Molecular Gas Surface Density Research Articles

PHIBSS: MOLECULAR GAS, EXTINCTION, STAR FORMATION, AND KINEMATICS IN THEz= 1.5 STAR-FORMING GALAXY EGS13011166

We report matched resolution, imaging spectroscopy of the CO J=3-2 line (with the IRAM Plateau de Bure millimeter interferometer) and of the H-alpha line (with LUCI at the Large Binocular Telescope)in the massive z=1.53 main-sequence galaxy EGS 13011166, as part of the "Plateau de Bure high-z, blue sequence survey (PHIBSS). We combine these data with HST V-J-J-H-band maps to derive spatially resolved distributions of stellar surface density, star formation rate, molecular gas surface density, optical extinction and gas kinematics. The spatial distribution and kinematics of the ionized and molecular gas are remarkably similar and are well modeled by a turbulent, globally Toomre unstable rotating disk. The stellar surface density distribution is smoother than the clumpy rest-frame UV/optical light distribution, and peaks in an obscured, star forming massive bulge near the dynamical center. The molecular gas surface density and the effective optical screen extinction track each other and are well modeled by a 'mixed' extinction model. The inferred slope of the spatially resolved molecular gas to star formation rate relation depends strongly on the adopted extinction model and can vary from 0.8 to 1.7. For the preferred mixed dust-gas model we find a near linear slope.

STAR FORMATION ON SUBKILOPARSEC SCALE TRIGGERED BY NON-LINEAR PROCESSES IN NEARBY SPIRAL GALAXIES

We report a super-linear correlation for the star formation law based on new CO($J$=1-0) data from the CARMA and NOBEYAMA Nearby-galaxies (CANON) CO survey. The sample includes 10 nearby spiral galaxies, in which structures at sub-kpc scales are spatially resolved. Combined with the star formation rate surface density traced by H$\alpha$ and 24 $\mu$m images, CO($J$=1-0) data provide a super-linear slope of $N$ = 1.3. The slope becomes even steeper ($N$ = 1.8) when the diffuse stellar and dust background emission is subtracted from the H$\alpha$ and 24 $\mu$m images. In contrast to the recent results with CO($J$=2-1) that found a constant star formation efficiency (SFE) in many spiral galaxies, these results suggest that the SFE is not independent of environment, but increases with molecular gas surface density. We suggest that the excitation of CO($J$=2-1) is likely enhanced in the regions with higher star formation and does not linearly trace the molecular gas mass. In addition, the diffuse emission contaminates the SFE measurement most in regions where star formation rate is law. These two effects can flatten the power law correlation and produce the apparent linear slope. The super linear slope from the CO($J$=1-0) analysis indicates that star formation is enhanced by non-linear processes in regions of high gas density, e.g., gravitational collapse and cloud-cloud collisions.

MOLECULAR GAS AND STAR FORMATION IN NEARBY DISK GALAXIES

We compare molecular gas traced by 12CO(2-1) maps from the HERACLES survey, with tracers of the recent star formation rate (SFR) across 30 nearby disk galaxies. We demonstrate a first-order linear correspondence between Sig_mol and Sig_SFR but also find important second-order systematic variations in the apparent molecular gas depletion time, t_dep^mol = Sig_mol / Sig_SFR. At our 1 kpc common resolution, CO correlates closely with many tracers of the recent SFR. Weighting each line of sight equally and using a fixed, Milky Way alpha_CO, our data yield a molecular gas depletion time, t_dep^mol=Sig_mol/Sig_SFR ~ 2.2 Gyr with 0.3 dex scatter, in good agreement with literature data. We apply a forward-modeling approach to constrain the power-law index, N, that relates the SFR surface density and the molecular gas surface density and find N=1+/-0.15 for our full data set with some variation from galaxy to galaxy. However, we caution that a power law treatment oversimplifies the topic given that we observe correlations between t_dep^mol and other local and global quantities. The strongest of these are a decreased t_dep^mol in low-mass, low-metallicity galaxies and a correlation of the kpc-scale t_dep^mol with dust-to-gas ratio, D/G. These correlations can be explained by a CO-to-H2 conversion factor that depends on D/G in the theoretically expected way. This is not a unique interpretation, but external evidence of conversion factor variations makes it a conservative one. After applying a D/G-dependent alpha_CO, some weak correlations between t_dep^mol and local conditions persist. In particular, we observe lower t_dep^mol and enhanced CO excitation associated with some nuclear gas concentrations. These appear to reflect real enhancements in the SFR/H2 and t_dep appears multivalued at fixed Sig_mol, supporting the the idea of "disk" and "starburst" modes driven by environmental factors.

