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
Karoly J
(2023)
The JCMT BISTRO Survey: Studying the Complex Magnetic Field of L43
in The Astrophysical Journal
Hwang J
(2023)
Magnetic Fields in the Horsehead Nebula
in The Astronomical Journal
Collaboration E
(2024)
VizieR Online Data Catalog: M87* EHT image (Event Horizon Tel. Coll.+, 2024)
in VizieR Online Data Catalog
Graves S
(2024)
The JCMT Legacy Release: SCUBA-2 850 µm Coadds and Catalogs
in The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series
Clements D
(2024)
Venus Phosphine: Updates and lessons learned
Gu ? Q
(2024)
The Magnetic Field in Quiescent Star-forming Filament G16.96+0.27
in The Astrophysical Journal
Paraschos G
(2024)
Ordered magnetic fields around the 3C 84 central black hole
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Pattle K
(2024)
The UK Submillimetre and Millimetre Astronomy Roadmap 2024
Bešlic I
(2024)
The magnetic field in the Flame nebula
Wu J
(2024)
A Tale of Three: Magnetic Fields along the Orion Integral-shaped Filament as Revealed by the JCMT BISTRO Survey
in The Astrophysical Journal Letters
Zapata L
(2024)
Magnetic Fields in Massive Star-forming Regions (MagMaR). IV. Tracing the Magnetic Fields in the O-type Protostellar System IRAS 16547-4247
in The Astrophysical Journal
Lin S
(2024)
Magnetic Fields of the Starless Core L 1512
in The Astrophysical Journal
Pattle K
(2024)
Star Formation in the Milky Way and Beyond in the Era of JWST and ALMA
in Astronomy & Geophysics
Smith I
(2024)
JCMT SCUBA-2 Sub-millimeter Observations of AT2018cow
in Research Notes of the AAS
Klaassen P
(2024)
Atacama Large Aperture Submillimeter Telescope (AtLAST) science: Our Galaxy
in Open Research Europe
Pattle Kate
(2024)
Interstellar Magnetic Fields and Our Dynamical ISM: The Future of Dust Polarimetry with AtLAST
in EAS2024, European Astronomical Society Annual Meeting
Eden D
(2024)
A study of Galactic Plane Planck Galactic cold clumps observed by SCOPE and the JCMT Plane Survey
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Xu F
(2024)
On the Scarcity of Dense Cores (n > 10 5 cm -3 ) in High-latitude Planck Galactic Cold Clumps
in The Astrophysical Journal Letters
Saha P
(2024)
Magnetic Fields in Massive Star-forming Regions (MagMaR): Unveiling an Hourglass Magnetic Field in G333.46-0.16 Using ALMA
in The Astrophysical Journal Letters
Choi Y
(2024)
The JCMT BISTRO Survey: The Magnetic Fields of the IC 348 Star-forming Region
in The Astrophysical Journal
Gao ? Z
(2024)
SCUBA-2 Ultra Deep Imaging EAO Survey (STUDIES). V. Confusion-limited Submillimeter Galaxy Number Counts at 450 µm and Data Release for the COSMOS Field
in The Astrophysical Journal