Progress and Recent Results from the CSO

Tom Phillips
Caltech


The CSO is currently completing molecular cloud line surveys, in all
available atmospheric windows from Mauna Kea, in preparation for the
future airborne and space missions SOFIA and Herschel. However, the focus
is shifting to studies of distant dusty objects, and to accomodate that
goal the CSO is constructing a new series of submillimeter cameras
(Bolocam and SHARCII) and wideband spectrometers (FIBRE and heterodyne
correlating receivers). In addition, a real-time surface correction scheme
is being fabricated to improve the telescope efficiency.
Recent results from the CSO include SED measurements of the cold dust
component of both nearby and distant galaxies (to z = 4.7); measurements of
the CO linewidths for x-ray detected galaxies; studies of the CI emission
from nearby galaxies and comparison with CO and CII; the development of a 
new technique for probing the magnetic field in the dense ISM.