The Terahertz Intensity Mapper

The Terahertz Intensity Mapper (TIM) is a balloon-borne far-infrared (FIR) imaging spectrometer designed to characterize the cosmic star formation history and unveil the forces driving galaxy assembly over cosmic time. TIM has been optimized for a new observational technique called "line intensity mapping" (LIM), which has the potential to access unexplored and unique cosmological and astrophysical phase space. In its Antarctic science flight, TIM will map the redshifted 158 μm line of ionized carbon ([CII]) over the redshift range 0.5 < z < 1.7 (lookback times of 5-10 Gyr). TIM will spectroscopically detect galaxies, determine the star formation rate history over this time interval through line intensity mapping, and measure the stacked [CII] emission from galaxies in its well-studied target field (GOODS-S). Additionally, TIM will detect [OIII]88μm and [OI]63μm in high-redshift strongly lensed galaxies between 2 < z < 7, providing crucial insights into the evolution of FIR atomic transition lines into the epoch of reionization. Combining these measurements will be an important pathfinder for the survey techniques and observables necessary to probe the astrophysics of the first galaxies that re-ionized the universe at z>6. TIM consists of a 2-meter telescope feeding two grating spectrometers that cover 240-420 μm at R∼250 across a 1-degree field of view, populated with a total of 7136 kinetic inductance detectors and sampled through a novel RF system-on-chip readout. TIM will serve as an important scientific instrument, accessing wavelengths that cannot easily be studied from the ground, and as a testbed for future FIR space technology. This is crucial technology development for a future flagship FIR mission as well as a pathfinder for using LIM as a viable tool for astrophysics and cosmology. The TIM collaboration believes that innovation and creativity thrive when we embrace members from different backgrounds, values, and thoughts to foster and cultivate a culture that enables us to trust and communicate freely. Our team includes eight graduate students and two early career scientists in leadership positions. We have implemented a robust mentoring plan to ensure the success of the next generation of scientists for both NASA and the FIR community. Over the past 5 years of our previous APRA award, all of the major components for TIM have been fabricated and delivered: mirror, cryostat, gondola, cold optics, and (engineering) detector arrays. We have retired all major risks for our mission. We now request funding to complete TIM and its science mission: finishing the fabrication, performing final testing and integration, test flying in Ft. Sumner, NM, in 2024, a science flight in Antarctica in 2026, and completing the subsequent data analysis. In this proposal, we describe a success-oriented schedule with sufficient risk mitigation to ensure a successful program and produce impactful scientific results.

This is a mature technology (TRL 7+) — the realistic path in is usually NASA's Technology Transfer Program: licensing an existing NASA patent, or a Space Act Agreement to use NASA facilities/expertise directly. NASA also runs a startup licensing program with no upfront fee for companies formed to commercialize a specific NASA technology.

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