Related papers: Molecular Gas Morphological Analogues for the Milk…
Detailed observations of the nearest star-forming regions in the Milky Way (MW) provide the ultimate benchmark for studying star formation. The extent to which the results of these Galaxy-based studies can be extrapolated to extragalactic…
Throughout the Milky Way, molecular clouds typically appear filamentary, and mounting evidence indicates that this morphology plays an important role in star formation. What is not known is to what extent the dense filaments most closely…
The dense molecular gas is the ideal tracer of the spiral structure in the Milky Way, and should be used intensively to solve the puzzle of its structure. In spite of our position inside the plane, we can hope to disentangle the structures,…
Nearby galaxies exhibit a variety of structures, including central rings, similar to the MW Central Molecular Zone (CMZ). These rings are common in barred galaxies and can be gas-rich and highly star-forming. We aim to study molecular gas…
The Milky Way provides an ideal laboratory to test our understanding of galaxy evolution, owing to our ability to observe our Galaxy over fine scales. However, connecting the Galaxy to the wider galaxy population remains difficult, due to…
Molecular clouds (MCs) are cradles of star and planet formation, thereby playing an important role in the evolution of galaxies. Based on the unbiased Milky Way Imaging Scroll Painting (MWISP) survey data of $^{12}$CO, $^{13}$CO, and…
In this paper, we place the Milky Way (MW) in the context of similar-looking galaxies in terms of their star-formation and chemical evolution histories. We select a sample of 138 Milky-Way analogues (MWAs) from the SDSS-IV/MaNGA survey…
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…
Recent observations show that spiral galaxies are surrounded by extended gaseous halos as predicted by the hierarchical structure formation scenario. The origin and nature of extraplanar gas is often unclear since the halo is continuously…
The morphology of a galaxy stems from secular and environmental processes during its evolutionary history. Thus galaxy morphologies have been a long used tool to gain insights on galaxy evolution. We visually classify morphologies on…
We present new observations of a 2' field in the north-eastern spiral arm of M31. In the 0.8 x 3.6 kpc mosaicked region, we have detected six distinct, large complexes of molecular gas, most of which lie along the spiral arm dust lane or in…
We present a study of dense gas emission in the Milky Way in order to serve as a basis for comparison with extragalactic results. This study combines new observations of HCN, CS, and CO in individual GMCs and in the Milky Way plane with…
The Milky Way appears is a typical barred spiral, and comparisons can be made between its nuclear region and those of structurally similar nearby spirals. Maffei 2, M83, IC 342 and NGC 253 are nearby systems whose nuclear region properties…
The observed gas dynamics in the Milky Way can only be explained by a bar in the galactic center. Such a bar is directly visible in the near-IR maps of the bulge, where it causes a distinctive asymmetric light distribution pattern. Another…
The mass fraction of dense gas within giant molecular clouds (GMCs) of the Milky Way is investigated using 13CO data from the FCRAO Galactic Plane Surveys and the Bolocam Galactic Plane Survey (BGPS) of 1.1 mm dust continuum emission. A…
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 used CO (2-1) and CO (1-0) data cubes to identify molecular clouds and study their kinematics and dynamics in three nearby galaxies and the inner Milky Way. When observed at similar spatial and velocity resolutions, molecular clouds in…
A complete map of the 3D distribution of molecular (CO) gas was constructed using a realistic dynamical model of the gas flow in the barred potential of the Milky Way. The map shows two prominent spiral arms starting at the bar ends…
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…
Star formation takes place in the dense gas phase, and therefore a simple dense gas and star formation rate relation has been proposed. With the advent of multi-beam receivers, new observations show that the deviation from linear relations…