texas Tech University (US), Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics (CA), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR), University of Vienna (AT), Goddard Space Flight Center (US), University of Leeds (GB), Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Academia Sinica (TW), European Southern Observatory (DE), University of Trieste (IT), University of Oslo (NO), Trinity College Dublin (IE), University of Victoria (CA), University of Exeter (GB), National Radio Astronomy Observatory (US), Armagh Observatory & Planetarium (GB), Arcetri Astrophysical Observatory (IT), Trieste Astronomical Observatory (IT), Observatoire astronomique de Strasbourg (FR), Purple Mountain Observatory (CN), Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (DE), Kennedy Center (DK), Royal Observatory (GB), Max Planck Institute for Astronomy (DE), Hospital de l'Esperança (ES), Center for Astrophysics Harvard & Smithsonian (US), Northeast Radio Observatory Corporation (US), Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur (FR), Institute for Fundamental Physics of the Universe (IT), Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy (DE), National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (JP), University College London (GB), UK Astronomy Technology Centre (GB), Chalmers University of Technology (SE), Friedrich Schiller University Jena (DE), Cardiff University (GB), National Institute for Astrophysics (IT), Université Grenoble Alpes (FR), University of California, Berkeley (US), Technical University of Denmark (DK)
Smithsonian Institution, Royal Society, European Commission, Agence Nationale de la Recherche, Norges Forskningsråd, Horizon 2020 Framework Programme, HORIZON EUROPE Framework Programme
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Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies
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