Project leader: Bigiel, Frank (AIfA)
Probing molecular gas distributions, physical properties and their relation to star formation (SF) among and across galaxies is a key topic of galaxy evolution and a key process in the baryonic matter cycle (e.g., Hopkins and Beacom, ApJ 651, 142, 2006; Tacconi et al., ARA&A 58, 157, 2020). An accurate characterisation of the content and distribution of star forming, molecular gas across galaxies requires robust and broadly applicable tracers, calibrated to work in a wide range of physical conditions. Likewise, a thorough understanding of key extragalactic scaling relations (e.g. the Kennicutt-Schmidt relation, Kennicutt, ApJ 498, 541, 1998; Bigiel et al., AJ 136, 2846, 2008) critically rely on an accurate census of the amount and, more broadly, the physical conditions of the molecular gas.
Generally, low-J CO rotational lines are the gold standard tracing the bulk molecular medium in galaxies near and far. This is largely rooted in their brightness and their low critical density (∽102cm3) so that they are easily excited across large parts of galaxies. At intermediate and high redshift, often only mid-J CO lines are easily accessible (e.g., Carilli and Walter, ARA&A 51, 105, 2013; Hodge and da Cunha, Royal Society Open Science 7, 200556, 2020). Hence, H2 estimates critically rely on gauging molecular gas physical conditions (excitation, density) driving the CO-to- H2 conversion factor and CO line ratios. Also, the same gas physics ultimately regulate the density structure of the ISM and hence the efficiency of this gas to form stars. Deriving accurate constraints on the molecular gas physics across local galaxies is thus the key science objective of this sub- project. Specifically, in this sub-project we will explore 1) C I as an alternative molecular gas tracer, 2) CO excitation and 3) the density structure via density sensitive molecular line ensembles.
2025
Pathak, Debosmita; Leroy, Adam K.; Barnes, Ashley. T.; Thompson, Todd A.; Lopez, Laura A.; Sandstrom, Karin M.; Sun, Jiayi; Glover, Simon C. O.; Klessen, Ralf S.; Koch, Eric W.; Larson, Kirsten L.; Lee, Janice; Meidt, Sharon; Sanchez-Blazquez, Patricia; Schinnerer, Eva; Bazzi, Zein; Belfiore, Francesco; Boquien, Médéric; Chown, Ryan; Colombo, Dario; Congiu, Enrico; Egorov, Oleg V.; Eibensteiner, Cosima; Kurapati, Sushma; Querejeta, Miguel; Dale, Daniel A.; Kravtsov, Timo; Padave, Mansi; Pisano, D. J.; Rosolowsky, Erik; Sarbadhicary, Sumit K.; Williams, Thomas G.; Indebetouw, Remy; Pan, Hsi-An; Úbeda, Leonardo; Amiri, Amirnezam; Bigiel, Frank; Blanc, Guillermo A.; Grasha, Kathryn
Masses, Star Formation Efficiencies, and Dynamical Evolution of 18,000 H II Regions Journal Article
In: Astrophysical Journal, Letters, vol. 993, no. 1, pp. L20, 2025.
@article{2025ApJ...993L..20P,
title = {Masses, Star Formation Efficiencies, and Dynamical Evolution of 18,000 H II Regions},
author = {Debosmita Pathak and Adam K. Leroy and Ashley. T. Barnes and Todd A. Thompson and Laura A. Lopez and Karin M. Sandstrom and Jiayi Sun and Simon C. O. Glover and Ralf S. Klessen and Eric W. Koch and Kirsten L. Larson and Janice Lee and Sharon Meidt and Patricia Sanchez-Blazquez and Eva Schinnerer and Zein Bazzi and Francesco Belfiore and Médéric Boquien and Ryan Chown and Dario Colombo and Enrico Congiu and Oleg V. Egorov and Cosima Eibensteiner and Sushma Kurapati and Miguel Querejeta and Daniel A. Dale and Timo Kravtsov and Mansi Padave and D. J. Pisano and Erik Rosolowsky and Sumit K. Sarbadhicary and Thomas G. Williams and Remy Indebetouw and Hsi-An Pan and Leonardo Úbeda and Amirnezam Amiri and Frank Bigiel and Guillermo A. Blanc and Kathryn Grasha},
doi = {10.3847/2041-8213/ae0e70},
year = {2025},
date = {2025-11-01},
journal = {Astrophysical Journal, Letters},
volume = {993},
number = {1},
pages = {L20},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Garay-Solis, Y.; Barrera-Ballesteros, J. K.; Carigi, L.; Colombo, D.; Sánchez, S. F.; Lugo-Aranda, A. Z.; Villanueva, V.; Wong, T.; Bolatto, A. D.
