Colloq Abstract - Kepley
July 27
4pm Mountain
Amanda Kepley
Opening New Frontiers in the Study of Star Formation Using the Next Generation of Radio Telescopes
Abstract
Much of what we know about the process of star formation comes from observations of our own Milky Way and of nearby spiral galaxies. However, this sample only probes a relatively narrow range of galaxy properties and thus does not provide an effective test of how galaxy properties like mass, metallicity, and star formation rate affect their star formation and subsequent evolution. Fortunately, with the advent of new telescopes like the JVLA, ALMA, and the GBT, we are opening up new frontiers in the study of star formation by extending detailed studies to more distant and less massive galaxies than previously possible. In this talk, I will present two examples of how the capabilities of new instrumentation are driving star formation studies. First, I will show how deep single dish surveys of nearby galaxies enabled by multi-pixel feeds such as ARGUS on the GBT will allow us — for the first time — to map the dense molecular gas more closely associated with star formation in large samples of nearby galaxies. Second, I will present VLA and ALMA observations of the young massive clusters and molecular gas in the prototypical nearby blue compact dwarf galaxy II Zw 40. These observations are serving as a guide for future observations in other dwarf starburst samples allowing us to push resolved studies of young massive clusters and molecular gas to lower mass and metallicity systems.
