The Simons Observatory: science goals and forecasts for the enhanced Large Aperture Telescope

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E.; Hagstotz, S.; Hargrave, P.; Haridas, S.; Harrington, K.; Harrison, I.; Hasegawa, M.; Hasselfield, M.; Haynes, V.; Hazumi, M.; He, A.; Healy, E.; Henderson, S. W.; Hensley, B. S.; Hertig, E.; Hervías-Caimapo, C.; Higuchi, M.; Hill, C. A.; Hill, J. C.; Hilton, G.; Hilton, M.; Hincks, A. D.; Hinshaw, G.; Hložek, R.; A. Y. Q., Ho; Ho, S.; S. P., Ho; Hoang, T. D.; Hoh, J.; Hornecker, E.; Hornsby, A. L.; Hotinli, S. C.; Huang, Z.; Huber, Z. B.; Hubmayr, J.; Huffenberger, K.; Hughes, J. P.; Idicherian Lonappan, A.; Ikape, M.; Irwin, K.; Iuliano, J.; Jaffe, A. H.; Jain, B.; Jense, H. T.; Jeong, O.; Johnson, A.; Johnson, B. R.; Johnson, M.; Jones, M.; Jost, B.; Kaneko, D.; Karpel, E. D.; Kasai, Y.; Katayama, N.; Keating, B.; Keller, B.; Keskitalo, R.; Kim, J.; Kisner, T.; Kiuchi, K.; Klein, J.; Knowles, K.; Kofman, A. M.; Koopman, B. 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doi:10.1088/1475-7516/2025/08/034

We describe updated scientific goals for the wide-field, millimeter-wave survey that will be produced by the Simons Observatory (SO). Significant upgrades to the 6-meter SO Large Aperture Telescope (LAT) are expected to be complete by 2028, and will include a doubled mapping speed with 30,000 new detectors and an automated data reduction pipeline. In addition, a new photovoltaic array will supply most of the observatory’s power. The LAT survey will cover about 60% of the sky at a regular observing cadence, with five times the angular resolution and ten times the map depth of the Planck satellite. The science goals are to: (1) determine the physical conditions in the early universe and constrain the existence of new light particles; (2) measure the integrated distribution of mass, electron pressure, and electron momentum in the late-time universe, and, in combination with optical surveys, determine the neutrino mass and the effects of dark energy via tomographic measurements of the growth of structure at redshifts z ≲ 3; (3) measure the distribution of electron density and pressure around galaxy groups and clusters, and calibrate the effects of energy input from galaxy formation on the surrounding environment; (4) produce a sample of more than 30,000 galaxy clusters, and more than 100,000 extragalactic millimeter sources, including regularly sampled AGN light-curves, to study these sources and their emission physics; (5) measure the polarized emission from magnetically aligned dust grains in our Galaxy, to study the properties of dust and the role of magnetic fields in star formation; (6) constrain asteroid regoliths, search for Trans-Neptunian Objects, and either detect or eliminate large portions of the phase space in the search for Planet 9; and (7) provide a powerful new window into the transient universe on time scales of minutes to years, concurrent with observations from the Vera C. Rubin Observatory of overlapping sky.