Splinter Meeting ALMA2040
ALMA2040: Scientific Opportunities and Technical Frontiers for a Next-Generation Sub-mm Facility
Time: Wednesday September 09, 14:00-15:45
and 16:15-18:00
CEST (UTC+2)
Room: MW-2235
Convenor(s): Jakob den Brok [1], Peter Schilke [2], Eva Schinnerer [1]
[1] MPIA, [2] Uni Köln
We propose a 2-block splinter session to revisit and advance the discussion on the science opportunities enabled by the ALMA2040 initiative[1]. This is a community initiative responding to the ESO Expanding Horizons program calling for ideas for the next large ESO facility after ELT. The ALMA2040 initiative is working on a proposal to significantly enhance the capabilities of ALMA to remain a transformational facility facing the challenges of 2040. It is building on the fact that ALMA has fundamentally reshaped astrophysics across a wide range of scales, from planet formation and nearby star-forming regions to the interstellar medium of galaxies and the high-redshift Universe. ALMA2040, organized in various science/technical working groups, has made substantial progress, with community-driven ESO White Papers outlining key science drivers and the publication of ALMA2040-specific science White Papers in summer 2026. In parallel, major advances on the technical and conceptual side are underway, with dedicated White Papers providing an increasingly concrete framework for such a next-generational sub-mm interferometer. During this splinter, we will provide an overview on the status of the ALMA2040 initiative via key speakers involved in the White Papers. We also invite presentations on further exciting avenues in terms of key scientific or technical questions. The goal of this splinter session is to facilitate the discussion of concrete pathways for engagement by the German astrophysical community in shaping both the scientific priorities and the technical concepts of a next-generation sub-mm facility.
Invited splinter speakers:
Maria Diaz Trigo (ESO)
Anna Penzlin (LMU)
Dominik Riechers (UCologne)
Jaime Pineda (MPE)
Jakob den Brok (MPIA)
[1] https://www.euroalma2040.com/
Program
Wednesday September 09, 14:00-15:45
ALMA2040: Scientific Opportunities and Technical Frontiers for a Next-Generation Sub-mm Facility (MW-2235)
Wednesday September 09, 16:15-18:00
ALMA2040: Scientific Opportunities and Technical Frontiers for a Next-Generation Sub-mm Facility (MW-2235)
Related contributions
*) submitted abstracts, acceptance pending.