Test of the South Pole as a Site for the Primeval Structure Telescope

原始结构望远镜（PAST）旨在定位和研究宇宙中最早的发光物体。这个原始结构包含了第一批恒星、超新星爆炸和/或黑洞。所有这些物体都是强烈的紫外线辐射源，所以它们电离了周围的物质。这种电离将被感知和研究。这种电离的结构反映了发光物体形成红移时的总体密度结构。通过绘制这个结构，“过去”阵列将描绘出宇宙“黑暗时代”的终结。过去将探测宇宙中最常见的原子氢原子的发射，因为它们的波长（21厘米）提供了尽可能清晰的视野，过去可能让宇宙学家看到大爆炸后仅仅1亿年的情况。最初的建议是部署大约1000个小型天线，但根据修订后的计划，将在南极站建造一个小型原型（2 × 3天线阵列）并部署一个冬天，以测试仪器设计概念和南极作为高频宇宙学站点的适用性。

The Primeval Structure Telescope (PAST) is intended for location and study of the earliest luminous objects in the Universe. This primeval structure contained the first stars, supernova explosions, and/or black holes. All these objects were strong sources of ultra-violet radiation, so they ionized the material surrounding them. This ionization will be sensed and studied. The structure of this ionization reflects the overall density structure at the redshift of luminous-object formation. By mapping this structure the PAST array will image the end of the Universe "dark ages". The PAST will sense emission from hydrogen atoms, the most common atoms in the Universe, and because their wavelengths (21 cm) provide the clearest possible view, PAST may allow cosmologists to see back to just 100 million years after the Big Bang. The original proposal was for deploying about 1000 small antennae, but under the revised program a small prototype for PAST (an array of 2 x 3 antennae) will be constructed and deployed at the South Pole Station for one winter - to test the instrument design concept and the suitability of the South Pole as a site for very-high frequency cosmology.