Submillimetre Cosmology at High Angular Resolution

TL;DR

This paper discusses the importance of submillimetre and millimetre wavelength observations in studying galaxy formation, highlighting recent limitations and the promising future with upcoming advanced observatories that will significantly enhance resolution and sensitivity.

Contribution

It provides an overview of expected major advances in galaxy evolution studies enabled by new high-resolution, high-sensitivity submm observatories.

Findings

Current telescopes detect only the most luminous high-redshift objects.

Upcoming facilities will dramatically improve sensitivity and resolution.

These advances will enable detailed studies of molecular gas and dust in galaxies.

Abstract

Over the last decade observations at submillimetre (submm) and millimetre (mm) wavelengths, with their unique ability to trace molecular gas and dust, have attained a central role in our exploration of galaxies at all redshifts. Due to the limited sensitivities and angular resolutions of current submm/mm telescopes, however, only the most luminous objects have been uncovered at high redshifts, with interferometric follow-up observations succeeding in resolving the dust and gas reservoirs in only a handful of cases. The coming years will witness a drastic improvement in the current situation, thanks to the arrival of a new suite of powerful submm observatories (single-dish and interferometers) with an order of magnitude improvement in sensitivity and resolution. In this overview I outline a few of what I expect to be the major advances in the field of galaxy formation and evolution that these new ground-breaking facilities will facilitate.