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J.S. Young (Dept. of Astronomy, Univ. of Mass., Amherst, MA), L. Carrasco (Instituto Nacional de Astrofisica, Optica y Electronica, Mexico), F.P. Schloerb (Dept. of Astronomy, Univ. of Mass., Amherst, MA)
The Large Millimeter Telescope (LMT) project is a collaboration between the University of Massachusetts (UMass) in the USA and the Instituto Nacional de Astrofisica, Optica y Electronica (INAOE) in Mexico to build a 50m-diameter millimeter-wave antenna which will operate with good efficiency at wavelengths as short as 1 mm. The LMT is being built at an altitude of 4600 m atop Volcan Sierra Negra, an extinct volcanic peak in the state of Puebla, Mexico, approximately 100 km east of the city of Puebla. At 18 degrees 59' N latitude, the site offers an excellent view of the Galactic Center and good sky coverage of both hemispheres. Construction of the telescope is now well underway, and it is expected to be completed in late 2004.
The LMT specifications call for an overall effective surface accuracy of 75 microns rms and a pointing accuracy of 1" rms. The strategy for meeting these performance goals supplements conventional antenna designs with various "active" systems to bring the final performance within the requirements. For surface accuracy, the LMT will rely on an open loop active surface which includes 180 moveable surface segments. For pointing accuracy, we will use traditional approaches supplemented by measurements to characterize the behavior of the structure, including inclinometers and temperature sensors which may be used with finite element models to determine structural deformations and predict pointing behavior.
The initial complement of instruments will include a 32 element, heterodyne focal plane array at 3mm; a large format, focal plane bolometer array; a unique wide band receiver and spectrometer to determine the redshifts of primordial galaxies; and a 4 element receiver for the 1mm band. With its excellent sensitivity and angular resolution, the LMT will enable unique studies of the early universe and galaxy evolution, the interstellar medium and star formation in galaxies, and planetary science. In particular, with nearly 2000 m2 of collecting area, the LMT will be a powerful instrument for identifying the redshifts of galaxies out to z=10, enabling studies at all wavelengths of galaxies in the early universe.
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Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 34
© 2002. The American Astronomical Soceity.