GAS SURFACE DENSITY, STAR FORMATION RATE SURFACE DENSITY, AND THE MAXIMUM MASS OF YOUNG STAR CLUSTERS IN A DISK GALAXY. II. THE GRAND-DESIGN GALAXY M51

We analyze the relationship between maximum cluster mass, and surface densities of total gas (Sigma_gas), molecular gas (Sigma_H_2), neutral gas (Sigma_HI) and star formation rate (Sigma_SFR) in the grand design galaxy M51, using published gas data and a catalog of masses, ages, and reddenings of more than 1800 star clusters in its disk, of which 223 are above the cluster mass distribution function completeness limit. We find for clusters older than 25 Myr that M_3rd, the median of the 5 most massive clusters, is proportional to Sigma_HI^0.4. There is no correlation with Sigma_gas, Sigma_H2, or Sigma_SFR. For clusters younger than 10 Myr, M_3rd is proportional to Sigma_HI^0.6, M_3rd is proportional to Sigma_gas^0.5; there is no correlation with either Sigma_H_2 or Sigma_SFR. The results could hardly be more different than those found for clusters younger than 25 Myr in M33. For the flocculent galaxy M33, there is no correlation between maximum cluster mass and neutral gas, but M_3rd is proportional to Sigma_gas^3.8; M_3rd is proportional to Sigma_H_2^1.2; M_3rd proportional to Sigma_SFR^0.9. For the older sample in M51, the lack of tight correlations is probably due to the combination of the strong azimuthal variations in the surface densities of gas and star formation rate, and the cluster ages. These two facts mean that neither the azimuthal average of the surface densities at a given radius, nor the surface densities at the present-day location of a stellar cluster represent the true surface densities at the place and time of cluster formation. In the case of the younger sample, even if the clusters have not yet traveled too far from their birthsites, the poor resolution of the radio data compared to the physical sizes of the clusters results in measured Sigmas that are likely quite diluted compared to the actual densities relevant for the formation of the clusters.

CLUMPING AND THE INTERPRETATION OF kpc-SCALE MAPS OF THE INTERSTELLAR MEDIUM: SMOOTH H I AND CLUMPY, VARIABLE H 2 SURFACE DENSITY

Many recent models consider the structure of individual interstellar medium (ISM) clouds as a way to explain observations of large parts of galaxies. To compare such models to observations, one must understand how to translate between surface densities observed averaging over large (~kpc) scales and surface densities on the scale of individual clouds (~pc scale), which are treated by models. We define a "clumping factor" that captures this translation as the ratio of the mass-weighted surface density, which is often the quantity of physical interest, to the area-weighted surface density, which is observed. We use high spatial resolution (sub-kpc) maps of CO and HI emission from nearby galaxies to measure the clumping factor of both atomic and molecular gas. The molecular and atomic ISM exhibit dramatically different degrees of clumping. As a result, the ratio H2/HI measured at ~kpc resolution cannot be trivially interpreted as a cloud-scale ratio of surface densities. HI emission appears very smooth, with a clumping factor of only ~1.3. Based on the scarce and heterogeneous high resolution data available, CO emission is far more clumped with a widely variable clumping factor, median ~7 for our heterogeneous data. Our measurements do not provide evidence for a universal mass-weighted surface density of molecular gas, but also cannot conclusively rule out such a scenario. We suggest that a more sophisticated treatment of molecular ISM structure, one informed by high spatial resolution CO maps, is needed to link cloud-scale models to kpc-scale observations of galaxies.

