Detection and characterisation of submm transient sources with a large single-dish telescope

TL;DR

This paper discusses the detection and analysis of transient sources in the submillimeter sky using large single-dish telescopes, highlighting recent detections and future prospects with upcoming surveys.

Contribution

It introduces the potential of large single-dish telescopes like AtLAST for detecting and characterizing submm transient sources in the era of large sky surveys.

Findings

Recent detections by ACT and SPT demonstrate the feasibility.

Upcoming surveys will increase transient detections significantly.

Large single-dish telescopes are crucial for follow-up and detailed study.

Abstract

The exploration of the time-variable astronomical sky at submm wavelengths is rapidly becoming more feasible with large sky surveys by Cosmic Microwave Background telescopes with tens of thousands of detectors. Observations with the Atacama Cosmology Telescope and South Pole Telescope have already detected some transients, and Simons Observatory and CCAT are expected to detect many more in the near future. Follow-up observations to characterise these transients, and surveying to uncovering fainter populations, will need high sensitivity and large fields of view at submm wavelengths, which could be provided by large single dish telescopes such as AtLAST.