Dust observations with the new ALMA Band 1 receiver

Abstract

The ALMA Band 1 project will expand the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) access to frequencies between 35 and 52 GHz for high angular resolution and sensitivity observations from the southern hemisphere. The main dust related science case for ALMA Band 1 is also an ALMA Level One Science Case: the study of the evolution of grains in protoplanetary disks. ALMA Band 1 will be able to resolve protoplanetary disks at the distance of the nearest star-forming regions and will allow us to follow the dust grain growth from mm-sized to cm-sized pebbles in protoplanetary disks and hopefully show where and when dust coagulation occurs. Observations of debris disks will also be possible, although more challenging than those for protoplanetary disks. The high sensitivity and angular resolution of Band 1 will also allow us to study the spinning dust emission that it is related to the very small grain (VSG) population in the interstellar medium under conditions not possible to observe using mid-IR emission.