VERY LARGE ARRAY MAPPING OF THE CO(1-0) LINE IN SMM J14011+0252

We present high-resolution CO(1-0) observations of the lensed submillimeter galaxy (SMG) SMM J14011+0252 at z=2.6. Comparison to the previously-detected CO(3-2) line gives an intensity ratio of r_3,1=0.97+/-0.16 in temperature units, larger than is typical for SMGs but within the range seen in the low-z ultraluminous infrared galaxy population. Combining our new data with previous mid-J CO observations, we perform a single-phase large velocity gradient (LVG) analysis to constrain the physical conditions of the molecular gas. Acceptable models have significant degeneracies between parameters, even when we rule out all models that produce optically thin emission, but we find that the bulk of the molecular gas has T_kin=20-60 K, n_{H_2}~10^4-10^5 cm^-3, and N_CO/Delta-v=10^{17.00+/-0.25} cm^-2 km^-1 s. For our best-fit models to self-consistently recover a typical CO-to-H_2 abundance and a plausible degree of virialization, the local velocity gradient in the molecular gas must be substantially larger than its galaxy-wide average. This conclusion is consistent with a scenario in which SMM J14011+0252 has a fairly face-on orientation and a molecular ISM composed of many unresolved clouds. Using previous H-alpha observations, we find that SMM J14011+0252 has a spatially resolved star formation rate vs. molecular gas surface density relation inconsistent with those of "normal" local star-forming galaxies, even if we adopt a local "disk-like" CO-to-H_2 conversion factor as motivated by our LVG analysis. This discrepancy supports the inference of a star formation relation for high-z starbursts distinct from the local relation that is not solely due to differing choices of gas mass conversion factor.

THE MOLECULAR GAS DENSITY IN GALAXY CENTERS AND HOW IT CONNECTS TO BULGES

In this paper we present gas density, star formation rate, stellar masses, and bulge disk decompositions for a sample of 60 galaxies. Our sample is the combined sample of BIMA SONG, CARMA STING, and PdBI NUGA surveys. We study the effect of using CO-to-H_2 conversion factors that depend on the CO surface brightness, and also that of correcting star formation rates for diffuse emission from old stellar populations. We estimate that star formation rates in bulges are typically lower by 20% when correcting for diffuse emission. We find that over half of the galaxies in our sample have molecular gas surface density >100 M_sun pc^-2. We find a trend between gas density of bulges and bulge Sersic index; bulges with lower Sersic index have higher gas density. Those bulges with low Sersic index (pseudobulges) have gas fractions that are similar to that of disks. We also find that there is a strong correlation between bulges with the highest gas surface density and the galaxy being barred. However, we also find that classical bulges with low gas surface density can be barred as well. Our results suggest that understanding the connection between the central surface density of gas in disk galaxies and the presence of bars should also take into account the total gas content of the galaxy and/or bulge Sersic index. Indeed, we find that high bulge Sersic index is the best predictor of low gas density inside the bulge (not barredness of the disk). Finally, we show that when using the corrected star formation rates and gas densities, the correlation between star formation rate surface density and gas surface density of bulges is similar to that of disks.

THE VIRUS-P EXPLORATION OF NEARBY GALAXIES (VENGA): THEXCOGRADIENT IN NGC 628

We measure the radial profile of the 12CO(1-0) to H_2 conversion factor (Xco) in NGC 628. The H\alpha emission from the VENGA integral field spectroscopy is used to map the star formation rate surface density (\Sigma_{SFR}). We estimate the molecular gas surface density (\Sigma_{H2}) from \Sigma_{SFR} by inverting the molecular star formation law (SFL), and compare it to the CO intensity to measure Xco. We study the impact of systematic uncertainties by changing the slope of the SFL, using different SFR tracers (H\alpha vs. far-UV plus 24\mu m), and CO maps from different telescopes (single-dish and interferometers). The observed Xco profile is robust against these systematics, drops by a factor of 2 from R~7 kpc to the center of the galaxy, and is well fit by a gradient \Delta log(Xco)=0.06\pm0.02 dex kpc^-1. We study how changes in Xco follow changes in metallicity, gas density, and ionization parameter. Theoretical models show that the gradient in Xco can be explained by a combination of decreasing metallicity, and decreasing \Sigma_{H2} with radius. Photoelectric heating from the local UV radiation field appears to contribute to the decrease of Xco in higher density regions. Our results show that galactic environment plays an important role at setting the physical conditions in star forming regions, in particular the chemistry of carbon in molecular complexes, and the radiative transfer of CO emission. We caution against adopting a single Xco value when large changes in gas surface density or metallicity are present.

