First-generation Science Cases for Ground-based Terahertz Telescopes

TL;DR

This paper discusses the scientific potential of ground-based 10-m class THz telescopes, highlighting high-resolution mapping, star formation tracers, extragalactic surveys, and monitoring transient phenomena.

Contribution

It presents the first comprehensive science cases and quantitative estimates for ground-based THz astronomy with a focus on the Greenland Telescope.

Findings

High angular resolution (~4 arcsec) enables detailed mapping of star-forming regions.

THz lines like CO and [N II] are key tracers for star formation and feedback.

Ground-based THz surveys can detect galaxies at redshifts z ~ 1-2.

Abstract

Ground-based observations at terahertz (THz) frequencies are a newly explorable area of astronomy for the next ten years. We discuss science cases for a first-generation 10-m class THz telescope, focusing on the Greenland Telescope as an example of such a facility. We propose science cases and provide quantitative estimates for each case. The largest advantage of ground-based THz telescopes is their higher angular resolution (~ 4 arcsec for a 10-m dish), as compared to space or airborne THz telescopes. Thus, high-resolution mapping is an important scientific argument. In particular, we can isolate zones of interest for Galactic and extragalactic star-forming regions. The THz windows are suitable for observations of high-excitation CO lines and [N II] 205 um lines, which are scientifically relevant tracers of star formation and stellar feedback. Those lines are the brightest lines in the THz windows, so that they are suitable for the initiation of ground-based THz observations. THz polarization of star-forming regions can also be explored since it traces the dust population contributing to the THz spectral peak. For survey-type observations, we focus on ``sub-THz'' extragalactic surveys, whose uniqueness is to detect galaxies at redshifts z ~ 1--2, where the dust emission per comoving volume is the largest in the history of the Universe. Finally we explore possibilities of flexible time scheduling, which enables us to monitor active galactic nuclei, and to target gamma-ray burst afterglows. For these objects, THz and submillimeter wavelength ranges have not yet been explored.