Antarctic Telescope to Study Dusty Galaxies Across Cosmic Time

The Antarctic 12m Terahertz Telescope (ATT12) is a next-generation facility designed to open up the FIR and THz windows for extragalactic astronomy. This paper focuses on its potential for studies of dusty star-forming galaxies (DSFGs) across cosmic time. Using realistic atmospheric transmission models and planned instrumental specifications, the study assesses the expected sensitivity and scientific capabilities. 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 <10^3-10^4 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. 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.

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