Local-density-driven clustered star formation

A positive power-law trend between the local surface densities of molecular gas, $\Sigma_{gas}$, and young stellar objects, $\Sigma_{\star}$, in molecular clouds of the Solar Neighbourhood has been identified by Gutermuth et al. How it relates to the properties of embedded clusters, in particular to the recently established radius-density relation, has so far not been investigated. In this paper, we model the development of the stellar component of molecular clumps as a function of time and initial local volume density so as to provide a coherent framework able to explain both the molecular-cloud and embedded-cluster relations quoted above. To do so, we associate the observed volume density gradient of molecular clumps to a density-dependent free-fall time. The molecular clump star formation history is obtained by applying a constant SFE per free-fall time, $\eff$. For volume density profiles typical of observed molecular clumps (i.e. power-law slope $\simeq -1.7$), our model gives a star-gas surface-density relation $\Sigma_{\star} \propto \Sigma_{gas}^2$, in very good agreement with the Gutermuth et al relation. Taking the case of a molecular clump of mass $M_0 \simeq 10^4 Msun$ and radius $R \simeq 6 pc$ experiencing star formation during 2 Myr, we derive what SFE per free-fall time matches best the normalizations of the observed and predicted ($\Sigma_{\star}$, $\Sigma_{gas}$) relations. We find $\eff \simeq 0.1$. We show that the observed growth of embedded clusters, embodied by their radius-density relation, corresponds to a surface density threshold being applied to developing star-forming regions. The consequences of our model in terms of cluster survivability after residual star-forming gas expulsion are that due to the locally high SFE in the inner part of star-forming regions, global SFE as low as 10% can lead to the formation of bound gas-free star clusters.

GAS SURFACE DENSITY, STAR FORMATION RATE SURFACE DENSITY, AND THE MAXIMUM MASS OF YOUNG STAR CLUSTERS IN A DISK GALAXY. I. THE FLOCCULENT GALAXY M 33

We analyze the relationship between maximum cluster mass, M_max, and surface densities of total gas (Sigma_gas), molecular gas (Sigma_H2) and star formation rate (Sigma_SFR) in the flocculent galaxy M33, using published gas data and a catalog of more than 600 young star clusters in its disk. By comparing the radial distributions of gas and most massive cluster masses, we find that M_max is proportional to Sigma_gas^4.7, M_max is proportional Sigma_H2^1.3, and M_max is proportional to Sigma_SFR^1.0. We rule out that these correlations result from the size of sample; hence, the change of the maximum cluster mass must be due to physical causes.

PHYSICAL CONDITIONS IN MOLECULAR CLOUDS IN THE ARM AND INTERARM REGIONS OF M51

We report systematic variations in the CO(2-1)/CO(1-0) line ratio (R) in M51. The ratio shows clear evidence for the evolution of molecular gas from the upstream interarm regions, passage into the spiral arms and back into the downstream interarm regions. In the interarm regions, R is typically low <0.7 (and often 0.4-0.6); this is similar to the ratios observed in Galactic giant molecular clouds (GMCs) with low far-IR luminosities. However, the ratio rises to >0.7 (often 0.8-1.0) in the spiral arms, particularly at their leading (downstream) edge. R is also high, 0.8-1.0, in the central region. An LVG calculation provides insight into the changes in the gas physical conditions between the arm and interarm regions: cold and low density gas (~10K, ~300cm-3) is required for the interarm GMCs, but this gas must become warmer and/or denser in the more active star forming spiral arms. R is higher in areas of high 24micron brightness (an approximate tracer of star formation rate surface density) and high CO(1-0) integrated intensity (a well-calibrated tracer of total molecular gas surface density). The systematic enhancement of the CO(2-1) line relative to CO(1-0) in luminous star forming regions suggests that some caution is needed when using CO(2-1) as a tracer of bulk molecular gas mass.

An indirect measurement of gas evolution in galaxies at 0.5 &lt; z &lt; 2.0

One key piece of information missing from high redshift galaxy surveys is the galaxies' cold gas contents. We present a new method to indirectly determine cold gas surface densities and integrated gas masses from galaxy star formation rates and to separate the atomic and molecular gas components. Our predicted molecular and total gas surface densities and integrated masses are in very good agreement with direct measurements quoted in the literature for low and high-z galaxies. We apply this method to predict the gas content for a sample of $\sim 57000$ galaxies in the COSMOS field at $0.5 \leq z \leq 2.0$, selected to have $I_{AB} < 24$ mag. This approach allows us to investigate in detail the redshift evolution of galaxy cold and molecular gas content versus stellar mass and to provide fitting formulae for galaxy gas fractions. We find a clear trend between galaxy gas fraction, molecular gas fraction and stellar mass with redshift, suggesting that massive galaxies consume and/or expel their gas at higher redshift than less massive objects and have lower fractions of their gas in molecular form. The characteristic stellar mass separating gas- from stellar-dominated galaxies decreases with time. This indicates that massive galaxies reach a gas-poor state earlier than less massive objects. These trends can be considered to be another manifestation of downsizing in star formation activity.

