Abstract
Actual problems in submillimeter astronomy require the creation of instruments, which combine high sensitivity, angular resolution, wide field of view, and multi-wavelength (multicolor) spectral range. Currently, new single mm/submm telescopes are in great demand in Eurasia, as well as their inclusion in the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) VLBI network. The concept of the Eurasian Submillimeter Teselscopes (ESMT) project involves the construction of three structurally identical mm/submm radio telescopes of the 15-21 m class on the Suffa Plateau, Uzbekistan (2400 m or higher), in the Russian Federation (3000 m or higher) and in Tibet, China (higher than 5000 m). The ESMT concept is considered, where the design of the European ALMA antennas is taken as a starting point. The antenna diameter should be increased from 12 m to 21 m, the optical layout and the structure of the truss frame will be changed accordingly, tertiary optics and an “active surface” have been added, and tools for its operational diagnostics have been proposed. The article presents variants of the ESMT optical scheme and tertiary optics, which make it possible to hold a compact cryostat with a KID-matrix in a vertical position to ensure its operability when the telescope is tilted. Comparison of ESMT capabilities with other mm/submm tools and projects is provided. The necessary astroclimatic conditions and characteristics of ESMT sites are considered, estimates of the precipitated water PWV, dPWV and the share of total cloudiness TCC for a number of practically interesting sites obtained using the ERA-Interim and ERA-5 reanalysis databases are presented. The influence of atmospheric turbulence on a radio telescope, radio astronomy methods for suppressing atmospheric fluctuations and possibilities of using adaptive optics, in particular, tip-tilt correction for improving the quality of submm images, are considered.
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