Scientific Rationale
The coldest and densest structures of gas and dust in the Universe produce unique astrophysical signals at sub-millimeter wavelengths (λ from 0.35 to 10 mm), which reveal physical processes that are invisible to optical and infrared telescopes. Sub-mm observations of the sky have transformed our understanding of the origin of chemical complexity, the birth of stars and planetary systems, the evolution of galaxies across cosmic times, and the large-scale architecture of the Universe.
The current generation of 10-meter-class single-dish telescopes has given a glimpse of the potential for discovery, while interferometers have presented a high resolution view into the finer details of known targets or in small-area deep fields. However, significant advances in our understanding of such cold and dense structures are now hampered by the limited sensitivity and angular resolution of our sub-mm view of the Universe at larger scales.
The EU-funded design study for the Atacama Large Aperture Submillimeter Telescope (AtLAST) has developed a concept for a new, single-dish sub-mm telescope, with a 50-meter diameter and a field-of-view of 2 degrees. These specifications, combined, are unprecedented in the field of sub-mm astronomy, and will make AtLAST the fastest, most sensitive, and highest resolution mapping machine of the sub-mm sky. Besides the structural design of such next-generation telescope, the study has addressed the selection of the optimal site to host the telescope, the power supply through renewable energy, the science goals, and the governance and operational model for the new facility.
About the conference
This conference aims to bring together all researchers, both scientists and engineers, who are interested in AtLAST and want to support its next steps. The invited and contributed talks will span a broad range of topics, reflecting the multidisciplinary nature of the AtLAST endeavour, such as: astrophysical theory and observations, telescope design and engineering, optical design, instrumentation, weather measurements, renewable energy systems, telescope operations, societal impact, astronomy policies. Ample time will be given to discussions to facilitate the transfer of knowledge between the team who worked on the design study and the community, and to prepare for the next steps.
The conference dinner will be on May 22nd (from approximately 18:00 until 22:30) and it will be held in the beautiful town of Nierstein am Rhein, a wine region. The dinner venue is Weingut Raddeck and a private bus will be arranged for transportation to the dinner venue, and back to Mainz after the dinner. The costs of the dinner and bus will be covered by the default conference fees of the participants and supplemented by the AtLAST EU grant.
Important dates
- 31 October 2023: Abstract submission opens.
- 1 February 2024: Registration opens (registration fee of 200 EUR). Registration will close once a maximum number of 100 participants is reached and/or on 10th May, 2024 at the latest.
- 12 February 2024: Abstract submission closes.
- 20 February 2024: Preliminary programme announced.
- 10 May 2024: Registration closes.
Abstract submission
The abstract submission for a presentation or a flash talk closed on February 12th, 2024. Please note that the abstract submission does not count as registration.
Registration
Registration closed on 10 May 2024.
Programme
All times given below are local time in Mainz, i.e. Central European Summer Time.