From Gas to Stars over Cosmic Time

AbstractThe formation of stars from gas drives the evolution of galaxies. Yet, it remains one of the hardest processes to understand when trying to connect observations of modern and high-redshift stellar and galaxy populations to models of large scale structure formation. It has become clear that the star formation rate at redshifts z &gt; 2 drops off rather more quickly than was thought even five years ago. Theoretical models have tended to overpredict the star formation rate at these high redshifts substantially, primarily due to overcooling. Overcooling in galaxies typically occurs because of unphysical radiative cooling. As a result, insufficient turbulence is driven by stellar feedback in galaxies. I show that such turbulence has the net effect of strongly inhibiting star formation, despite its ability to locally promote star formation by compression. Radiation pressure appears less likely to be a dominant driver of the turbulence than has been argued, but supernova and magnetorotational instabilities remain viable mechanisms. Gravity alone cannot be the main driver, as otherwise well-resolved models without feedback would accurately predict star formation rates. Star formation rate surface density correlates well with observed molecular gas surface density, as well as with other tracers of high density material. Correlation does not, however, necessarily imply causation. In this case, it appears that both molecule formation and star formation occur as a consequence of gravitational collapse, with molecules typically playing an important but not an essential role in cooling. The basic concept that gravitational instability drives star formation remains a true guide through the thickets of complexity surrounding this topic. I finally briefly note that understanding ionization heating and radiation pressure from the most massive stars will likely require much higher resolution models (sub-parsec scale) than resolving supernova feedback.

Schmidt-Kennicutt relations in SPH simulations of disc galaxies with effective thermal feedback from supernovae

We study several versions of the Schmidt-Kennicutt (SK) relation obtained for isolated spiral galaxies in TreeSPH simulations run with the GADGET3 code including the novel MUlti-Phase Particle Integrator (MUPPI) algorithm for star formation and stellar feedback. [...] The standard SK relation between surface densities of cold (neutral+molecular) gas and star formation rate of simulated galaxies shows a steepening at low gas surface densities, starting from a knee whose position depends on disc gas fraction: for more gas-rich discs the steepening takes place at higher surface densities. Because gas fraction and metallicity are typically related, this environmental dependence mimics the predictions of models where the formation of H2 is modulated by metallicity. The cold gas surface density at which HI and molecular gas surface densities equate can range from ~10 up to 34 Msun/pc^2. As expected, the SK relation obtained using molecular gas shows much smaller variations among simulations. We find that disc pressure is not well represented by the classical external pressure of a disc in vertical hydrostatic equilibrium. Instead is well fit by the expression P_fit = Sigma_cold sigma_cold kappa / 6, where the three quantities on the right-hand side are cold gas surface density, vertical velocity dispersion and epicyclic frequency. When the "dynamical" SK relation, i.e. the relation that uses gas surface density divided by orbital time, is considered, we find that all of our simulations stay on the same relation. We interpret this as a manifestation of the equilibrium between energy injection and dissipation in stationary galaxy discs, when energetic feedback is effective and pressure is represented by the expression given above. These findings further support the idea that a realistic model of the structure of galaxy discs should take into account energy injection by SNe. [Abridged]

