Astromomical Research with the Owens Valley Millimeter Interferometer

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This award is for continuing support of research at the millimeter wave interferometer, operated by the California Institute of Technology in Owens Valley, California. The Principle Investigator, one of the world leaders in millimeter wave astronomy and radio interferometry, directs one of the most creative and productive groups of astronomers in the world. These workers have not only pioneered in the application of millimeter wave technology to important astronomical problems, but have also been instrumental in developing the technology itself. Objects to be investigated under this award range from our own solar system to the most distant galaxies. The first global measurement of Martian winds is expected, using absorption features of carbon monoxide. The high resolution of the three element array (soon to be expanded to six elements or more) will permit detailed mapping of circumstellar structure associated with young stellar objects - possibly planetary systems in the making. The great sensitivity of this instrument will allow the extension of cosmological studies of the Hubble expansion, now frequently conducted with the 21 cm radiation of neutral hydrogen, to the use of the millimeter wavelength lines of carbon monoxide. This will broaden the base of galaxies for which high accuracy red-shifts may be obtained.