Current Projects

• The structure of the ISM in disk galaxies. We specialize in interferometric observations of CO, a tracer of molecular gas in star forming galaxies. These observations can shed light on the star formation law, the fueling and quenching of star formation, and the conditions for the formation of H2. Our most recent effort is the Extragalactic Database for Galaxy Evolution (EDGE). Collaborators include Alberto Bolatto (U. Maryland), Adam Leroy (OSU), and Erik Rosolowsky (U. Alberta), and PhD graduates Kijeong Yim (KASI), David Rebolledo (ALMA JAO), and Rui Xue (NRAO).

• Studies of the ISM in the Large Magellanic Cloud. Making use of data from the ALMA observatory, the SDSS-V Local Volume Mapper, the MAGMA survey (see below), as well as space-based UV, optical, and IR telescopes, we have been investigating several overlapping issues, including the relationship between atomic and molecular gas, the dynamical state and effects of feedback on star-forming molecular clouds, and the origin of the radio/far-infrared correlation. Collaborators include Remy Indebetouw (NRAO/Virginia), Alberto Bolatto (U. Maryland), Annie Hughes (IRAP Toulouse), Toshikazu Onishi (Osaka Prefecture U.), Snezana Stanimirovic (U. Wisconsin), and members of the LVM Science Team.

• Molecular line mapping of GMCs in the Galaxy. Using the Mopra telescope, we have obtained fully sampled maps of southern giant molecular clouds (GMCs) in CO, 13CO, and C18O. These maps provide a “deeper” view of cloud structure than CO maps alone, and can be used to investigate current issues in molecular cloud evolution, including the role of turbulence.

Data Access

• ALMA CO & 13CO Mosaics of the 30 Doradus molecular cloud observed in Cycle 7, featured in this press release from NRAO.

• ALMA CO & 13CO Mosaics of six molecular clouds in the LMC, including older data from 30 Doradus.

• ATCA HCO+ & HCN Mosaics of several regions in the LMC, reprocessed in 2015-6 with help from UIUC undergraduate student Aamodini Gupta.

• MAGMA, the Magellanic Mopra Assessment. A CO survey of the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds that achieves 45" resolution in the CO(1-0) line on clouds detected by the NANTEN survey. Observations were conducted with the ATNF Mopra telescope in Australia.

• CARMA Survey Towards Infrared-bright Nearby Galaxies (CARMA STING). A survey of 23 spiral galaxies observed in CO and 13CO with CARMA. Targets IR-luminous galaxies from the IRAS Revised Bright Galaxy Sample with a wealth of ancillary data (including VLA, SDSS, and Spitzer).

• Extragalactic Database for Galaxy Evolution (EDGE). A survey of 125+ galaxies with CARMA, one of the last major projects undertaken by the telescope. An HDF5 database of the EDGE data is available on Zenodo.