Can I use Android studio without an emulator?

No. It does not make sense that you would be able to do so , every application for any device needs a platform to run on! More importantly, why do you say your system does not support emulators?

An Android emulator is an Android Virtual Device (AVD) that represents a specific Android device . You can use an Android emulator as a target platform to run and test your Android applications on your PC. Using Android emulators is optional.

A simulator is an environment which models but an emulator is one that replicates the usage as on the original device or system . Simulator mimics the activity of something that it is simulating.

Simulation. A simulator creates an environment that mimics the behavior and configurations of a real device. On the other hand, an emulator duplicates all the hardware and software features of a real device .