21 May 2024 - Day 1
09:30 - 09:45 Registration
09:45 - 10:00 Welcome and Introduction to the conference by Claudia Cicone
10:00 - 10:20 Mathilde Bouvier & Serena Viti (invited): “AtLAST's transformational science”
10:20 - 10:40 Mark Booth (solicited): “The science shaping AtLAST’s requirements”
10:40 - 11:10 Coffee break
11:10 - 11:30 Ciska Kemper & Caroline Bot “The Magellanic Clouds with AtLAST”
11:30 - 11:50 Minju Lee “AtLAST science: discovering the cold CGM”
11:50 - 12:10 Alice Schimek: “Predictions for extended CGM emission”
12:10 - 12:30 Luca Di Mascolo: “The AtLAST SZ view of the hot Universe”
12:30 - 14:00 Lunch break
14:00 - 14:20 Sven Wedemeyer “Observing our Sun with AtLAST”
14:20 - 14:40 Doug Johnstone “Long term monitoring of submm sources”
14:40 - 15:00 Lucie Correia “Dust in the mm/cm domain for nearby galaxies”
15:00 - 15:20 Chian-Chou Chen “A cosmological redshift survey with AtLAST”
15:20 - 15:50 Coffee break
15:50 - 16:10 Joshiwa van Marrewijk “Towards a complete generic emulator”
16:10 - 16:30 Charles Romero “The ICM via X-rays and SZ”
16:30 - 16:50 Silvia Spezzano “Pre-stellar cores”
16:50 - 16:53 Flash talk: Thomas Morris (intro to ‘maria’ code & tutorial on day 2)
16:55 - 17:30 Discussion: science case chaired by Pamela Klaassen
17:30 End of day 1
22 May 2024 - Day 2
09:00 - 9:10 Introduction to the telescope design study by Tony Mroczkowski
09:10 - 9:30 Peter Hargrave (invited) “AtLAST in the context of current facilities”
09:30 - 9:50 Jacob Baars & H. Kaercher: “60 years of submm astronomy”
09:50 - 10:10 Hans Kaercher: “The evolution of the AtLAST design”
10:10 - 10:30 Patricio Gallardo: “The optical design of AtLAST”
10:30 - 11:00 Coffee break
11:00 - 11:20 Matthias Reichert “Telescope design overview”
11:20 - 11:40 Martin Timpe and Aleksej Kiselev “Design performance calculations”
11:40 - 12:00 Manuel Groh: “Flight through the CAD model”
12:00 - 12:20 Jens Kauffmann “VLBI with AtLAST and other stations”
12:30 - 14:00 Lunch break & hand-on ‘maria’ tutorial session by Thomas Morris
14:00 - 14:20 Kotaro Kohno (invited) “AtLAST’s future instrumentation”
14:20 - 14:40 Martina Wiedner (solicited) “Possibilities for large HET arrays”
14:40 - 15:00 Yoichi Tamura: “Mm-wave adaptive optics”
15:00 - 15:30 Discussion chaired by Tony, Matthias, and Patricio
15:30 - 22:30: Visit to OHB DC premises, conference dinner in Nierstein am Rhein. Return to Mainz expected by 23:00.
23 May 2024 - Day 3
09:30 - 9:40 Introduction to the AtLAST Energy study by Sabrina Sartori
09:40 - 10:00 Erika Michela Dematteis (invited) “Energy storage systems”
10:00 - 10:20 Isabelle Viole “Designing a renewable energy system for AtLAST”
10:20 - 10:40 Guillermo Valenzuela “Making astronomy more sustainable”
10:40 - 11:10 Coffee break
11:10 - 11:20 Introduction to the site study by Carlos De Breuck
11:20 - 11:40 Satoki Matsushita (invited) “Influence of site on VLBI capabilities”
11:40 - 12:00 Juan Pablo Perez-Beaupuits “AtLAST site selection”
12:00 - 12:20 Angel Otarola (solicited) “First results from site measurements”
12:20 - 13:50 Lunch break
13:50 - 14:10 Eelco van Kampen "Instrumentation for AtLAST"
14:10 - 14:20 Introduction to the operations study by Evanthia Hatziminaoglou
14:20 - 14:40 Lars Åke Nyman (invited) “Operating large facilities”
14:40 - 15:00 Francisco Montenegro (solicited) “The AtLAST operations plan”
15:00 - 15:20 Stefan Thoms “Standard pointing model and deep learning”
15:20 - 15:50 Coffee break
15:50 - 16:10 Amelie Saintonge (invited) “Synergies with other telescopes”
16:10 - 16:35 Flash talks (6): Mats Kirkaune (on the fly scanning of the Sun), Chau Ching Chiong (Commissioning of 30GHz receiver at Nobeyama), Chihiro Imamura (BUS structure for LST), Nagayoshi Ohashi (new 850micron camera for JCMT), Sergio Poppi & Alessandro Attoli (SRT M1 surface accuracy enhancement), Rosita Paladino (ram pressure stripping)
