The Advanced Technology Solar Telescope from the Perspective of the National Science Foundation

How do we work? The NSF is an agency in the Executive Branch of the Federal Government.

The NSF is a responsive agency. It is different from: The Department of Defense, NASA, The Department of Energy, NOAA, Etc. The NSF’s priorities are set by the scientific, engineering, and STEM educational communities. The NSF does not unilaterally design, construct, and operate new telescopes, colliders, laboratories, etc. We respond to proposals from the broad community based on scientific curiosity (science drivers).

ATST’s Science Drivers: 1.The Sun and Climate. 2.The Sun as the driver of Space Weather. 3.The Sun as a Star. 4.The Sun as a Physics Laboratory. These questions are important enough that the development of a new, large solar telescope was a recommendation of the entire solar physics and solar astronomy community. The NSF’s job is to evaluate projects via peer review, rank their importance across fields, and fund them if they meet a rigorous set of standards. The ATST is not an NSF project. It is a project of the whole community of solar and space physicists and astronomers that, if successful, will be funded in large part by the NSF.

From the Astronomy “Decadal Survey” “ATST will observe solar plasma processes and magnetic fields with unprecedented resolution in space and time. It will provide critical information needed to solve the mysteries associated with the generation, structure, and dynamics of the surface magnetic fields, which govern the solar wind, solar flares, and short-term solar variability.” “The first scientific goal for advancing the current understanding of solar magnetism is to measure the structure and dynamics of the magnetic field at the solar surface down to its fundamental length scale”

ATST will replace major solar facilities. Nothing similar planned worldwide. Design is based on broad buy-in from the solar physics community. Science cannot be done from space. Tremendous broader impacts – solar/terrestrial relations, space weather, climate change, astronaut safety, education, etc. ATST addresses current and future scientific challenges as defined by the community. Provides upgrade paths for future requirements (e.g. Multi-Conjugate Adaptive Optics). Flexibility to adapt to new scientific challenges. Cornerstone facility for the next generation of solar physicists. Impact on Solar Physics and Related Fields

The Project Team and an Engaged Community PI –National Solar Observatory Stephen Keil, Thomas Rimmele, Christoph Keller, NSO Staff Co-PIs –HAO Michael Knölker, Steve Tomczyk, Dave Elmore, Phil Judge, Tim Brown –University of Hawaii Jeff Kuhn; Haosheng Lin, Roy Coulter –University of Chicago Bob Rosner, Fausto Cattaneo –New Jersey Institute of Technology Phil Goode; Carsten Denker, Haimin Wang

Points to keep in mind: 1.The ATST is an expensive project, even by Federal standards. 2.The decision to fund or not to fund will only be made after a complex and arduous set of reviews. These consider the potential science return, cost, management structure, impact on the field, impacts on society, and impacts on the site. 3.The ATST is well-advanced in the decision process. However, the NSF, National Science Board, and the US Congress have not yet decided to fund the ATST construction. 4.The selection of the Haleakalā site and the precise locations for possible construction followed an exhaustive process -- the site selection was not capricious. Nor is the assessment of impact.