The Atacama Large Millimeter Array Implications of a Potential Descope (2005) / Chapter Skim
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1 Introduction
1 Introduction
Pages 3-6
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ALMA was initially planned by North America and Europe as an array of 64 12-meter antennas; Japan's participation brought two additional receiver bands to the instrument along with a compact array comprising 4 separate 12-meter antennas and 12 7-meter antennas. The ALMA array is designed to have an angular resolution of 6 milliarcseconds at its shortest operating wavelength and a sensitivity that will enable fundamental investigations of the origin and evolution of planets, stars, and galaxies -- investigations that are not possible with other instruments observing in other areas of the spectrum.
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The committee has read the ASAC reports dated September 2004 and March 2005, the relevant chapters of the ALMA Project Book, the ESO document "Science with ALMA," and the 1999 Report of the Antenna Size Committee. It has also listened to presentations by Wayne van Citters on behalf of the National Science Foundation, Ewine van Dishoeck, representing ESO, and Jean Turner, ASAC chair.
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From page 5... ...
In addition, smaller arrays would take smaller quantities of data during ALMA's lifetime and would be far less user friendly when high-fidelity images are required. The committee concludes that a 60-element array would be greatly superior to any current or planned comparable instrument for several decades and would revolutionize millimeter and submillimeter astronomy.
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