16:35 - 17:30 Discussion: energy, site and synergies (Chairs: Sabrina, Carlos, Evanthia)
17:30 End of day 3
24 May 2024 - Day 4
09:00 - 9:10 Introduction day 4 by Pamela Klaassen
09:10 - 9:30 Dirk Petry “Results from ALMA development study on beam shaping”
09:30 - 9:50 Francesca Bonanomi “Enhancing data combination with ALMA”
09:50 - 10:10 Patricia Luppe “Faint debris disks around M stars”
10:10 - 10:30 Paola Andreani: “Molecular gas conditions in clusters and ULIRGs”
10:30 - 11:00 Coffee break
11:00 - 11:20 Ryan Keenan “The cosmic history of cool gas”
11:20 - 11:40 Kirsten Hall “ACT-selected dusty star forming galaxies”
11:40 - 12:00 Helmut Dannerbauer “Revealing the formation of galaxy clusters”
12:00 - 12:20 Matus Rybak: “Towards THz IFUs”
12:20 - 13:50 Lunch break
13:50 - 14:10 Thomas Nikola: “Submillimeter direct detection spectrograph”
14:10 - 14:30 5 flash talks: Eelco van Kampen (clusters), Stefano Andreon (missing clusters), Thomas Stanke (ALCOHOLS), Bendix Hagedorn (local SF galaxies); Akhil Lasrado (nearby galaxies)
14:30 - 15:30 Discussion: next steps (round table involving all SOC members)
15:30 End of Conference
Zenodo proceedings
We will preserve all presentations and posters in a dedicated atlast2024 Zenodo collection. Each entry will receive a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) which will create a citable link discoverable on ADS. The Publication of your talk is voluntary, and requires you to agree to the following terms:
Permission is granted to the European Southern Observatory (ESO) to upload presentation slides and/or posters to the Zenodo platform with the purpose of creating conference proceedings, and to process and make available personal information to the extent necessary. Presenters confirm that they have the right to use and make publicly available all materials used in their slides/posters, such as logos, figures, or images, and that they understand that the presentation slides/posters will be made available under a CC-BY 4.0 license which allows re-users to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format, including for commercial use, so long as attribution is given to the creator. ESO is released from any and all claims and demands arising from the content made available.
Code of conduct
We adopt the ESO Code of Conduct for Workshops & Conferences. All participants and organizers of the conference must uphold the Code of Conduct.
The conference venue
The conference venue is the "Atrium maximum / minimum" hall in the Alte Mensa building at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz:
Johann-Joachim-Becher-Weg 5
55128 Mainz
Deutschland
Although a fully hybrid setup cannot be offered, we plan to stream the talks and discussions online, a link will be provided in due time.
About your stay in Mainz
For information about how to reach Mainz by train, plane, or car, see this webpage. We do not have any special agreement with local hotels, below we list a few possibilities.
Close to Mainz Main Station
- me and all hotel mainz; Binger Str. 23, 55131 Mainz;
- Hotel Novotel Mainz, Augustusstrasse 6, 55131 Mainz, Germany;
- B&B HOTEL Mainz-Hbf, Mombacher Str. 2b, 55122 Mainz
- IntercityHotel Mainz; Str. 21, 55131 Mainz
- Mercure Hotel Mainz City Center; Kaiserstraße 7, 55116 Mainz
- Best Western Hotel Mainz; Wallstraße 56, 55122 Mainz
Old town
- Hotel Hof Ehrenfels, Grebenstraße 5-7, 55116 Mainz
- ibis Hotel Mainz, Holzhofstraße 2, 55116 Mainz
Local Organising Committee (LOC)
Pamela Klaassen (code of conduct contact person)
Joshiwa van Marrewijk (code of conduct contact person)
Martina D'Angelo (communication advisor)