The EDGE-CALIFA Survey: influence of mergers on radial profiles of star-formation properties Journal Article
In: Monthly Notices of the RAS, vol. 543, no. 4, pp. 4144-4155, 2025.
@article{2025MNRAS.543.4144G,
title = {The EDGE-CALIFA Survey: influence of mergers on radial profiles of star-formation properties},
author = {Y. Garay-Solis and J. K. Barrera-Ballesteros and L. Carigi and D. Colombo and S. F. Sánchez and A. Z. Lugo-Aranda and V. Villanueva and T. Wong and A. D. Bolatto},
doi = {10.1093/mnras/staf1653},
year = {2025},
date = {2025-11-01},
journal = {Monthly Notices of the RAS},
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Colombo, D.; Kalinova, V.; Bazzi, Z.; Sanchez, S. F.; Bolatto, A. D.; Wong, T.; Villanueva, V.; Mudivarthi, N.; Rosolowsky, E.; Weiß, A.; French, K. D.; Leroy, A.; Barrera-Ballesteros, J.; Garay-Solis, Y.; Bigiel, F.; Tripathi, A.; Rodriguez, B.
The EDGE-CALIFA Survey: An integral field unit-based integrated molecular gas database for galaxy evolution studies in the Local Universe Journal Article
In: A&A, vol. 699, pp. A366, 2025.
@article{2025A&A...699A.366C,
title = {The EDGE-CALIFA Survey: An integral field unit-based integrated molecular gas database for galaxy evolution studies in the Local Universe},
author = {D. Colombo and V. Kalinova and Z. Bazzi and S. F. Sanchez and A. D. Bolatto and T. Wong and V. Villanueva and N. Mudivarthi and E. Rosolowsky and A. Weiß and K. D. French and A. Leroy and J. Barrera-Ballesteros and Y. Garay-Solis and F. Bigiel and A. Tripathi and B. Rodriguez},
doi = {10.1051/0004-6361/202453179},
year = {2025},
date = {2025-07-01},
urldate = {2025-07-01},
journal = {A&A},
volume = {699},
pages = {A366},
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Colombo, D.; Kalinova, V.; Bazzi, Z.; Sanchez, S. F.; Bolatto, A. D.; Wong, T.; Villanueva, V.; Rosolowsky, E.; Weiß, A.; French, K. D.; Leroy, A.; Barrera-Ballesteros, J.; Garay-Solis, Y.; Bigiel, F.; Tripathi, A.; Rodriguez, B.
The EDGE-CALIFA survey: Star formation relationships for galaxies at different stages of their evolution Journal Article
In: A&A, vol. 699, pp. A367, 2025.
@article{2025A&A...699A.367C,
title = {The EDGE-CALIFA survey: Star formation relationships for galaxies at different stages of their evolution},
author = {D. Colombo and V. Kalinova and Z. Bazzi and S. F. Sanchez and A. D. Bolatto and T. Wong and V. Villanueva and E. Rosolowsky and A. Weiß and K. D. French and A. Leroy and J. Barrera-Ballesteros and Y. Garay-Solis and F. Bigiel and A. Tripathi and B. Rodriguez},
doi = {10.1051/0004-6361/202453217},
year = {2025},
date = {2025-07-01},
journal = {A&A},
volume = {699},
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Raut, Harshal; Patra, Narendra Nath; Biswas, Prerana; Roy, Nirupam; Kalinova, Veselina; Dzib, Sergio; Colombo, Dario; Villanueva, Vicente; Sánchez, Sebastián F.
