The terahertz intensity mapper: A balloon-borne imaging spectrometer for galaxy evolution

The Terahertz Intensity Mapper (TIM) is a balloon-borne far-infrared imaging spectrometer designed to characterize the star formation history of the universe. In its Antarctic science flight, TIM will map the redshifted 158um line of ionized carbon over the redshift range 0.5-1.7 (lookback times of 5-10 Gyr). TIM will spectroscopically detect ∼100 galaxies, determine the star formation rate history over this time interval through line intensity mapping, and measure the stacked CII emission from galaxies in its well-studied target fields (GOODS-S, SPT Deep Field). TIM consists of a 2-meter telescope feeding two grating spectrometers that that cover 240-420um at R∼250 across a 1.3deg field of view, detected with 7200 kinetic inductance detectors and sampled through a novel RF system-on-chip readout. TIM will serve as an important scientific instrument, accessing wavelengths that cannot easily be studied from the ground, and as a testbed for future FIR space technology. © 2022 SPIE.Immediate accessThis item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]

The terahertz intensity mapper (TIM): Far-infrared balloon mission for spectroscopic galaxy evolution studies

Understanding the formation and evolution of galaxies over cosmic time is one of the foremost goals of astrophysics and cosmology today. The cosmic star formation rate has undergone a dramatic evolution over the course of the last 14 billion years, and dust obscured star forming galaxies (DSFGs) are a crucial component of this evolution. A variety of important, bright, and unextincted diagnostic lines are present in the far-infrared (FIR) which can provide crucial insight into the physical conditions of galaxy evolution, including the instantaneous star formation rate, the effect of AGN feedback on star formation, the mass function of the stars, metallicities, and the spectrum of their ionizing radiatio