Review of scientific topics for the Millimetron space observatory

Abstract

This paper describes outstanding issues in astrophysics and cosmology that can be solved by astronomical observations in a broad spectral range from far infrared to millimeter wavelengths. The discussed problems related to the formation of stars and planets, galaxies and the interstellar medium, studies of black holes and the development of the cosmological model can be addressed by the planned space observatory Millimetron (the "Spectr-M" project) equipped with a cooled 10-m mirror. Millimetron can operate both as a single-dish telescope and as a part of a space-ground interferometer with very long baseline.

Multifrequency Astrophysics (A pillar of an interdisciplinary approach for the knowledge of the physics of our Universe)

“…Major efforts are now focused on the interception of mes-sages from extraterrestrial civilizations, and the millimeter range is promising for these purposes (Dyson,1960). The Millimetron space observatory is aimed at conducting astronomical observations to probe a broad range of objects in the Universe in the wavelength range 20 µm to 20 mm, including the search for extraterrestrial life (Kardashev et al, 2014, and the references therein).…”

Prospects for Observations of Gravitationally Lensed Sources by Submillimeter Space Observatories

“…Instruments that have sufficient sensitivity and angular resolution make it possible to explore the aforementioned problems in various wavelength ranges, including far-infrared (FIR), submillimeter and millimeter wavelengths. There are several future space observatories with actively cooled main mirrors that will perform observations in this wavelength range, such as SPICA 2 and OST 3 , but Millimetron is the only one that is expected to be launched in the next decade (Smirnov et al, 2012;Kardashev et al, 2014;Kardashev, 2017). Millimetron can perform observations dedicated to all of the aforementioned scientific tasks, including Lyman-alpha emitters, first galaxies and high-redshift dusty starforming galaxies (DSFGs) (see review by Casey et al 2014).…”

Shadow cast by rotating braneworld black holes with a cosmological constant

“…Through this monitoring, the measurement of the black hole mass will be improved, and the determination of the spin and the quadrupole moment may be also possible. The observation of the shadow associated to Sgr A* is one of the main goals to be reached in the near future, because of its large size and proximity [63][64][65][66]. Among the different projects for this purpose, one is the Event Horizon Telescope, which uses very long baseline interferometry to combine existing radio facilities into a telescope with very high angular resolution (of about 15 µas).…”

“…For more details about the observational prospects, see Ref. [63][64][65][66] and the references therein. The comparison between the observed apparent shape of black holes and the different theoretical models will be a useful tool in future astrophysics, but the subtle effects analyzed in our work seems to require a more advanced generation of instruments.…”

“…There is strong evidence of the existence of supermassive black holes at the center of most galaxies, including the Milky Way [61] and the closest one M87 [62]. It is expected that direct observation of black holes will be possible in the near future [63][64][65][66], so that the analysis of the shadows will be an useful tool for a better knowledge of astrophysical black holes and also for comparing alternative theories with general relativity.…”