LLAMA Project

Abstract

LLAMA, acronymum of Long Latin American Millimetre Array, is a joint scientific and technological undertaking of Argentina and Brazil whose main goal is to install and to operate a 12m dish capable of studyingthe Universe at millimetre and sub-millimetre wavelengths.This facility will be erected in the norwestern part of Argentina, some 20 km away from the town of San Antonio de los Cobres (Salta province), at a site located 4830m above sea level. In this presentation we would like to formally introduce this project to the Latin American astronomical community by briefly describing its current status.Besides working as a stand alone instrument (or single dish mode), this radiometer may also become part of a local network of Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) that may be integrated by existing telescopes like APEX, ASTE, Itapetinga and some of the ALMA dishes. In its way, this VLBI network may be able to increase the resolving power of ALMA by an order of magnitude.The construction phase of this facility is being financed by Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación Productiva (MINCyT, Argentina) and Fundacao de Amparo á Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo (FAPESP), on the basis of an equal investment share.