Related papers: Observing the molecular composition of galaxies
Molecules and dust are formed in and around the asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars and supernovae (SNe), and are ejected into the interstellar medium (ISM) through the stellar wind. The dust and gas contain elements newly synthesised in…
The impact of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) on star formation has implications for our understanding of the relationships between supermassive black holes and their galaxies, as well as for the growth of galaxies over the history of the…
The study of the chemical composition of Planetary Nebulae in external galaxies is of paramount importance in the fields of stellar evolution and of the chemical enrichment history of galaxies. In the last years a number of spectroscopic…
The advent of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) has enabled a new era for studies of the formation and assembly of distant galaxies. Cosmological deep field surveys with ALMA and other interferometers have flourished…
When and how did galaxies form and their metals accumulate? Over the last decade, this has moved from an archeological question to a live investigation: there is now a broad picture of the evolution of galaxies in dark matter halos: their…
Studies of the molecular interstellar medium that fuels star formation and supermassive black hole growth in galaxies at cosmological distances have undergone tremendous progress over the past few years. Based on the detection of molecular…
The outskirts of galaxies offer extreme environments where we can test our understanding of the formation, evolution, and destruction of molecules and their relationship with star formation and galaxy evolution. We review the basic…
Submillimetre molecular lines (e.g., CO, HCN, SiO) provide a uniquely powerful view of the physical and chemical processes that govern star formation (SF) and galaxy evolution. Yet, our current picture of the molecular universe beyond the…
In this review, I discuss some highlights of recent research on molecular gas in galaxies; large-scale CO maps of nearby galaxies are being made, which extend our knowledge on global properties, radial gradients, and spiral structure of the…
Radio spectroscopy offers a number of tools for studying a large variety of astrophysical phenomena, ranging from stars and their environment to interstellar and intergalactic medium, active galactic nuclei (AGN) and distant quasars. Main…
Recent observations suggest molecular line ratios in millimeter and submillimeter bands may be a good tool to reveal the long-standing question on the origin of energy sources in obscured active galaxies -- AGN and/or starburst.…
Aim of this communication is to describe the first results of a work-in-progress regarding the chemical properties of gas and stars in the circumnuclear regions of nearby galaxies. Different techniques have been employed to estimate the…
Thanks to the advent of sensitive and broad bandwidth instrumentation, complex organic molecules (COMs) have been found in a wide variety of interstellar environments, not only in our Galaxy but also in external galaxies up to a redshift of…
Observing programs comprising multiple scientific objectives will enhance the productivity of NASA's next UV/Visible mission. Studying active galactic nuclei (AGN) is intrinsically important for understanding how black holes accrete matter,…
Interstellar chemistry in low metallicity environments is crucial to understand chemical processes in the past metal-poor universe. Recent studies of interstellar molecules in nearby low-metallicity galaxies have suggested that the…
The chemical composition of gas in galaxies can be measured in detail from absorption spectroscopy. By studying gas in galaxies in this way, it is possible to investigate the small and faint galaxies, which are the most numerous in the…
The horizon for studies of element abundances has expanded dramatically in the last ten years. Once the domain of astronomers concerned chiefly with stars and nearby galaxies, this field has now become a key component of observational…
A major limitation and a continuing source of confusion in the interpretation of molecular line observations has been the large degree of chemical complexity that is observed in star-forming molecular cores. The past decade has seen…
Chemical abundances provide important clues to the evolution of galaxies. Ionized nebulae are one of the main sources of chemical abundance measurements, especially in external galaxies. Studies of H II regions have shown that the overall…
Clusters of galaxies are massive enough to be considered representative samples of the Universe, and to retain all of the heavy elements synthesized in their constituent stars. Since most of these metals reside in hot plasma, X-ray…