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

原始结构望远镜(PASS)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，所以它们会使周围的物质电离。这种电离将被感知和研究。这种电离的结构反映了发光体形成红移时的总体密度结构。通过映射这一结构，过去的阵列将映象出宇宙的末日“黑暗时代”。过去会感觉到氢原子的辐射，氢原子是宇宙中最常见的原子，因为它们的波长(21厘米)提供了最清晰的图像，过去可能会让宇宙学家看到宇宙大爆炸后仅1亿年的历史。最初的提议是部署大约1000个小天线，但根据修订后的计划，将建造一个过去的小原型(2x3天线阵列)，并在南极站部署一个冬季--以测试仪器设计理念和南极作为甚高频宇宙学场地的适宜性。

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.