WISDOM: Molecular cloud properties and star-formation quenching

Martin Bureau

University of Oxford

Molecular gas is the fuel for star formation in galaxies. Using observations from the mm-Wave Interferometric Survey of Dark Object Masses (WISDOM), that spatially resolve (1-30 pc) individual molecular clouds across the Hubble sequence, I will reveal a clear dependence of the nature of the molecular interstellar medium of galaxies on Hubble type, and present a simple diagnostic of cloud formation. I will then highlight the shortcomings of the usual virial approach to clouds as self-gravitating objects, and stress the importance of the external galactic potential and in-plane shear to regulate the dynamical states of clouds. I will also introduce a simple but powerful cloud-cloud collision formalism that accounts for the cloud properties of several nearby as well as high-redshift systems. Finally, I will note the peculiar properties of clouds within the bars of spiral galaxies, and discuss the impact of these different mechanisms on the star formation efficiency of clouds and thus the quenching of star formation, particularly in galaxy nuclei and spheroids (morphological quenching).

Date:	Thursday, 28 September 2023
Time:	11:30
Where:	Université de Montréal
	Pavillon MIL A-3561