Open Research Europe (Jul 2024)
Science development study for the Atacama Large Aperture Submillimeter Telescope (AtLAST): Solar and stellar observations [version 1; peer review: 1 approved, 2 approved with reservations]
- Yi Chai,
- Roman Brajša,
- Dale Gary,
- Joaquim Costa,
- Stanislav Gunar,
- Guillermo Gimenez de Castro,
- Hugh Hudson,
- Pamela Klaassen,
- Gregory Fleishman,
- Atul Mohan,
- Mats Kirkaune,
- Alberto Pellizzoni,
- Mark Booth,
- Galina Motorina,
- Caius L. Selhorst,
- Maryam Saberi,
- Masumi Shimojo,
- Paulo J. A. Simoes,
- Davor Sudar,
- Ivica Skokić,
- Stephen M. White,
- Fabian Menezes,
- Amelie Saintonge,
- John Orlowski-Scherer,
- Antonio Hales,
- Claudia Cicone,
- Tony Mroczkowski,
- Doug Johnstone,
- Luca Di Mascolo,
- Minju Lee,
- Eelco van Kampen,
- Thomas Maccarone,
- Daizhong Liu,
- Matthew Smith,
- Martin A. Cordiner,
- Alexander E. Thelen,
- Miroslav Barta,
- Sven Wedemeyer
Affiliations
- Yi Chai
- Astronomical Institute, The Czech Academy of Sciences, Ondrejov, 251 65, Czech Republic
- Roman Brajša
- Hvar Observatory, Faculty of Geodesy, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, HR-10000, Croatia
- Dale Gary
- Center for Solar-Terrestrial Research, New Jersey Institute of Technology, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, New Jersey, NJ 07102, USA
- Joaquim Costa
- Centro de Rádio Astronomia e Astrofísica Mackenzie, Escola de Engenharia, Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie, São Paulo, State of São Paulo, 01302-907, Brazil
- Stanislav Gunar
- Astronomical Institute, The Czech Academy of Sciences, Ondrejov, 251 65, Czech Republic
- Guillermo Gimenez de Castro
- Centro de Rádio Astronomia e Astrofísica Mackenzie, Escola de Engenharia, Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie, São Paulo, State of São Paulo, 01302-907, Brazil
- Hugh Hudson
- SUPA School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, Scotland, G12 8QQ, UK
- Pamela Klaassen
- UK Astronomy Technology Centre, Royal Observatory Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH9 3HJ, UK
- Gregory Fleishman
- Center for Solar-Terrestrial Research, New Jersey Institute of Technology, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, New Jersey, NJ 07102, USA
- Atul Mohan
- ORCiD
- The Catholic University of America, Washington, District of Columbia, DC 20064, USA
- Mats Kirkaune
- ORCiD
- Rosseland Centre for Solar Physics, University of Oslo, Oslo, Oslo, N-0315, Norway
- Alberto Pellizzoni
- Cagliari Astronomical Observatory, Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica, Selargius, I–09047, Italy
- Mark Booth
- ORCiD
- UK Astronomy Technology Centre, Royal Observatory Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH9 3HJ, UK
- Galina Motorina
- Astronomical Institute, The Czech Academy of Sciences, Ondrejov, 251 65, Czech Republic
- Caius L. Selhorst
- ORCiD
- Center for Solar-Terrestrial Research, New Jersey Institute of Technology, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, New Jersey, NJ 07102, USA
- Maryam Saberi
- Rosseland Centre for Solar Physics, University of Oslo, Oslo, Oslo, N-0315, Norway
- Masumi Shimojo
- ORCiD
- National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, Tokyo, 181-8588, Japan
- Paulo J. A. Simoes
- ORCiD
- Centro de Rádio Astronomia e Astrofísica Mackenzie, Escola de Engenharia, Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie, São Paulo, State of São Paulo, 01302-907, Brazil
- Davor Sudar
- Hvar Observatory, Faculty of Geodesy, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, HR-10000, Croatia
- Ivica Skokić
- Hvar Observatory, Faculty of Geodesy, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, HR-10000, Croatia
- Stephen M. White
- Space Vehicles Directorate, Air Force Research Laboratory, Albuquerque, New Mexico, NM 87117, USA
- Fabian Menezes
- ORCiD
- Centro de Rádio Astronomia e Astrofísica Mackenzie, Escola de Engenharia, Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie, São Paulo, State of São Paulo, 01302-907, Brazil
- Amelie Saintonge
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University College London, London, England, WC1E 6BT, UK
- John Orlowski-Scherer
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19104, USA
- Antonio Hales
- National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Charlottesville, Virginia, 22903, USA
- Claudia Cicone
- ORCiD
- Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics, University of Oslo, Oslo, Oslo, N-0315, Norway
- Tony Mroczkowski
- ORCiD
- European Southern Observatory, Garching bei Munchen, 85748, Germany
- Doug Johnstone
- ORCiD
- NRC Herzberg Astronomy and Astrophysics, Victoria, V9E 2E7, Canada
- Luca Di Mascolo
- ORCiD
- Observatoire de la Cote d’Azur, Universite Cote d'Azur, Nice, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, CS 34229, 06304, France
- Minju Lee
- ORCiD
- Cosmic Dawn Center, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Eelco van Kampen
- ORCiD
- European Southern Observatory, Garching bei Munchen, 85748, Germany
- Thomas Maccarone
- Department of Physics & Astronomy, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas, 79409-1051, USA
- Daizhong Liu
- ORCiD
- Max-Planck-Institut fur extraterrestrische Physik, Garching, D-85748, Germany
- Matthew Smith
- ORCiD
- School of Physics & Astronomy, Cardiff University, Cardiff, Wales, CF24 3AA, UK
- Martin A. Cordiner
- Astrochemistry Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, MD 20771, USA
- Alexander E. Thelen
- Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, CA 91125, USA
- Miroslav Barta
- Astronomical Institute, The Czech Academy of Sciences, Ondrejov, 251 65, Czech Republic
- Sven Wedemeyer
- ORCiD
- Rosseland Centre for Solar Physics, University of Oslo, Oslo, Oslo, N-0315, Norway
- Journal volume & issue
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Vol. 4
Abstract
Observations at (sub-)millimeter wavelengths offer a complementary perspective on our Sun and other stars, offering significant insights into both the thermal and magnetic composition of their chromospheres. Despite the fundamental progress in (sub-)millimeter observations of the Sun, some important aspects require diagnostic capabilities that are not offered by existing observatories. In particular, simultaneously observations of the radiation continuum across an extended frequency range would facilitate the mapping of different layers and thus ultimately the 3D structure of the solar atmosphere. Mapping large regions on the Sun or even the whole solar disk at a very high temporal cadence would be crucial for systematically detecting and following the temporal evolution of flares, while synoptic observations, i.e., daily maps, over periods of years would provide an unprecedented view of the solar activity cycle in this wavelength regime. As our Sun is a fundamental reference for studying the atmospheres of active main sequence stars, observing the Sun and other stars with the same instrument would unlock the enormous diagnostic potential for understanding stellar activity and its impact on exoplanets. The Atacama Large Aperture Submillimeter Telescope (AtLAST), a single-dish telescope with 50m aperture proposed to be built in the Atacama desert in Chile, would be able to provide these observational capabilities. Equipped with a large number of detector elements for probing the radiation continuum across a wide frequency range, AtLAST would address a wide range of scientific topics including the thermal structure and heating of the solar chromosphere, flares and prominences, and the solar activity cycle. In this white paper, the key science cases and their technical requirements for AtLAST are discussed.
