Related papers: The Transition from Diffuse Molecular Gas to Molec…
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…
We report JWST MIRI/MRS observations of the H2 S(1) 17.04 micron transition in two regions in the boundary of the Taurus Molecular Cloud. The two regions, denoted Edge (near the relatively sharp boundary of the 13CO J=1-0 emission) and Peak…
The CO-to-H$_2$ conversion factor ($\alpha_\rm{CO}$) is critical to studying molecular gas and star formation in galaxies. The value of $\alpha_\rm{CO}$ has been found to vary within and between galaxies, but the specific environmental…
We have analyzed optical spectra of 25 X-ray sources identified as potential new members of the Taurus molecular cloud (TMC), in order to confirm their membership in this SFR. Fifty-seven candidates were previously selected among the X-ray…
I review recent observations of molecular gas in the halo of the Milky Way and in the Magellanic Clouds. Far-ultraviolet absorption line studies of molecular hydrogen (H_2) with ORFEUS and FUSE have unveiled the presence of a diffuse…
Cornerstone molecules (CO, H_2CO, CH_3OH, HCN, HNC, CN, CS, SO) were observed toward seven sub-millimeter bright sources in the Orion molecular cloud in order to quantify the range of conditions for which individual molecular line tracers…
(abridged:) The Taurus Molecular Cloud (TMC) contains numerous prototypical examples of deeply embedded protostars with massive disks and outflows, classical and weak-lined T Tauri stars, jets and Herbig-Haro objects, and a growing number…
UV absorption studies with FUSE have observed H2 molecular gas in translucent and diffuse clouds. Observations of the 158 micron [C II] fine structure line with Herschel also trace the same H2 molecular gas in emission. We present [C II]…
ALMA imaging of the cold molecular medium in the nearby starburst galaxy NGC 1808 is presented. The observations reveal the distribution of molecular gas, traced by $^{12}$CO (1-0) and $^{12}$CO (3-2), and continuum (93 and 350 GHz) across…
The $\rm H_2$ mass of molecular clouds has traditionally been traced by the CO(J=1-0) rotational transition line. This said, CO is relatively easily photodissociated, and can also be destroyed by cosmic rays, thus rendering some fraction of…
Combining observations of multiple CO lines with radiative transfer modeling is a very powerful tool to investigate the physical properties of the molecular gas in galaxies. Using new observations as well as literature data, we provide the…
Using the IRAM 30m telescope, we have surveyed an unbiased sample of 47 nearby spiral galaxies of very late (Scd-Sm) Hubble-type for emission in the CO(1-0) and CO(2-1) lines. The sensitivity of our data (a few mK) allows detection of about…
In order to precisely determine temperature and density of molecular gas in the Large Magellanic Cloud, we made observations of optically thin $^{13}$CO($J=3-2$) transition by using the ASTE 10m telescope toward 9 peaks where…
We present continuum data from the Submillimetre Common-User Bolometer Array (SCUBA) on the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT), and the Mid-Infrared Photometer for Spitzer (MIPS) on the Spitzer Space Telescope, at submillimetre and…
Low-mass stars like our Sun begin their evolution within cold (10 K) and dense ($\sim 10^5$ cm$^{-3}$) cores of gas and dust. The physical structure of starless cores is best probed by thermal emission of dust grains. We present a high…
We have investigated molecular distributions in protoplanetary disks, adopting a disk model with a temperature gradient in the vertical direction. The model produces sufficiently high abundances of gaseous CO and HCO+ to account for line…
Cold cores in interstellar molecular clouds represent the very first phase in star formation. The physical conditions of these objects are studied in order to understand how molecular clouds evolve and how stellar masses are determined. The…
We present very high signal-to-noise ratio absorption-line observations of CN and CH+ along 13 lines of sight through diffuse molecular clouds. The data are examined to extract precise isotopologic ratios of 12CN/13CN and 12CH+/13CH+ in…
We present deep CCS and HC$_7$N observations of the L1495-B218 filaments in the Taurus molecular cloud obtained using the K-band focal plane array on the 100m Green Bank Telescope. We observed the L1495-B218 filaments in CCS $J_N$ =…
Herschel observations have emphasized the role of molecular filaments in star formation. However, the origin and evolution of these filaments are not yet well understood, partly because of the lack of kinematic information. To examine…