THE METALLICITY DEPENDENCE OF THE CO → H2CONVERSION FACTOR INz⩾ 1 STAR-FORMING GALAXIES

We use the first systematic samples of CO millimeter emission in z>1 'main-sequence' star forming galaxies (SFGs) to study the metallicity dependence of the conversion factor {\alpha}CO, from CO line luminosity to molecular gas mass. The molecular gas depletion rate inferred from the ratio of the star formation rate (SFR) to CO luminosity, is ~1 Gyr-1 for near-solar metallicity galaxies with stellar masses above M_S~1e11 M_sun. In this regime the depletion rate does not vary more than a factor of two to three as a function of molecular gas surface density, or redshift between z~0 and 2. Below M_S the depletion rate increases rapidly with decreasing metallicity. We argue that this trend is not caused by starburst events, by changes in the physical parameters of the molecular clouds, or by the impact of the fundamental metallicity-SFR-stellar mass relation. A more probable explanation is that the conversion factor is metallicity dependent and that star formation can occur in 'CO-dark' gas. The trend is also expected theoretically from the effect of enhanced photodissociation of CO by ultraviolet radiation at low metallicity. From the available z~0 and z~1-3 samples we constrain the slope of the log({\alpha}CO) -log (metallicity) relation to range between -1 and -2, fairly insensitive to the assumed slope of the gas-star formation rate relation. Because of the lower metallicities near the peak of the galaxy formation activity at z~1-2 compared to z~0, we suggest that molecular gas masses estimated from CO luminosities have to be substantially corrected upward for galaxies below M_S.

CARMA SURVEY TOWARD INFRARED-BRIGHT NEARBY GALAXIES (STING). II. MOLECULAR GAS STAR FORMATION LAW AND DEPLETION TIME ACROSS THE BLUE SEQUENCE

We present an analysis of the relationship between molecular gas and current star formation rate surface density at sub-kpc and kpc scales in a sample of 14 nearby star-forming galaxies. Measuring the relationship in the bright, high molecular gas surface density ($\Shtwo\gtrsim$20 \msunpc) regions of the disks to minimize the contribution from diffuse extended emission, we find an approximately linear relation between molecular gas and star formation rate surface density, $\nmol\sim0.96\pm0.16$, with a molecular gas depletion time $\tdep\sim2.30\pm1.32$ Gyr. We show that, in the molecular regions of our galaxies there are no clear correlations between \tdep\ and the free-fall and effective Jeans dynamical times throughout the sample. We do not find strong trends in the power-law index of the spatially resolved molecular gas star formation law or the molecular gas depletion time across the range of galactic stellar masses sampled (\mstar $\sim$$10^{9.7}-10^{11.5}$ \msun). There is a trend, however, in global measurements that is particularly marked for low mass galaxies. We suggest this trend is probably due to the low surface brightness CO, and it is likely associated with changes in CO-to-H2 conversion factor.

Is molecular gas necessary for star formation?

On galactic scales, the surface density of star formation appears to be well correlated with the surface density of molecular gas. This has lead many authors to suggest that there exists a causal relationship between the chemical state of the gas and its ability to form stars -- in other words, the assumption that the gas must be molecular before star formation can occur. We test this hypothesis by modelling star formation within a dense cloud of gas with properties similar to a small molecular cloud using a series of different models of the chemistry, ranging from one in which the formation of molecules is not followed and the gas is assumed to remain atomic throughout, to one that tracks the formation of both H2 and CO. We find that presence of molecules in the gas has little effect on the ability of the gas to form stars: star formation can occur just as easily in atomic gas as in molecular gas. At low densities (< 10^4 cm^-3), the gas is able to cool via C+ fine-structure emission almost as efficiently as via CO rotational line emission, while at higher densities, the main cooling process involves the transfer of energy from gas to dust, meaning that the presence of molecules is again unimportant. Cooling by H2 is particularly inefficient, accounting for as little as 1 percent of the overall cooling in the cloud. Rather than the chemical makeup, we find that the most important factor controlling the rate of star formation is the ability of the gas to shield itself from the interstellar radiation field. As this is also a prerequisite for the survival of molecules within the gas, our results support a picture in which molecule formation and the formation of cold gas are both correlated with the column density of the cloud -- and thus its ability to shield itself -- rather than being directly correlated with each other.

