Finding New Debris Discs at Sub-millimetre Wavelengths

TL;DR

This paper discusses the importance of sub-millimetre observations in studying debris discs around stars, highlighting the need for advanced facilities like AtLAST to detect fainter and more distant discs.

Contribution

It introduces the Atacama Large Aperture Submillimetre Telescope (AtLAST) as a new facility capable of overcoming current observational limitations for debris disc detection.

Findings

Current detections cover only ~20% of stars with debris discs.

AtLAST will enable detection of fainter and more distant debris discs.

Multiwavelength and large field of view capabilities are essential for comprehensive surveys.

Abstract

Debris discs reveal the architectures and dynamical histories of planetary systems. Sub-millimetre observations trace large dust grains within debris discs, revealing their bulk properties. Debris discs have so far only been detected around ~20% of stars, representing the bright end of the population. A new facility is required to reach fainter discs, overcoming the confusion limit, with multiwavelength capabilities for characterisation, sensitivity to large-scale emission for nearby targets and a large field of view for surveying distant populations. All of this is made possible with the Atacama Large Aperture Submillimetre Telescope (AtLAST).