The vertical structure of the stellar disk in NGC 551 Journal Article
In: A&A, vol. 699, pp. A364, 2025.
@article{2025A&A...699A.364R,
title = {The vertical structure of the stellar disk in NGC 551},
author = {Harshal Raut and Narendra Nath Patra and Prerana Biswas and Nirupam Roy and Veselina Kalinova and Sergio Dzib and Dario Colombo and Vicente Villanueva and Sebastián F. Sánchez},
doi = {10.1051/0004-6361/202450431},
year = {2025},
date = {2025-07-01},
journal = {A&A},
volume = {699},
pages = {A364},
keywords = {},
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Chown, Ryan; Leroy, Adam K.; Sandstrom, Karin; Chastenet, Jérémy; Sutter, Jessica; Koch, Eric W.; Koziol, Hannah B.; Neumann, Lukas; Sun, Jiayi; Williams, Thomas G.; Baron, Dalya; Anand, Gagandeep S.; Barnes, Ashley. T.; Bazzi, Zein; Belfiore, Francesco; Bigiel, Frank; Bolatto, Alberto; Boquien, Médéric; Cao, Yixian; Chevance, Mélanie; Colombo, Dario; Dale, Daniel A.; Brok, Jakob; Egorov, Oleg V.; Eibensteiner, Cosima; Emsellem, Eric; Hassani, Hamid; Henshaw, Jonathan D.; He, Hao; Kim, Jaeyeon; Klessen, Ralf S.; Kreckel, Kathryn; Larson, Kirsten L.; Lee, Janice C.; Meidt, Sharon E.; Murphy, Eric J.; Oakes, Elias K.; Ostriker, Eve C.; Pan, Hsi-An; Pathak, Debosmita; Rosolowsky, Erik; Sarbadhicary, Sumit K.; Schinnerer, Eva; Teng, Yu-Hsuan; Thilker, David A.; Weinbeck, Tony D.; Watkins, Elizabeth J.
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon and CO(2–1) Emission at 50–150 pc Scales in 70 Nearby Galaxies Journal Article
In: Astrophysical Journal, vol. 983, no. 1, pp. 64, 2025.
@article{2025ApJ...983...64C,
title = {Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon and CO(2–1) Emission at 50–150 pc Scales in 70 Nearby Galaxies},
author = {Ryan Chown and Adam K. Leroy and Karin Sandstrom and Jérémy Chastenet and Jessica Sutter and Eric W. Koch and Hannah B. Koziol and Lukas Neumann and Jiayi Sun and Thomas G. Williams and Dalya Baron and Gagandeep S. Anand and Ashley. T. Barnes and Zein Bazzi and Francesco Belfiore and Frank Bigiel and Alberto Bolatto and Médéric Boquien and Yixian Cao and Mélanie Chevance and Dario Colombo and Daniel A. Dale and Jakob Brok and Oleg V. Egorov and Cosima Eibensteiner and Eric Emsellem and Hamid Hassani and Jonathan D. Henshaw and Hao He and Jaeyeon Kim and Ralf S. Klessen and Kathryn Kreckel and Kirsten L. Larson and Janice C. Lee and Sharon E. Meidt and Eric J. Murphy and Elias K. Oakes and Eve C. Ostriker and Hsi-An Pan and Debosmita Pathak and Erik Rosolowsky and Sumit K. Sarbadhicary and Eva Schinnerer and Yu-Hsuan Teng and David A. Thilker and Tony D. Weinbeck and Elizabeth J. Watkins},
doi = {10.3847/1538-4357/adbd40},
year = {2025},
date = {2025-04-01},
journal = {Astrophysical Journal},
volume = {983},
number = {1},
pages = {64},
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pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Vieira, H. Faustino; Duarte-Cabral, A.; Smith, M. W. L.; Colombo, D.; Davis, T. A.; Bazzi, Z.
Cloud populations versus galactic environment in NGC4689, NGC628, NGC1566, and NGC4321 Journal Article
In: arXiv e-prints, pp. arXiv:2503.08212, 2025.