A UNIVERSAL, LOCAL STAR FORMATION LAW IN GALACTIC CLOUDS, NEARBY GALAXIES, HIGH-REDSHIFT DISKS, AND STARBURSTS

[abridged] While observations of Local Group galaxies show a very simple, local star formation law in which the star formation rate per unit area in each patch of a galaxy scales linearly with the molecular gas surface density, recent observations of both Milky Way molecular clouds and high redshift galaxies apparently show a more complicated relationship, in which regions of equal surface density can form stars at quite different rates. These data have been interpreted as implying either that different star formation laws apply in different circumstances, that the star formation law is sensitive to large-scale galaxy properties rather than local properties, or that there are high density thresholds for star formation. Here we collate resolved observations of Milky Way molecular clouds, kpc-scale observations of Local Group galaxies, and unresolved observations of both disk and starburst galaxies in the local universe and at high redshift. We show that all of these data are in fact consistent with a simple, local, volumetric star formation law. The apparent variations stem from the fact that the observed objects have a wide variety of 3D size scales and degrees of internal clumping, so even at fixed gas column density the regions being observed can have wildly varying volume densities. We provide a simple theoretical framework to remove this projection effect, and we show that all the data, from small Solar neighborhood clouds with masses ~10^3 Msun to sub-mm galaxies with masses ~10^11 Msun, fall on a single star formation law in which the SFR is simply ~1% of the molecular gas mass per local free-fall time. In contrast, proposed star formation laws in which the star formation timescale is set by the galactic rotation period or the SFR is linearly proportional to the gas mass above some density threshold fail to match at least some of the data.

CARMA SURVEY TOWARD INFRARED-BRIGHT NEARBY GALAXIES (STING): MOLECULAR GAS STAR FORMATION LAW IN NGC 4254

This study explores the effects of different assumptions and systematics on the determination of the local, spatially resolved star formation law. Using four star formation rate (SFR) tracers (H\alpha with azimuthally averaged extinction correction, mid-infrared 24 micron, combined H\alpha and mid-infrared 24 micron, and combined far-ultraviolet and mid-infrared 24 micron), several fitting procedures, and different sampling strategies we probe the relation between SFR and molecular gas at various spatial resolutions and surface densities within the central 6.5 kpc in the disk of NGC4254. We find that in the high surface brightness regions of NGC4254 the form of the molecular gas star formation law is robustly determined and approximately linear and independent of the assumed fraction of diffuse emission and the SFR tracer employed. When the low surface brightness regions are included, the slope of the star formation law depends primarily on the assumed fraction of diffuse emission. In such case, results range from linear when the fraction of diffuse emission in the SFR tracer is ~30% or less (or when diffuse emission is removed in both the star formation and the molecular gas tracer), to super-linear when the diffuse fraction is ~50% and above. We find that the tightness of the correlation between gas and star formation varies with the choice of star formation tracer. The 24 micron SFR tracer by itself shows the tightest correlation with the molecular gas surface density, whereas the H\alpha corrected for extinction using an azimuthally-averaged correction shows the highest dispersion. We find that for R<0.5R_25 the local star formation efficiency is constant and similar to that observed in other large spirals, with a molecular gas depletion time ~2 Gyr.

The Spitzer Surveys of the Small Magellanic Cloud: Insights into the Life-Cycle of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons

We present the results of modeling dust spectral energy distributions (SEDs) across the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) with the aim of mapping the distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in a low-metallicity environment. Using Spitzer Survey of the SMC (S 3 MC) photometry from 3.6 to 160 µm over the main star-forming regions of the Wing and Bar of the SMC along with spectral mapping observations from 5 to 38 µm from the Spitzer Spectroscopic Survey of the Small Magellanic Cloud (S 4 MC) in selected regions, we model the dust spectral energy distribution and emission spectrum to determine the fraction of dust in PAHs across the SMC. We use the regions of overlaping photometry and spectroscopy to test the reliability of the PAH fraction as determined from SED fits alone. The PAH fraction in the SMC is low compared to the Milky Way and variable– with relatively high fractions (qPAH� 1 − 2%) in molecular clouds and low fractions in the diffuse ISM (average hqPAHi = 0.6%). We use the map of PAH fraction across the SMC to test a number of ideas regarding the production, destruction and processing of PAHs in the ISM. We find weak or no correlation between the PAH fraction and the distribution of carbon AGB stars, the location of supergiant H I shells and young supernova remnants, and the turbulent Mach number. We find that the PAH fraction is correlated with CO intensity, peaks in the dust surface density and the molecular gas surface density as determined from 160 µm emission. The PAH fraction is high in regions of active star-formation, as predicted by its correlation with molecular gas, but is supressed in H II regions. Because the PAH fraction in the diffuse ISM is generally very low–in accordance with previous work on modeling the integrated SED of the SMC–and the PAH fraction is relatively high in molecular regions, we suggest that PAHs are destroyed in the diffuse ISM of the SMC and/or PAHs are forming in molecular clouds. We discuss the implications of these observations for our understanding of the PAH life cycle, particularly in low-metallicity and/or primordial galaxies. Subject headings: dust, extinction — infrared: ISM — Magellanic Clouds