Exploring the universe: from the galaxies formation to Earth-like planets with the Giant Magellan Telescope

Abstract

Astronomy in the 21st century continues to be a vibrant science; the more so as each decade passes. With the new generation of telescopes that is being currently planned, it will be possible to look for habitable Earth-like planets; to the inner regions of circumstellar disks, revealing the mechanisms that drive planetary and stellar formation; to resolve dense stellar populations in the Milky Way and in other galaxies, determining their chemical and dynamical evolution; to study the formation of the cosmic web of galaxies and clusters at their birth; to detect the first objects that illuminated and re-ionized the Universe after the dark ages; to track the growth of supermassive black holes and their impact on the evolution of galaxies; to understand the nature of dark matter and dark energy, which represent such a large fraction of the known universe; as well as addressing many other critical issues which are only hinted at by our present day knowledge. Instruments that allow these studies demand advanced technologies with unavoidably high costs: the ELT generation of Extremely Large Telescopes. The proposal presented here details a plan for the State of São Paulo to participate at a 5% level in the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) consortium. The 25m diameter ELT mirror will open up new horizons in almost all astronomical subjects of interest today. It will access a volume of the universe 30 times larger than the present day generation of very large, 8-10m class, telescopes, giving it 3-4 times higher fidelity in the quality of its images. A 5% (40 million USD over 10 years) share in the GMT project will bring unique opportunities of scientific discoveries for Brazilian scientists, attracting bright new talents to the field, resulting in a leap in the breadth and depth of our communities participation in this truly global endeavor thereby stimulating our industries in innovation through joint international ventures. This will represent the emergence of Brazilian science as a global player on the world stage. (AU)