Atacama Large Aperture Submillimeter Telescope (AtLAST) Science: The hidden circumgalactic medium
Minju M. Lee, Alice Schimek, Claudia Cicone, Paola Andreani, Gerg\"o, Popping, Laura Sommovigo, Philip N. Appleton, Manuela Bischetti, Sebastiano, Cantalupo, Chian-Chou Chen, Helmut Dannerbauer, Carlos De Breuck, Luca Di, Mascolo, Bjorn H.C. Emonts, Evanthia Hatziminaoglou

TL;DR
This paper advocates for the use of the proposed Atacama Large Aperture Submillimeter Telescope (AtLAST) to explore the cold, diffuse circumgalactic medium (CGM) in galaxies across cosmic time, which is crucial for understanding galaxy evolution.
Contribution
It presents a detailed argument and technical requirements for future AtLAST observations targeting the elusive cold CGM in galaxies.
Findings
Cold CGM may contain a significant fraction of galaxy mass.
Bright far-infrared and sub-millimeter lines can trace the CGM.
AtLAST's capabilities are essential for breakthrough studies of the CGM.
Abstract
Our knowledge of galaxy formation and evolution has incredibly progressed through multi-wavelength observational constraints of the interstellar medium (ISM) of galaxies at all cosmic epochs. However, little is known about the physical properties of the more diffuse and lower surface brightness reservoir of gas and dust that extends beyond ISM scales and fills dark matter haloes of galaxies up to their virial radii, the circumgalactic medium (CGM). New theoretical studies increasingly stress the relevance of the latter for understanding the feedback and feeding mechanisms that shape galaxies across cosmic times, whose cumulative effects leave clear imprints into the CGM. Recent studies are showing that a -- so far unconstrained -- fraction of the CGM mass may reside in the cold (T < 1e4 K) molecular and atomic phase, especially in high-redshift dense environments. These gas phases,…
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Taxonomy
TopicsRadio Astronomy Observations and Technology · Superconducting and THz Device Technology · Astrophysics and Cosmic Phenomena