@article{2025arXiv250308212F,
title = {Cloud populations versus galactic environment in NGC4689, NGC628, NGC1566, and NGC4321},
author = {H. Faustino Vieira and A. Duarte-Cabral and M. W. L. Smith and D. Colombo and T. A. Davis and Z. Bazzi},
year = {2025},
date = {2025-03-01},
journal = {arXiv e-prints},
pages = {arXiv:2503.08212},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
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Garay-Solis, Y; Barrera-Ballesteros, J K; Carigi, L; Colombo, D; Sánchez, S F; Lugo-Aranda, A Z; Villanueva, V; Wong, T; Bolatto, A D
The EDGE-CALIFA Survey: influence of mergers on radial profiles of star-formation properties Journal Article
In: MNRAS, vol. 543, no. 4, pp. 4144-4155, 2025, ISSN: 0035-8711.
@article{10.1093/mnras/staf1653,
title = {The EDGE-CALIFA Survey: influence of mergers on radial profiles of star-formation properties},
author = {Y Garay-Solis and J K Barrera-Ballesteros and L Carigi and D Colombo and S F Sánchez and A Z Lugo-Aranda and V Villanueva and T Wong and A D Bolatto},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/staf1653},
doi = {10.1093/mnras/staf1653},
issn = {0035-8711},
year = {2025},
date = {2025-01-01},
journal = {MNRAS},
volume = {543},
number = {4},
pages = {4144-4155},
abstract = {In this study, we investigate how the merging process influences the radial variations of the specific star formation rate, star formation efficiency, and molecular gas fraction ($mathrmf_mol $) in galaxies. We analyse 33 isolated galaxies and 34 galaxies in four different merger stages from pairs, merging galaxies, post-mergers, and merger remnants. Our sample is included in the EDGE-CALIFA survey, which provides spatially resolved optical integral-field unit and CO spectroscopy data. We show that, in comparison with the isolated sample, the mergers increase the molecular gas fraction non-uniformly across different galactocentric distances. Also, we find that the main driver (efficiency or molecular gas) of both enhanced and suppressed star formation changes independently of galactocentric radius and merger stage. However, efficiency appears to be the primary driver of variations in star formation (except during the merging stage), where we find an enhancement in star formation driven by the available fuel. Our results suggest that in interacting and merging galaxies, the efficiency plays a crucial role in the star formation variations throughout the galaxy, regardless of the available molecular gas content.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
In this study, we investigate how the merging process influences the radial variations of the specific star formation rate, star formation efficiency, and molecular gas fraction ($mathrmf_mol $) in galaxies. We analyse 33 isolated galaxies and 34 galaxies in four different merger stages from pairs, merging galaxies, post-mergers, and merger remnants. Our sample is included in the EDGE-CALIFA survey, which provides spatially resolved optical integral-field unit and CO spectroscopy data. We show that, in comparison with the isolated sample, the mergers increase the molecular gas fraction non-uniformly across different galactocentric distances. Also, we find that the main driver (efficiency or molecular gas) of both enhanced and suppressed star formation changes independently of galactocentric radius and merger stage. However, efficiency appears to be the primary driver of variations in star formation (except during the merging stage), where we find an enhancement in star formation driven by the available fuel. Our results suggest that in interacting and merging galaxies, the efficiency plays a crucial role in the star formation variations throughout the galaxy, regardless of the available molecular gas content.
2024
Keilmann, Eduard; Kabanovic, Slawa; Schneider, Nicola; Ossenkopf-Okada, Volker; Stutzki, Jürgen; Kobayashi, Masato I. N.; Simon, Robert; Buchbender, Christof; Riechers, Dominik; Bigiel, Frank; Tabatabaei, Fatemeh
Molecular cloud matching in CO and dust in M33: II. Physical properties of giant molecular clouds Journal Article
In: A&A, vol. 692, pp. A226, 2024.
