Opportunities for maser studies with the Square Kilometre Array

TL;DR

The paper discusses how the next-generation Square Kilometre Array (SKA) radio telescope will revolutionize maser studies by enabling precise measurements of cosmic distances, black hole environments, and star formation processes with unprecedented sensitivity and resolution.

Contribution

It highlights the potential of SKA to advance maser research through its enhanced capabilities, opening new avenues for fundamental physics and astrophysics discoveries.

Findings

SKA will enable precise H0 measurements using H2O megamasers.

It will probe the central regions of supermassive black holes in AGNs.

SKA will study molecular gas and star formation with high accuracy.

Abstract

The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) is the radio telescope of the next generation, providing an increase in sensitivity and angular resolution of two orders of magnitude over existing telescopes. Currently, the SKA is expected to span the frequency range 0.1-25 GHz with capabilities including a wide field-of-view and measurement of polarised emission. Such a telescope has enormous potential for testing fundamental physical laws and producing transformational discoveries. Important science goals include using H2O megamasers to make precise estimates of H0, which will anchor the extragalactic distance scale, and to probe the central structures of accretion disks around supermassive black holes in AGNs, to study OH megamasers associated with extreme starburst activity in distant galaxies and to study with unprecedented precision molecular gas and star formation in our Galaxy.