Astro2020 Activities and Projects White Paper: Arecibo Observatory in the Next Decade

TL;DR

This white paper outlines planned upgrades and activities for the Arecibo Observatory over the next decade, aiming to enhance its research capabilities and maintain its leadership in radio astronomy and planetary radar studies.

Contribution

It proposes specific technical upgrades and strategic plans to keep Arecibo at the forefront of radio astronomy and planetary radar research in collaboration with upcoming facilities.

Findings

Enhanced telescope performance up to ~12.5 GHz

Integration with new facilities like ngVLA, SKA, and FAST

Commitment to education and training programs

Abstract

The white paper discusses Arecibo Observatory's plan for facility improvements and activities over the next decade. The facility improvements include: (a) improving the telescope surface, pointing and focusing to achieve superb performance up to ~12.5 GHz; (b) equip the telescope with ultrawide-band feeds; (c) upgrade the instrumentation with a 4 GHz bandwidth high dynamic range digital link and a universal backend and (d) augment the VLBI facility by integrating the 12m telescope for phase referencing. These upgrades to the Arecibo telescope are critical to keep the national facility in the forefront of research in radio astronomy while maintaining its dominance in radar studies of near-Earth asteroids, planets and satellites. In the next decade, the Arecibo telescope will play a synergistic role with the upcoming facilities such as ngVLA, SKA and the now commissioned FAST telescope. Further, the observatory will be actively engaged in mentoring and training programs for students from a diverse background.