Progress in the Design of the Atacama Large Aperture Submillimeter Telescope
Tony Mroczkowski, C. Cicone, Matthias Reichert, Patricio A. Gallardo, Hans J. Kaercher, R. E. Hills, Daniel Bok, Erik Dahl, Pierre Dubois-dit-Bonclaude, Aleksej Kiselev, Martin Timpe, Thomas W. Zimmerer, Simon Dicker, Mike MacIntosh, Pamela Klaassen, Michael D. Niemack
Abstract
The Atacama Large Aperture Submillimeter Telescope (At-LAST) aims to be the premier next generation large diameter (50 meter) single dish observatory capable of observations across the millimeter/submillimeter spectrum, from 30 GHz to 1 THz. AtLAST will be sited in Chile at approximately 5100 meters above sea level, high in the Atacama Desert near Llano de Chajnantor. The novel rockingchair telescope design allows for a unprecedentedly wide field of view (FoV) of 1-2° diameter, a large receiver cabin housing six major instruments, and high structural stability during fast scanning operations (up to ~ 3° per second in azimuth). Here we describe the current status of, and expected outcomes for, the antenna design study, which will be completed in 2024.