Astronomy & Astrophysics Seminar: The Interstellar Medium and Star Formation Process in Nearby Galaxies

Abstract: 

State-of-the-art instrumentation like ALMA, NOEMA, and JVLA is revolutionizing our view on the gas-star formation cycle in nearby galaxies. I will highlight recent results from several concerted large surveys targeting galaxies inside and outside the Local Group. These observations resolve the interstellar medium (ISM) and young stellar population down to individual molecular clouds and young stars. These observations provide a view as detailed as so far only known from within the Milky Way but now across the local galaxy population. This includes (a) the multi-scale structure of the atomic and molecular gas and the finding of significant diffuse molecular gas. (b) Constrains on ISM properties on cloud-scale and their systematic dependence on galactic environments. (c) These local ISM properties relate to observed variations in the gas-star formation (Kennicutt-Schmidt) relation and we test theoretical models that predict the efficiency of star formation from these local ISM properties. (d) I highlight how we measure molecular cloud lifetimes and test theories of their formation. In summary, new high-resolution observations of nearby galaxies transform our understanding on how the ISM properties and star formation process depend on galactic environment and regulate each other.

Seminar Organizer: Prof. Sara Beck