Plans for a 10-m Submillimeter-wave Telescope at the South Pole

• Main Authors: Antony A. Stark A, John E. Carlstrom B, Frank P. Israel C, Karl M. Menten D, Jeffrey B. Peterson E, T. G. Phillips F, Giorgio Sironi G, Christopher K. Walker H
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 1998
• Subjects: Amundsen Scott South Pole Station; Amundsen-Scott; Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station; South Pole; South pole
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.256.998; http://arxiv.org/pdf/astro-ph/9802326v1.pdf

A 10 meter diameter submillimeter-wave telescope has been proposed for installation and scientific use at the NSF Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station. Current evidence indicates that the South Pole is the best submillimeter-wave telescope site among all existing or proposed ground-based observatories. Proposed scientific programs place stringent requirements on the optical quality of the telescope design. In particular, reduction of the thermal background and offsets requires an off-axis, unblocked aperture, and the large field of view needed for survey observations requires shaped optics. This mix of design elements is well-suited for large-scale (square degree) mapping of line and continuum radiation from submillimeter-wave sources at moderate spatial resolutions (4 to 60 arcsecond beam size) and high sensitivity (milliJansky flux density levels). The telescope will make arcminute angular scale, high frequency Cosmic Microwave Background measurements from the best possible ground-based site, using an aperture which is larger than is currently possible on orbital or airborne platforms. The telescope design is homologous. Gravitational changes in pointing and focal length will be accommodated by active repositioning of the secondary mirror. The secondary support, consisting of a large, enclosed beam, permits mounting of either a standard set of Gregorian optics, or prime