@article{2024A&A...692A.226K,
title = {Molecular cloud matching in CO and dust in M33: II. Physical properties of giant molecular clouds},
author = {Eduard Keilmann and Slawa Kabanovic and Nicola Schneider and Volker Ossenkopf-Okada and Jürgen Stutzki and Masato I. N. Kobayashi and Robert Simon and Christof Buchbender and Dominik Riechers and Frank Bigiel and Fatemeh Tabatabaei},
doi = {10.1051/0004-6361/202451451},
year = {2024},
date = {2024-12-01},
journal = {A&A},
volume = {692},
pages = {A226},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Ruiz-García, Marina; Querejeta, Miguel; García-Burillo, Santiago; Emsellem, Eric; Meidt, Sharon E.; Sormani, Mattia C.; Schinnerer, Eva; Williams, Thomas G.; Bazzi, Zein; Colombo, Dario; Gleis, Damian R.; Gnedin, Oleg Y.; Klessen, Ralf S.; Leroy, Adam K.; Sánchez-Blázquez, Patricia; Stuber, Sophia K.
Dynamical resonances in PHANGS galaxies Journal Article
In: A&A, vol. 691, pp. A351, 2024.
@article{2024A&A...691A.351R,
title = {Dynamical resonances in PHANGS galaxies},
author = {Marina Ruiz-García and Miguel Querejeta and Santiago García-Burillo and Eric Emsellem and Sharon E. Meidt and Mattia C. Sormani and Eva Schinnerer and Thomas G. Williams and Zein Bazzi and Dario Colombo and Damian R. Gleis and Oleg Y. Gnedin and Ralf S. Klessen and Adam K. Leroy and Patricia Sánchez-Blázquez and Sophia K. Stuber},
doi = {10.1051/0004-6361/202450935},
year = {2024},
date = {2024-11-01},
urldate = {2024-11-01},
journal = {A&A},
volume = {691},
pages = {A351},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
References
- Barnes, Kauffmann, Bigiel, Brinkmann, and 19 co-authors including, Menten, Weiss, and Wyrowski, “LEGO – II. A 3 mm molecular line study covering 100 pc of one of the most actively star-forming portions within the Milky Way disc”, MNRAS 497, 1972 (2020).
- Bešlic ́, Barnes, Bigiel, Puschnig, Pety, Herrera Contreras, Leroy, Usero, et al., “Dense molecular gas properties on 100 pc scales across the disc of NGC 3627”, MNRAS 506, 963 (2021).
- Bigiel, de Looze, Krabbe, Cormier, Barnes, Fischer, Bolatto, Bryant, et al., “SOFIA/FIFI-LS Full-disk [C II] Mapping and CO-dark Molecular Gas across the Nearby Spiral Galaxy NGC 6946”, ApJ 903, 30 (2020).
- Bigiel, Leroy, Walter, Brinks, de Blok, Madore, and Thornley, “The Star Formation Law in Nearby Galaxies on Sub-Kpc Scales”, AJ 136, 2846 (2008).
- Bigiel, Leroy, Jiménez-Donaire, Pety, Usero, Cormier, Bolatto, Garcia-Burillo, et al., “The EMPIRE Survey: Systematic Variations in the Dense Gas Fraction and Star Formation Efficiency from Full-disk Mapping of M51”, ApJ Letters 822, L26 (2016).
- den Brok, Chatzigiannakis, Bigiel, Puschnig, Barnes, Leroy, Jiménez-Donaire, Usero, et al., “New constraints on the 12CO(2-1)/(1-0) line ratio across nearby disc galaxies”, MNRAS 504, 3221 (2021).
- den Brok, Bigiel, Sliwa, Saito, Usero, Schinnerer, Leroy, Jiménez-Donaire, et al., “A CO isotopologue Line Atlas within the Whirlpool galaxy Survey (CLAWS)”, A&A 662, A89 (2022).
- Eibensteiner, Barnes, Bigiel, Schinnerer, Liu, Meier, Usero, Leroy, et al., “A 2-3 mm high-resolution molecular line survey towards the centre of the nearby spiral galaxy NGC 6946”, A&A 659, A173 (2022).
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- Jiménez-Donaire, Bigiel, Leroy, Usero, Cormier, Puschnig, Gallagher, Kepley, et al., “EMPIRE: TheIRAM 30 m Dense Gas Survey of Nearby Galaxies”, ApJ 880, 127 (2019).
