Related papers: Do stars still form in molecular gas within CO-dar…
We investigate the stellar populations and molecular gas properties of a star-forming region within the dwarf irregular (dIrr) galaxy WLM. Low-metallicity dIrrs like WLM offer a valuable window into star formation in environments that are…
Carbon monoxide (CO) is the primary tracer for interstellar clouds where stars form, yet CO has never been detected in galaxies with an Oxygen abundance relative to Hydrogen less than 20% of solar, even though such low metallicity galaxies…
The apparent lack of cold molecular gas in blue compact dwarf (BCD) galaxies is at variance with their intense star-formation episode. The CO molecule, often used a tracer of H2 through a conversion function, is selectively photodissociated…
Stars form from cold molecular interstellar gas. Since this is relatively rare in the local Universe, galaxies like the Milky Way form only a few new stars per year. Typical massive galaxies in the distant Universe formed stars an order of…
We present the detection of molecular gas using CO(1-0) line emission and follow up Halpha imaging observations of galaxies located in nearby voids. The CO(1-0) observations were done using the 45m telescope of the Nobeyama Radio…
I review observational studies of the large-scale star formation process in nearby galaxies. A wealth of new multi-wavelength data provide an unprecedented view on the interplay of the interstellar medium and (young) stellar populations on…
How do stars manage to form within low-density, HI-dominated gas? Such environments provide a laboratory for studying star formation with physical conditions distinct from starbursts and the metal-rich disks of spiral galaxies where most…
In most galaxies like the Milky Way, stars form in clouds of molecular gas. Unlike the CO emission that traces the bulk of molecular gas, the rotational transitions of HCN and CS molecules mainly probe the dense phase of molecular gas,…
The first galaxies contain stars born out of gas with little or no metals. The lack of metals is expected to inhibit efficient gas cooling and star formation but this effect has yet to be observed in galaxies with oxygen abundance relative…
The molecular gas content of local early-type galaxies is constrained and discussed in relation to their evolution. First, as part of the Atlas3D survey, we present the first complete, large (260 objects), volume-limited single-dish survey…
Tidal Dwarf Galaxies (TDGs) are objects presently forming from gas which has been expelled from their parent galaxies during an interaction. We observed the CO emission of a sample of 11 TDGs, of which 8 were detected. The CO is found at…
The determination of molecular gas masses in star forming dwarf irregular galaxies is crucial to assess the star formation process in these objects. But the derivation of the molecular gas content of dwarf galaxies has been a long-standing…
Understanding stellar birth requires observations of the clouds in which they form. These clouds are dense and self-gravitating, and in all existing observations, they are molecular with H_2 the dominant species and CO the best available…
[Abridged...] We investigate the process of galaxy formation as can be observed in the only currently forming galaxies -- the so-called Tidal Dwarf Galaxies, hereafter TDGs -- through observations of the molecular gas detected via its CO…
The low metallicities of dwarf irregular galaxies (dIrr) greatly influence the formation and structure of molecular clouds. These clouds, which consist primarily of H$_2$, are typically traced by CO, but low metallicity galaxies are found…
The gas accretion and star-formation histories of galaxies like the Milky Way remain an outstanding problem in astrophysics. Observations show that 8 billion years ago, the progenitors to Milky Way-mass galaxies were forming stars 30 times…
We present the detection of molecular gas from galaxies located in nearby voids using the CO line emission as a tracer. The observations were done using the 45m Nobeyama Radio Telescope. Void galaxies lie in the most under dense parts of…
Low-metallicity dwarf galaxies often show no or little CO emission, despite the intense star formation observed in local samples. Both simulations and resolved observations indicate that molecular gas in low-metallicity galaxies may reside…
Long-duration gamma-ray bursts are associated with the explosions of massive stars and are accordingly expected to reside in star-forming regions with molecular gas (the fuel for star formation). Previous searches for carbon monoxide (CO),…
We investigate the process of galaxy formation as can be observed in the only currently forming galaxies -- the so-called Tidal Dwarf Galaxies, hereafter TDGs -- through observations of the molecular gas detected via its CO (Carbon…