We exploit the Herschel Extragalactic Multi-Tiered Survey (HerMES) dataset along with ancillary multi-wavelength photometry and spectroscopy from the Spitzer Data Fusion to provide the most accurate determination to date of the local (0.02<z<0.5) Far-Infrared Luminosity and Star Formation Rate Function. We present and compare our results with model predictions as well as other multi-wavelength estimates of the local star formation rate density.

Recent Herschel and Planck observations of submillimeter dust emission revealed the omnipresence of filamentary structures in the interstellar medium (ISM). The ubiquity of filaments in quiescent clouds as well as in star-forming regions indicates that the formation of filamentary structures is a natural product of the physics at play in the magnetized turbulent cold ISM. An analysis of more than 270 filaments observed with Herschel in 8 regions of the Gould Belt, shows that interstellar filaments are characterized by a narrow distribution of central width sharply peaked at ~0.1 pc, while they span a wide column density range. Molecular line observations of a sample of these filaments show evidence of an increase in the velocity dispersion of dense filaments with column density, suggesting an evolution in mass per unit length due to accretion of surrounding material onto these star-forming filaments. The analyses of Planck dust polarization observations show that both the mean magnetic field and its fluctuations along the filaments are different from those of their surrounding clouds. This points to a coupling between the matter and the $\vec{B}$-field in the filament formation process. These observational results, derived from dust and gas tracers in total and polarized intensity, set strong constraints on our understanding of the formation and evolution of filaments in the ISM. They provide important clues on the initial conditions of the star formation process along interstellar filaments.

The Herschel Space Observatory was the fourth cornerstone mission in the European Space Agency (ESA) science programme with excellent broad band imaging capabilities in the sub-mm and far-infrared part of the spectrum. Although the spacecraft finished its observations in 2013, it left a large legacy dataset that is far from having been fully scrutinised and still has a large potential for new scientific discoveries. This is specifically true for the photometric observations of the PACS and SPIRE instruments. Some source catalogues have already been produced by individual observing programs, but there are many observations that risk to remain unexplored. To maximise the science return of the SPIRE and PACS data sets, we are in the process of building the Herschel Point Source Catalogue (HPSC) from all primary and parallel mode observations. Our homogeneous source extraction enables a systematic and unbiased comparison of sensitivity across the different Herschel fields that single programs will generally not be able to provide. The catalogue will be made available online through archives like the Herschel Science Archive (HSA), the Infrared Science Archive (IRSA), and the Strasbourg Astronomical Data Center (CDS).

Clustering analysis indicate that at z ~ 2 submm-selected galaxies (SMGs) reside in very massive halos (MDM > 5 × 1013), suggesting that SMGs trace high-density environments that evolve into rich galaxy clusters. Conversely, recent work suggests that SMGs are tracers of a broader range of environments, including structures with more modest masses caught in highly active periods; since galaxies in these structures are likely caught during episodes of peak starbursts, SMGs may be tracers of a wider range of environments beyond the progenitors of todays very rich clusters, opening a window for a more complete exploration of the details underpinning the process of galaxy evolution in concert with the assembly of the large scale structure (LSS). We have undertaken a large observing program comprising deep narrow-band Ly-alpha imaging and multi-object spectroscopy using Palomar/Keck/Magellan/Gemini telescopes to probe for galaxy overdensities in SMG environments at z ~ 1 − 5. With ~200 spectroscopically-confirmed Ly-alpha emitters, we are in a position to gauge the level of galaxy overdensity in these regions.

The nearby (d = 19.7 Mpc) Seyfert galaxy NGC 3079 exhibits a prominent bubble emerging from the nucleus. In order to investigate the nuclear power source, we carried out ammonia observations toward the center of NGC 3079 with the Tsukuba 32-m telescope and the JVLA. The NH3 (J,K) = (1, 1) through (6, 6) lines were detected in absorption at the center of NGC 3079 with the JVLA, although the profile of NH3 (3, 3) was in emission in contrast to the other transitions. All ammonia absorption lines have two distinct velocity components: one is at the systemic velocity (Vsys ~ 1116 km s−1) and the other is blueshifted (Vsys ~ 1020 km s−1), and both components are aligned along the nuclear jets. The blueshifted NH3 (3, 3) emission can be regarded as ammonia masers associated with shocks by strong winds probably from newly formed massive stars or supernova explosions in the nuclear megamaser disk. The derived rotational temperature, Trot = 120 ± 12 K for the systemic component and Trot = 157 ± 19 K for the blueshifted component, and fractional abundance of NH3 relative to molecular hydrogen H2 are higher than those in other galaxies reported. The high temperature environment at the center may be mainly attributed to heating by the nuclear jets.

