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The Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope project and its early science opportunities

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 March 2013

Di Li ,
Rendong Nan  and
Zhichen Pan
Di Li
Affiliation:
National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Science, A20 Datun Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100012, China email: dili@nao.cas.cn Space Science Institute, Boulder, CO 80301, USA
Rendong Nan
Affiliation:
National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Science, A20 Datun Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100012, China email: dili@nao.cas.cn Key Laboratory for Radio Astronomy, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China
Zhichen Pan
Affiliation:
National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Science, A20 Datun Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100012, China email: dili@nao.cas.cn
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Abstract

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The National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Science (NAOC), has started building the largest antenna in the world. Known as FAST, the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope is a Chinese mega-science project funded by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC). FAST also represents part of Chinese contribution to the international efforts to build the square kilometer array (SKA). Upon its finishing around September of 2016, FAST will be the most sensitive single-dish radio telescope in the low frequency radio bands between 70 MHz and 3 GHz. The design specifications of FAST, its expected capabilities, and its main scientific aspirations were described in an overview paper by Nan et al. (2011). In this paper, we briefly review the design and the key science goals of FAST, speculate the likely limitations at the initial stages of FAST operation, and discuss the opportunities for astronomical discoveries in the so-called early science phase.

Keywords

ISM: atomsISM: cloudsGalaxy: evolutionmasersgravational wavestechniques: spectroscopicsurveys
Type
Contributed Papers
Information
Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union , Volume 8 , Symposium S291: Neutron Stars and Pulsars: Challenges and Opportunities after 80 years , August 2012 , pp. 325 - 330
Copyright
Copyright © International Astronomical Union 2013

References

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