Related papers: A High-Resolution Study of the CO-H2 Conversion Fa…

A new method to determine the CO-to-H$_2$ conversion factor $X_{\rm CO}$ using absorption of diffuse X-ray emission by local molecular clouds was developed. It was applied to the Ophiucus (G353+17) and Corona Australis (G359-18) clouds…

We derive the CO-to-H2 conversion factor, X_CO = N(H2)/I_CO, across the Perseus molecular cloud on sub-parsec scales by combining the dust-based N(H2) data with the I_CO data from the COMPLETE Survey. We estimate an average X_CO ~ 3 x 10^19…

Theoretical and observational investigations have indicated that the abundance of carbon monoxide (CO) is very sensitive to intrinsic properties of the gaseous medium, such as density, metallicity, and the background UV field. In order to…

We investigate how the X factor, the ratio of H_2 column density (NH2) to velocity-integrated CO intensity (W), is determined by the physical properties of gas in model molecular clouds (MCs). We perform radiative transfer calculations on…

We wish to relate the degree scale structure of galactic diffuse clouds to sub-arcsecond atomic and molecular absorption spectra obtained against extragalactic continuum background sources. To do this, we used the ARO 12m telescope to map…

CO line emission represents the most accessible and widely used tracer of the molecular interstellar medium. This renders the translation of observed CO intensity into total H2 gas mass critical to understand star formation and the…

We investigated the correlation between intensities of the $^{12}$CO and $^{13}$CO ($J=1$-0) lines toward the Galactic giant molecular clouds (GMCs) W51A, W33, N35-N36 complex, W49A, M17SW, G12.02-00.03, W43, and M16 using the FUGIN (FOREST…

We performed correlation analyses between the $^{12}$CO and $^{13}$CO $J=$1-0 line intensities in order to derive the variability of the CO-to-H$_2$ conversion factor ($X_{\rm CO, iso}$) in the central molecular zone (CMZ) of our Galaxy.…

Analyzing the Galactic plane CO survey with the Nobeyama 45-m telescope, we compared the spectral column density (SCD) of H$_2$ calculated for $^{12}$CO line using the current conversion factor $X_{\rm CO}$ to that for $^{13}$CO line under…

Relating the observed CO emission from giant molecular clouds (GMCs) to the underlying H2 column density is a long-standing problem in astrophysics. While the Galactic CO-H2 conversion factor (Xco) appears to be reasonably constant,…

CO(J=1-0) line emission is a widely used observational tracer of molecular gas, rendering essential the X_CO factor, which is applied to convert CO luminosity to H_2 mass. We use numerical simulations to study how X_CO depends on numerical…

We study the relationship between the H2 and CO abundances in simulated molecular clouds using a fully dynamical model of magnetized turbulence coupled to a detailed chemical network. We find that the CO-to-H2 conversion factor for a given…

We estimate the conversion factor relating CO emission to H2 mass, alpha_CO, in five Local Group galaxies that span approximately an order of magnitude in metallicity - M31, M 33, the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), NGC 6822, and the Small…

We measure the CO-to-H$_2$ conversion factor ($\alpha_\mathrm{CO}$) in 37 galaxies at 2~kpc resolution, using dust surface density inferred from far-infrared emission as a tracer of the gas surface density and assuming a constant…

We present the largest sample to date of giant molecular clouds (GMCs) in a substantial spiral galaxy other than the Milky Way. We map the distribution of molecular gas with high resolution and image fidelity within the central 5 kpc of the…

The amount of H$_2$ present in spiral galaxies remains uncertain, particularly in the dim outer regions and in low-metallicity environments. We present high-resolution CO(1--0) observations with the Plateau de Bure interferometer of the…

We analyze the CO-to-H$_2$ conversion factor ($\alpha_{\rm{CO}}$) in the nearby barred spiral galaxy M83. We present new HI observations from the JVLA and single-dish GBT in the disk of the galaxy, and combine them with maps of CO(1-0)…

We present numerical simulations of molecular clouds (MCs) with self-consistent CO gas-phase and isotope chemistry in various environments. The simulations are post-processed with a line radiative transfer code to obtain $^{12}$CO and…

Aims: We wish to separate and quantify the CO luminosity and CO-H2 conversion factor applicable to diffuse but partially-molecular ISM when H2 and CO are present but C+ is the dominant form of gas-phase carbon. Methods: We discuss galactic…

A reliable estimate of the molecular gas content in galaxies plays a crucial role in determining their dynamical and star-forming properties. However, H2, the dominant molecular species, is difficult to observe directly, particularly in the…