2020/02/16 by H. Linz, H. Beuther, Linz, Hendrik +25
Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomy and Astrophysical Research #Cold Atom Physics and Bose-Einstein Condensates #FOS: Physical sciences #Instrumentation and Detectors (physics.ins-det) #Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics (astro-ph.IM) #Pulsars and Gravitational Waves Research #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2002.06693
openalex publication_date 2020/02/16 · openalex created_date 2022/01/26 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
The far-infrared (FIR) regime is one of the few wavelength ranges where no\nastronomical data with sub-arcsecond spatial resolution exist. Neither of the\nmedium-term satellite projects like SPICA, Millimetron nor O.S.T. will resolve\nthis malady. For many research areas, however, information at high spatial and\nspectral resolution in the FIR, taken from atomic fine-structure lines, from\nhighly excited carbon monoxide (CO), light hydrids, and especially from water\nlines would open the door for transformative science. A main theme will be to\ntrace the role of water in proto-planetary disks, to observationally advance\nour understanding of the planet formation process and, intimately related to\nthat, the pathways to habitable planets and the emergence of life. Furthermore,\nkey observations will zoom into the physics and chemistry of the star-formation\nprocess in our own Galaxy, as well as in external galaxies. The FIR provides\nunique tools to investigate in particular the energetics of heating, cooling\nand shocks. The velocity-resolved data in these tracers will reveal the\ndetailed dynamics engrained in these processes in a spatially resolved fashion,\nand will deliver the perfect synergy with ground-based molecular line data for\nthe colder dense gas.\n