The Five College Radio Astronomy Observatory at the University of Massachusetts consists of a group of scientists and engineers working together in support of a research program in millimeter-wave astronomy. The FCRAO program emphasizes three principal areas: (1) astronomical research; (2) development of state-of-the-art instrumentation; and (3) training of graduate and undergraduate students in observational astronomy and astronomical instrumentation. The FCRAO is participating with the Mexican Instituto Nacional de Astrofisica, Optica, y Electronica (INAOE) in the construction, in Mexico, of a 50m diameter Large Millimeter Telescope (LMT). The LMT, when completed, will be the largest telescope of its kind in the world. This award will support key personnel and students working toward completion and commissioning of the LMT over the next three years, including development and testing of new instrumentation to take advantage of the short 1mm-wavelength operating wavelength of the LMT.
Intellectual Merit The focus of our NSF funding has been the development of the Large Millimeter Telescope in Mexico as a productive scientific instrument. During this time, our group has deployed two commissioning instruments (holography receiver and optical pointing camerat) and 2 scientific instruments (AzTEC and the Redshift Search Receiver) to the LMT site. We commissioned these instruments and the Monitor/Control software system to characterize the performance of the LMT subsystems. In July of 2013, the LMT completed its first observing session devoted to a set of competed scientific programs. This``shared-risk'' period marked the beginning of regular operations of the telescope. Thirty five proposals for Early Science were submitted by international teams led by UMass and Mexican astronomers and which included more than 146 scientists from 57 institutions in 12 countries. An international panel of scientists from 5 countries reviewed the proposals and recommended six programs as the highest priority observations. Despite taking place during the onset of the rainy season in Mexico which severely limited the available observing time, Early Science was a success with a complete exercising of all the LMT subsystems in science observing conditions and all six projects obtaining unique high-sensitivity data. Analysis of the data from these projects is still underway. These early results include the AzTEC detection of a lensed submillimeter galaxy at 1.1mm wavelength with signal to noise > 10 in just 12 minutes of integration. Followup measurements with the Redshift Search Receiver identify a strong 12CO line that is redshifted to a frequency of 95 GHz. These results illustrate LMT's ability to localize mm emission within the 8" beam and identify redshifts for distant galaxies via CO emission. Broader Impacts The LMT is the largest scientific project in the history of Mexico and the largest collaborative scientific project between the US and Mexico. As such, its success sets a visible example of the value of collaboration between our two nations. UMass's continued participation is essential for this future success, and funding under this program is critically important to maintaining that participation. The LMT also provides an outstanding platform for student training in radio astronomy, including telescope and instrument development and UMass's strong track record in student training is an important part of our legacy as a University Radio Observatory. LMT's large filled aperture and instrumentation provides a unique facility, complementary to ALMA. The scientific gains from LMT programs should allow ALMA to be used more effectively and thereby enhance the return on our nation's investment in that remarkable facility. Scientific programs to be carried out by UMass and our partner institute in Mexico, result in dataproducts which advance the science of millimeter-wave astronomy.
