Very large new generation network strongly approved by Decadal Survey

The Astronomy and Astrophysics Decadal Survey (Astro2020) of the United States National Academy of Sciences published its report and the Very large new generation table (ngVLA) has been given high priority for the construction of new ground-based observatories over the next decade. The report, in which ngVLA shared second among ground-based projects, was the culmination of a long process to develop a comprehensive research strategy and vision for a decade of transformative science at the frontiers of astronomy and science. astrophysics.

The ngVLA is a system of 263 satellite dishes spread across the breadth of North America and concentrated in the southwestern United States, which will provide spectacular new scientific capabilities to astronomers around the world. The Astro2020 report topped the list of ground installations with the US Extremely Large Telescope Project (US-ELT), a plan for two large optical telescopes – the Thirty Meter Telescope and the Giant Magellan Telescope, both at different stages of construction. After the US-ELT, the same priority was given to the development and construction of the ngVLA and the Cosmic Microwave Background Stage-4 (CMB-S4) experiment.

“Being classified as an important new initiative indicates that our colleagues from all specialties of astronomy and astrophysics have recognized that they need the ngVLA to meet the major research challenges of the decades to come. . We designed the ngVLA based on extensive advice from the research community and know that it will be in high demand by scientists around the world, ”said NRAO Director Tony Beasley.

With the release of the Astro2020 report, the ngVLA will then need to be approved by the National Science Board of the National Science Foundation and funded by Congress. Construction could begin by 2026 with early science observations starting in 2029 and full science operations by 2035.

“The high scientific priority given to the ngVLA reflects the breadth and depth of the science it makes possible, from the formation of exoplanets and relativity testing using pulsars and black holes to the study of some of the first galaxies in the Universe. This high ranking is a strong endorsement, and it opens the door for the United States to continue their leadership in radio astronomy and therefore in astrophysics as a whole for decades to come, ”said Alberto Bolatto, co-chair of the ngVLA Scientific Advisory Board and professor of astronomy at the University of Maryland, College Park.

“This Astro2020 result is a direct result of the close collaboration between NRAO and the larger astronomical community in the development of both the general scientific case and the technical design of ngVLA over the past five years,” said Eric Murphy, NRAO Project Scientist. for ngVLA. “All of the hard work in the community has clearly paid off and we are now looking forward to continuing this collaboration as we finalize the design and move towards achieving the first light with the ngVLA,” added Murphy.

The ngVLA is designed to have a sensitivity to detect weak objects and a resolving power (ability to see fine details) more than 10 times greater than the current VLA. It can answer fundamental questions in all major areas of astrophysics. The capabilities of the ngVLA will complement those of the Atacama Large Millimeter / submillimeter Array (ALMA) and other planned instruments such as the Low Frequency Square Kilometer Array. It will also complement the capabilities of the US-ELT Optical Telescopes and the James Webb Space Telescope in orbit, which will operate in infrared wavelengths and scheduled for launch next month.

The ngVLA is a resource for all astronomers, regardless of their institution or training. It will be accessible to all segments of the research community. Anyone will be able to submit an observation proposal to take advantage of ngVLA’s advanced capabilities for exploratory science.

The Astro 2020 report stated: “The ngVLA facility would be absolutely unique in the world in terms of sensitivity and frequency coverage”, and concludes that “it is of critical importance to astronomy that the VLA and the Very Long Baseline Array be replaced by an observatory which can roughly an order of magnitude improvement in sensitivity compared to these installations, with the possibility of imaging radio sources on arc minute scales at fractions of millisecond of arc. “

“We commend the US-ELT and CMB-S4 teams for their strong proposals, and we look forward to working with them, the research community, and the National Science Foundation to provide astronomers with the suite of advanced and multi- wavelengths needed to meet the challenges. of 21st century astrophysics, as outlined in the Astro2020 report, ”said Beasley. “We appreciate the enormous amount of work that has gone into producing the Astro2020 report, including many members of the scientific community and in particular the tireless efforts of the Chairs and Steering Committees,” he added.

The ngVLA will have a dense core of antennas and a signal processing center at the current VLA site on the San Agustin Plains in New Mexico. The system will include additional antennas located throughout New Mexico and western Texas, eastern Arizona and northern Mexico. More distant antennas will be located in clusters in Hawaii, Washington, California, Iowa, West Virginia, New Hampshire, Puerto Rico (at the Arecibo Observatory), the US Virgin Islands and the United States. Canada. Operations will be conducted at the VLA site and near Socorro, New Mexico, with additional science operations in a metropolitan area to be determined.

The NRAO received $ 23 million in funding from the National Science Foundation for the design and development work of ngVLA antennas, and in May, NRAO officials signed an agreement with German company mtex antenna technology GmbH to develop a production ready design and produce a prototype ngVLA antenna.

Adam Cohen, President of Associated Universities, Inc. (AUI), which manages the NRAO, said, “We are excited about this strong endorsement of ngVLA by the research community and look forward to continuing the nearly seven decades of ‘AUI in developing and supplying some of the world’s best telescopes for the advancement of astronomy. We greatly appreciate the support of the National Science Foundation for the initial stages of ngVLA and look forward to working with them to make this exceptional facility a reality.

Earlier this year, the Long Range Plan for Canadian Astronomy 2020-2030, a report on priorities and recommendations for Canadian astronomy over the next decade, recommended that Canada support the ngVLA. This panel recommended that Canada provide $ 130 million for the construction of the ngVLA and $ 6 million per year for the operation of the facility. A Japanese contribution plan to the ngVLA is one of the main proposals being studied by the scientific community of this country to be part of the 2023 Master Plan of the Scientific Council of Japan.

The design of the ngVLA is the result of extensive collaboration with researchers in the landscape of astrophysics. Through a series of workshops and scientific meetings starting in 2015, NRAO has worked with numerous scientists and engineers to develop a design that will support a wide range of scientific inquiries over the life of the facility. Participants from around the world contributed their suggestions and expertise which helped guide the design.

Provided by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO)