Northwestern Events Calendar

Oct
28
2015

Al Wootten: ALMA: A New Millimeter-wave View of the Universe at High Sensitivity and High Resolution

When: Wednesday, October 28, 2015
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM CT

Where: Technological Institute, F160, 2145 Sheridan Road, Evanston, IL 60208 map it

Audience: Faculty/Staff - Student - Post Docs/Docs - Graduate Students

Contact: Liz Lwanga   13645

Group: Physics and Astronomy Radio Astronomy Seminars

Category: Academic

Description:

Title: ALMA: A New Millimeter-wave View of the Universe at High Sensitivity and High Resolution

Speaker: Al Wootten, National Radio Astronomy Observatory

Abstract: Vigorous and transformative investigation of the millimeter/submillimeter sky at high sensitivity and high resolution has benefitted from the recent completion of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), an effort of 22 countries. ALMA, a versatile interferometric telescope at 5 km  elevation in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile, is comprised of sixty-six precision telescopes which may be arrayed over a 16 kim extent on the high Chajnantor plain.  Owing to its large collecting area of over 6600 m^2 and its commodious spectral grasp of 8 GHz of spectrum in dual polarizations within an 84-950 GHz range, ALMA provides astronomers with vastly improved spectroscopic sensitivity.  Spatial resolutions of 30 milliarcsec were demonstrated recently, revealing rings within the HL Tau protoplanetary disk, the rotating structure of the asteroid Juno and the molecular structure of the  redshift z~3 lensed galaxy SDP.81.  The astrometric accuracy even at this early stage of deployment is better than 3 milliarcsec, providing improved ephemerides for the encounter of the New Horizons spacecraft with the Pluto-Charon system.  The ALMA system is dynamically upgraded--very long baseline capability is expected to bring microarcsecond imaging to a worldwide array anchored by ALMA with excellent potential for imaging nearby Black Holes on the scales of their Event Horizons. 

Examples of ALMA scientific breakthroughs include:
ALMA's huge collecting area has enabled detection of lines of C, N and CO and continuum for characterization of massive complexes near the Era of Recombination.  ALMA's sensitivity and resolution have enabled
measurement of molecular emission through cosmic time from numerous molecules characterizing galactic star-forming regions and tracing their kinematics near active nuclei, starbursts, interacting clouds and quiescent disks.
ALMA's sensitivity, resolution and spectral grasp have enabled it to image molecules and dust characterizing circumstellar disks and embedded bodies in protostellar, transition and debris stages of development.
ALMA is a partnership of ESO (representing its member states), NSF (USA) and NINS (Japan), together with NRC (Canada), NSC and ASIAA (Taiwan), and KASI (Republic of Korea), in cooperation with the Republic of Chile. The Joint ALMA Observatory is operated by ESO, AUI/NRAO and NAOJ.

ALMA is a partnership of ESO (representing its member states), NSF (USA) and NINS (Japan), together with NRC (Canada), NSC and ASIAA (Taiwan), and KASI (Republic of Korea), in cooperation with the Republic of Chile. The Joint ALMA Observatory is operated by ESO, AUI/NRAO and NAOJ.

 

Speaker Schedule

 

Keywords: Physics, Astronomy

 

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