Physics & Astronomy Associate Professor, Alex Pope, UMASS: "Rise of dust: Completing our Census of Cosmic Star Formation"

Observations at submillimeter/millimeter wavelengths provide a unique view of galaxy formation, revealing hidden star formation in the early Universe (a few Gyr after the Big Bang) that cannot be seen at optical wavelengths due to extreme dust obscuration. Previous surveys from single-dish telescopes were sensitive to only the most extreme galaxies forming stars >100 times the rate of the Milky Way, while the more typical galaxies that dominate the total energy budget at these wavelengths remain elusive. I will discuss recent observations of dusty galaxies with the next generation of (sub)millimeter wavelength telescopes – including the Large Millimeter Telescope (LMT) and the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) – to push studies of dust-obscured activity down to the more typical galaxies that dominate the cosmic star formation history. Finally I will introduce TolTEC, a revolutionary new camera for the LMT, and the public legacy surveys that will be completed from 2019-2021. These surveys will make a complete census of dust-obscured activity in the Universe.