Continuing Exploitation of the UK Investment in the JCMT
Lead Research Organisation:
CARDIFF UNIVERSITY
Department Name: School of Physics and Astronomy
Abstract
We propose that the UK continue to take a significant role in the operation and scientific exploitation of the James Clerk Maxwell telescope (JCMT). We request £200K per annum funding from STFC for a further 3 years from 1st April 2021 to 1st April 2024, which combined with the contributions from the universities will allow us to continue as roughly 20% partners with the East Asian Observatory (EAO), the lead operator, and Canada. The JCMT is the world's largest submm telescope and is likely to remain so until at least 2030. The period for which we now request funding will include the commissioning of new instrumentation, in particular a new camera which will increase the mapping speed of the telescope by at least a factor of 10.
The STFC contribution will allow the UK to continue to play a major role in the Large Programmes currently underway, many of which we are leading, as well as allowing us to initiate new programmes, all at a remarkably low cost. The EAO see the operation of the JCMT as the route to developing the skill base of their own communities via collaboration with the enormous expertise of the UK submm community. It has therefore set aside 50% of the total observing time on the JCMT for large-scale collaborative programmes defined and exploited by joint science teams drawn from all six partner countries. The UK community therefore will gain access to effectively 60% of the total science output of the JCMT at a total cost of £600K over 3 years. As well as producing excellent science, access to the JCMT gives the only direct UK access to the Event Horizon Telescope, with its ability to image the regions immediately around black holes, and the wide-field imaging capability of the JCMT puts UK astronomers in a strong position to leverage time on the Atacama Large Millimetre Array and the James Webb Space Telescope.
The STFC contribution will allow the UK to continue to play a major role in the Large Programmes currently underway, many of which we are leading, as well as allowing us to initiate new programmes, all at a remarkably low cost. The EAO see the operation of the JCMT as the route to developing the skill base of their own communities via collaboration with the enormous expertise of the UK submm community. It has therefore set aside 50% of the total observing time on the JCMT for large-scale collaborative programmes defined and exploited by joint science teams drawn from all six partner countries. The UK community therefore will gain access to effectively 60% of the total science output of the JCMT at a total cost of £600K over 3 years. As well as producing excellent science, access to the JCMT gives the only direct UK access to the Event Horizon Telescope, with its ability to image the regions immediately around black holes, and the wide-field imaging capability of the JCMT puts UK astronomers in a strong position to leverage time on the Atacama Large Millimetre Array and the James Webb Space Telescope.
Planned Impact
The JCMT has a strong history of public outreach, which will continue. The public has a very positive view of astronomy research, and astronomy outreach attracts young people to study STEM subjects at school and university.
Because this is a collaboration with four East Asian countries - China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan - it will enable UK universities and scientists to develop closer ties with scientists and research institutions in these four very strong economies. There are strong opportunities for student exchange, both outward for UK students and inwards for Asian students coming to the UK.
UK PhD students and early-career researchers will have the opportunity of working with cutting-edge technology, both with the hardware at the telescope and with the software used to analyse the data. There is significant opportunity for this training to result in spinout activity in other areas, for example the UK creative industries in the case of software and imaging technology in the case of hardware.
Because this is a collaboration with four East Asian countries - China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan - it will enable UK universities and scientists to develop closer ties with scientists and research institutions in these four very strong economies. There are strong opportunities for student exchange, both outward for UK students and inwards for Asian students coming to the UK.
UK PhD students and early-career researchers will have the opportunity of working with cutting-edge technology, both with the hardware at the telescope and with the software used to analyse the data. There is significant opportunity for this training to result in spinout activity in other areas, for example the UK creative industries in the case of software and imaging technology in the case of hardware.
Organisations
People |
ORCID iD |
| Stephen Eales (Principal Investigator) |
Publications
Janssen M
(2021)
Event Horizon Telescope observations of the jet launching and collimation in Centaurus A
in Nature Astronomy
Klaassen P
(2024)
Atacama Large Aperture Submillimeter Telescope (AtLAST) science: Our Galaxy
in Open Research Europe
Kocherlakota P
(2021)
Constraints on black-hole charges with the 2017 EHT observations of M87*
in Physical Review D
Bains W
(2022)
Only extraordinary volcanism can explain the presence of parts per billion phosphine on Venus.
in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Smith I
(2024)
JCMT SCUBA-2 Sub-millimeter Observations of AT2018cow
in Research Notes of the AAS
Raymond A
(2024)
First Very Long Baseline Interferometry Detections at 870 µm
in The Astronomical Journal
Hwang J
(2023)
Magnetic Fields in the Horsehead Nebula
in The Astronomical Journal
Ngoc N
(2021)
Observations of Magnetic Fields Surrounding LkHa 101 Taken by the BISTRO Survey with JCMT-POL-2
in The Astrophysical Journal
Ward-Thompson D
(2023)
First BISTRO Observations of the Dark Cloud Taurus L1495A-B10: The Role of the Magnetic Field in the Earliest Stages of Low-mass Star Formation
in The Astrophysical Journal
Sharma E
(2025)
Imprints of Stellar Feedback on Magnetic Fields in the Iris Nebula NGC 7023
in The Astrophysical Journal
Doi Y
(2021)
Erratum: "The JCMT BISTRO Survey: Magnetic Fields Associated with a Network of Filaments in NGC 1333" (2020, ApJ, 899, 28)
in The Astrophysical Journal
Yang M
(2025)
The JCMT BISTRO Survey: Unveiling the Magnetic Fields around Galactic Center
in The Astrophysical Journal
Jorstad S
(2023)
The Event Horizon Telescope Image of the Quasar NRAO 530
in The Astrophysical Journal
Gu ? Q
(2024)
The Magnetic Field in Quiescent Star-forming Filament G16.96+0.27
in The Astrophysical Journal
Karoly J
(2023)
The JCMT BISTRO Survey: Studying the Complex Magnetic Field of L43
in The Astrophysical Journal
Hwang J
(2021)
The JCMT BISTRO Survey: The Distribution of Magnetic Field Strengths toward the OMC-1 Region
in The Astrophysical Journal
Pattle K
(2021)
JCMT POL-2 and BISTRO Survey Observations of Magnetic Fields in the L1689 Molecular Cloud
in The Astrophysical Journal
Tahani M
(2023)
JCMT BISTRO Observations: Magnetic Field Morphology of Bubbles Associated with NGC 6334
in The Astrophysical Journal
Hwang J
(2022)
The JCMT BISTRO Survey: A Spiral Magnetic Field in a Hub-filament Structure, Monoceros R2
in The Astrophysical Journal
Shen X
(2024)
JCMT 850 µm Continuum Observations of Density Structures in the G35 Molecular Complex
in The Astrophysical Journal
Satapathy K
(2022)
The Variability of the Black Hole Image in M87 at the Dynamical Timescale
in The Astrophysical Journal
Gupta A
(2022)
Effects of Magnetic Field Orientations in Dense Cores on Gas Kinematics in Protostellar Envelopes
in The Astrophysical Journal
Prather B
(2023)
Comparison of Polarized Radiative Transfer Codes Used by the EHT Collaboration
in The Astrophysical Journal
Kwon W
(2022)
B-fields in Star-forming Region Observations (BISTRO): Magnetic Fields in the Filamentary Structures of Serpens Main
in The Astrophysical Journal