Johannes Staguhn - Johns Hopkins University & NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center: (Sub)millimeter Observations of Hidden Star Formation and the Formation of Dust Through Cosmic Times
Johannes Staguhn of Johns Hopkins University & NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center will be granting us an early Christmas present by giving a talk on the 18th or 19th of December.
His talk will be titled: (Sub)millimeter Observations of Hidden Star Formation and the Formation of Dust Through Cosmic Times
Abstract:
Understanding the emergence and evolution of star formation, the interstellar medium (ISM) in galaxies, as traced by dust emission, and how these two quantities relate to the underlying dark matter and larger scale structures is a major goal of astronomy. The primary tracers of star formation and the ISM are observable at FIR through (sub)millimeter wavelengths, yet most analysis of early Universe galaxy evolution has been done using optical/near-infrared studies. However, in the rest-frame UV and at visible wavelengths, most of the star formation is strongly obscured by foreground dust, so few constraints exist on the universal star formation activity, in particular in redshift z>3 galaxies. To bridge this gap in our understanding, large (sub) millimeter surveys will be necessary.
The GISMO 2 mm bolometer camera at the IRAM 30m telescope has been available to the astronomical community for many years, where it has been used to address a large variety of scientific questions. The camera is now being upgraded with a cryo-cooler to be deployable at the GLT, where it could be effectively used to obtain large sky surveys, even from the current location in Thule. I will illustrate the anticipated scientific capabilities of GISMO at the GLT by presenting scientific results we have already obtained from observations obtained with the camera at the IRAM 30 m telescope in Spain. These observations include one ultra-deep and one medium deep 2-millimeter survey in the HDF and in the COSMOS field, respectively. An extrapolation from those observations allows us to estimate the significant scientific impact we can expect from a dedicated survey with GISMO at the GLT