AtLAST -- A five fold increase in the number of identified Strongly Lensed Galaxies in the sub-millimetre and its consequences

Joaquín González-Nuevo; Laura Bonavera; Juan Alberto Cano; David Crespo; Rebeca Fernández-Fernández; Valentina Franco; Marcos M. Cueli; José Manuel Casas; Tom J. L. C. Bakx

arXiv · 2512.13896

AtLAST -- A five fold increase in the number of identified Strongly Lensed Galaxies in the sub-millimetre and its consequences

Joaquín González-Nuevo·Laura Bonavera·Juan Alberto Cano·David Crespo·Rebeca Fernández-Fernández·Valentina Franco·Marcos M. Cueli·José Manuel Casas·Tom J. L. C. Bakx

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Abstract

Strong gravitational lensing is a powerful probe of cosmology, dark matter (DM), and high-redshift galaxy evolution, but current samples of strongly lensed galaxies (SLGs) remain far too small to exploit its full potential. $\textit{Herschel}$'s submillimeter (submm) surveys demonstrated that submm selection provides the most efficient and least biased route to identifying high-redshift SLGs, yet produced only a few hundred systems over limited, heterogeneous fields. Achieving the thousands of SLGs required for precision cosmology and detailed studies of distant dusty star-forming galaxies demands a new, wide-area, homogeneous sub-mm survey. A facility like AtLAST, capable of extending $\textit{Herschel}$-like methodologies to much larger areas, is uniquely positioned to deliver the order-of-magnitude increase in SLG numbers needed for transformative progress.

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Joaquín González-Nuevo, Laura Bonavera, Juan Alberto Cano, David Crespo, Rebeca Fernández-Fernández, Valentina Franco, Marcos M. Cueli, José Manuel Casas, Tom J. L. C. Bakx. 2025-12-15. AtLAST -- A five fold increase in the number of identified Strongly Lensed Galaxies in the sub-millimetre and its consequences. https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.13896

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