ATT12: The Antarctic 12-m Terahertz Telescope for Studies of Dusty Galaxies. I. Instrument Sensitivity and Science Forecasts

Abstract

We present a feasibility study of the Antarctic 12m Terahertz Telescope (ATT12), a next-generation facility to be constructed at New Dome Fuji in Antarctica, designed to open up the FIR and THz windows for extragalactic astronomy. While ATT12 will enable a wide range of Galactic and extragalactic science, this paper focuses on its potential for studies of dusty star-forming galaxies (DSFGs) across cosmic time. Using realistic atmospheric transmission models and the planned instrumental specifications of heterodyne spectrometers and wide-field multi-color continuum cameras, we assess the expected sensitivity and scientific capabilities. We show that spectroscopic observations will enable detections of [CII]158um from galaxies with log(LIR/Lsun)>12 out to z~7, while [OIII]88um will remain observable for HyLIRG-class systems up to z~10. Line ratios including [OIII]52/88um, [NII]122/205um, and [OIII]/[NIII] will provide unique diagnostics of electron density and O/N abundance at z~4-8. Wide-field continuum surveys with the continuum cameras (KIDS-1/2; 300-850 GHz) will reach confusion-limited depths of ~1-2 mJy over ~10,000 deg$^2$, detecting of order $10^{6}$-$10^{7}$ DSFGs with log(LIR/Lsun)>12 at z<5 and $\lesssim10^{3}$--$10^{4}$ HyLIRGs up to z~7 or higher. Higher-frequency cameras (KIDS-3/4; >850 GHz) are designed for targeted follow-up observations and to extend coverage toward the THz regime. Taken together, ATT12 will provide the first statistically representative samples of DSFGs across cosmic time and, through synergy with ALMA, JWST, and the proposed FIR Probe PRIMA, will establish a multi-wavelength framework in which ATT12 discovers large samples through wide-area surveys, ALMA provides high-resolution follow-up of gas and ISM structure, JWST probes stellar populations and metallicity in the rest-frame optical/NIR, and PRIMA delivers ultra-sensitive FIR spectroscopy.