The National Academies Press

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Pages 415-439

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From page 415... ... At large angular scales, there is the prospect of detecting and characterizing relic gravitational waves from the Big Bang through their effect on CMB polarization. This has major implications for cosmology, since it provides insight into a critical phase when the infant universe expanded by a factor of ~1026 in 10–32 s. Read the entire page →
From page 416... ... , Rubin Observatory, Euclid, the Roman Space Observatory, and Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization, and Ices Explorer [SPHEREx] Read the entire page →
From page 417... ... Suborbital Programs: Suborbital experiments, including sounding rockets, have played a significant role in testing technologies and training researchers, leading to better space missions. The suborbital program offers flexibility and rapid scientific return, and supports technology development and testing of new concepts, particularly in the area of detectors. Read the entire page →
From page 418... ... LISA will open up the millihertz-frequency band of gravitational waves, a band rich with sources ranging from white-dwarf binaries in the Milky Way to massive black holes throughout the entire universe. Read the entire page →
From page 419... ... neutron stars and stellar-mass black holes? D, TDA: Continuum shapes of disk components, broad Fe-K line shapes. Read the entire page →
From page 420... ... Q3. How do supermassive black holes form and D, Fire: Measuring luminosity function of rapidly growing black holes in the first how is their growth coupled to the evolution of billion years. Read the entire page →
From page 421... ... DA. "Industrial-scale" spectroscopy -- NOTE: CMB = cosmic microwave background; D = Science for which the mission is specifically designed; G = additional science to which the mission can make a Good contribution, but for which the mission is not specifically designed; GW = gravitational wave; NS = neutron star; S = additional science to which the mission can make a Strong contribution, but for which the mission is not specifically designed; TDA = time-domain astronomy. Read the entire page →
From page 422... ... observational facilities are central to addressing the most pressing and fundamental questions in astronomy and astrophysics, as assessed by the six science panels of the Astro2020 decadal survey.1 The importance of some of these questions transcends the boundaries of science: How did we get here? Are we alone? Read the entire page →
From page 423... ... The importance of the next-generation Extremely Large Telescopes (ELTs) has been recognized for at least 20 years, and indeed, an ELT was the top ground-based recommendation of the 2000 decadal survey. Read the entire page →
From page 424... ... (solar observatory) , and the Mauna Kea Spectroscopic Explorer (massively multiplexed spectrograph) Read the entire page →
From page 425... ... In the case of the U.S. ELT program, the panel received full Technical, Risk, and Cost Evaluation (TRACE) Read the entire page →
From page 426... ... Do and A Ghez, 2019, "Envisioning the Next Decade of Galactic Center Science: A Laboratory for the Study of the Physics and Astrophysics of Supermassive Black Holes," white paper submitted to Astro2020: Decadal Survey on Astronomy and Astrophysics, https://arxiv.org/pdf/1903.05293.pdf. Read the entire page →
From page 427... ... the gas, metals, and dust flows into, through, and out of galaxies at all epochs; (3) the formation of supermassive black holes and the coupling of their growth with that of their host galaxies; (4) Read the entire page →
From page 428... ... Ongoing projects and future concepts for massively multiplexed spectrographs -- be they multi-object or integral field instruments -- will deliver the necessary 10–100× larger samples. Coupled with high sensitivity and angular resolution, they will reach unexplored low mass/luminosity regimes that are very sensitive to the physics of star and galaxy formation, overcome crowding in nearby studies, and greatly boost observational efficiency for distant sources. Read the entire page →
From page 429... ... A new generation of Extremely Large Telescopes is essential to answering the most important questions in astronomy and astrophysics in the 2030s and the decades that follow. It seems clear that without a major federal investment, the two ELT programs with U.S. Read the entire page →
From page 430... ... Q4. What seeds supermassive black holes and how do they grow? Read the entire page →
From page 431... ... and the Vera C Rubin Observatory (Rubin Observatory) Read the entire page →
From page 432... ... Both projects need significant additional new funding beyond the planned request from NSF. Both projects believe that the combination of the imprimatur of a top ranking in the decadal survey, followed by the full financial involvement of the U.S. Read the entire page →
From page 433... ... The total annual budget of $47 million represents 2 percent of construction costs. In comparison, the corresponding fractions are 4 percent for the E-ELT and 5 percent for Rubin Observatory and Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) Read the entire page →
From page 434... ... ELT program is strong and compelling. The technical risks, while challenging, are manageable. Read the entire page →
From page 435... ... The U.S. ELT program has also presented a baseline for when the funds from NSF would be needed. Read the entire page →
From page 436... ... 436 PATHWAYS TO DISCOVERY IN ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS FOR THE 2020s 700 600 NSF Guidance 500 $M per year 400 300 200 100 0 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 US ELTP MREFC FIGURE K.1 Comparison between the U.S. ELT request and the total notional NSF MREFC budget. Read the entire page →
From page 437... ... ELTP. These are community-driven ELT programs that are being facilitated with the help of the NOIRLab. Read the entire page →
From page 438... ... GMT and TMT, in concert with NSF's NOIRLab, have therefore proposed to Astro2020 to create an integrated U.S. ELT Program that will provide access to both GMT and TMT in exchange for federal investment of $800 million in each of these two telescopes and also in the necessary NOIRLab infrastructure. Read the entire page →
From page 439... ... AO development has led, notably, to the discovery of the supermassive black hole at the galactic center, the first images and spectra of exoplanets, and direct evidence for the existence of dark sub-halos as predicted by Cold Dark Matter models. AO is a key component for the success of DKIST. Read the entire page →

From page 415...

... At large angular scales, there is the prospect of detecting and characterizing relic gravitational waves from the Big Bang through their effect on CMB polarization. This has major implications for cosmology, since it provides insight into a critical phase when the infant universe expanded by a factor of ~1026 in 10–32 s.