Sub-millimeterwave efforts in India

Abstract

The submillimeter waveband (3 to 0.3 mm) is important for photometric and spectroscopic studies of the high redshift Universe and of the deeply embedded star forming regions in our and nearby galaxies. The upcoming Atacama Large Millimeterwave Array (ALMA) will have a large collecting area and high spatial resolution, but small field of view and correlation bandwidth. This creates both an opportunity and a need for an effective complement: a large single dish fitted with a modern photon detector array can be faster than ALMA for continuum source detection. Besides being powerful in its own right, such an instrument can also supply zero-spacing data for making more complete spectral line images with ALMA. Our natural strength in having many high altitude desert sites in the Himalayas can be leveraged to take our nascent submillimeter efforts to the frontiers of this new waveband. Building large submillimeterwave telescope calls for unconventional approaches. In this paper, we first discuss the astronomical importance of the submillimeter waveband, then present our ongoing site survey efforts in the Himalayas and then put forth a novel way to build a large submillimeterwave antenna. Finally, we summarise our efforts so far and our plans for the near future.