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arXiv · 2511.01707

Extending to the Submillimeter Universe with the CCAT Observatory

Eve M. Vavagiakis
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Abstract

The CCAT Observatory's Fred Young Submillimeter Telescope, a novel, high-throughput, 6-meter aperture telescope, is scheduled for first light in 2026. Located at 5600 m on Cerro Chajnantor in the Chilean Atacama Desert, the CCAT site enables unprecedented submillimeter measurement capabilities, fully overlapping with millimeter-wave surveys like the Simons Observatory. CCAT will address a suite of science goals, from Big Bang cosmology, star formation, and line-intensity mapping of cosmic reionization, to galactic magnetic fields, transients, and galaxy evolution over cosmic time. We highlight CCAT's science goals with Prime-Cam, a first generation science instrument for the Fred Young Submillimeter Telescope. Prime-Cam will field over 100,000 kinetic inductance detectors across seven instrument modules to enable over ten times faster mapping speed than previous submillimeter observatories in windows between 1.4 - 0.3 mm (220 - 850 GHz). We give an instrument summary, discuss the project status, and outline preliminary plans for early science.

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Eve M. Vavagiakis. 2025-11-03. Extending to the Submillimeter Universe with the CCAT Observatory. https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.01707

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