Future Science Prospects for AMI

TL;DR

The paper reviews the capabilities and scientific achievements of the Arcminute Microkelvin Imager (AMI), highlighting its unique design for high-sensitivity measurements of low-brightness features at cm wavelengths and its potential for future research.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of AMI's design, capabilities, current scientific results, and future prospects in Galactic and extragalactic research.

Findings

Successful imaging of low-surface-brightness features

Effective removal of confusing radio point sources

Rapid, deep surveys and object monitoring capabilities

Abstract

The Arcminute Microkelvin Imager (AMI) is a telescope specifically designed for high sensitivity measurements of low-surface-brightness features at cm-wavelength and has unique, important capabilities. It consists of two interferometer arrays operating over 13.5-18 GHz that image structures on scales of 0.5-10 arcmin with very low systematics. The Small Array (AMI-SA; ten 3.7-m antennas) couples very well to Sunyaev-Zel'dovich features from galaxy clusters and to many Galactic features. The Large Array (AMI-LA; eight 13-m antennas) has a collecting area ten times that of the AMI-SA and longer baselines, crucially allowing the removal of the effects of confusing radio point sources from regions of low surface-brightness, extended emission. Moreover AMI provides fast, deep object surveying and allows monitoring of large numbers of objects. In this White Paper we review the new science - both Galactic and extragalactic - already achieved with AMI and outline the prospects for much more.