We studied molecular gas properties in a sample of 98 Hi - flux selected spiral galaxies within ~ 25 Mpc using the CO J = 3 − 2 line, observed with the JCMT, and subdivided into isolated, group, and Virgo subsamples. We find a larger mean H2 mass in the Virgo galaxies compared to group galaxies, despite their lower mean Hi mass. Combining our data with complementary Hα star formation rate measurements, Virgo galaxies have a longer molecular gas depletion times compared to group galaxies, perhaps due to heating processes in the cluster environment or differences in the turbulent pressure.

The Planck satellite has provided an unprecedented view of the submm sky, allowing us to search for the dust emission of Galactic cold sources. Combining Planck-HFI all-sky maps in the high frequency channels with the IRAS map at 100um, we built the Planck catalogue of Galactic Cold Clumps (PGCC, Planck 2015 results. XXVIII), counting 13188 sources distributed over the whole sky, and following mainly the Galactic structures at low and intermediate latitudes. This is the first all-sky catalogue of Galactic cold sources obtained with a single instrument at this resolution and sensitivity, which opens a new window on star-formation processes in our Galaxy.

We present the 12CO J=1–0, 13CO J=1–0, and C18O J=1–0 maps of the M17 giant molecular clouds (GMCs) obtained as a part of the Nobeyama 45m CO Galactic Plane Survey. The observations cover the entire area of M17 SW and M17 N clouds at an angular resolution of ~ 15″ which corresponds to ~ 0.15 pc. We found that the N cloud consists of a couple of twisted filaments, they are extended in parallel toward the Hii region. The typicall width of the filaments is ~0.5 pc in 13CO intensity map. Most of young stellar objects (YSOs) are located on the filaments which have a bright rim structure in 8μm at the filament edge facing the Hii region. Furthermore, the time scale of the YSOs formation on the bright rim is comparable with that of NGC 6618 cluster which provides UV photons for the region. This fact indicates that the cluster triggered to form YSOs in N cloud. We also investigated the geometry of the Hii region and GMCs by comparing spatial distribution of 12CO velocity channel map and infrared dark cloud, and then found that NGC 6618 is possibly formed by the cloud cloud colision.

There is growing evidence that massive stars sometimes form in extremely sparse environments. The RIOTS4 survey presents a variety of evidence supporting this scenario, including a sample of 14 OB stars in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) that appear to have formed in situ as field stars. This is based on the presence of dense, symmetric HII regions hosting apparent non-runaway stars. We also present a spatially complete IMF of SMC field OB stars for masses > 7 M⊙, showing that the slope is much steeper than the Salpeter value. The binary fraction among field OB stars is also the same as in clusters, based on a RIOTS4 subsample. These results suggest a relative, but incomplete, suppression of massive star formation in the sparsest regimes.

We study the mass–metallicity relation and fundamental relation (FMR) for infrared bright galaxies (IR galaxies) at z ~ 0.9 discovered by AKARI NEP-Deep survey. The main result of this work is that metallicity of IR galaxies surprisingly match optical selected galaxies at a given mass even their star formation rates are different, which may imply that optical and IR selected galaxies follow similar star formation histories, and the starbursts in the IR galaxies do not give a strong impact in changing metallicity because of the short duration time.

We discuss an overall picture of star formation in the Galaxy. Recent high-resolution magneto-hydrodynamical simulations of two-fluid dynamics with cooling/heating and thermal conduction have shown that the formation of molecular clouds requires multiple episodes of supersonic compression. This finding enables us to create a new scenario of molecular cloud formation through interacting shells or bubbles on galactic scales. We estimate the ensemble-averaged growth rate of individual molecular clouds, and predict the associated cloud mass function. This picture naturally explains the accelerated star formation over many million years that was previously reported by stellar age determination in nearby star forming regions. The recent claim of cloud-cloud collisions as a mechanism for forming massive stars and star clusters can be naturally accommodated in this scenario. This explains why massive stars formed in cloud-cloud collisions follows the power-law slope of the mass function of molecular cloud cores repeatedly found in low-mass star forming regions.

We present preliminary results from spectroscopy obtained with PACS and SPIRE onboard the Herschel Space Observatory of a sample of massive Young Stellar Objects in the Magellanic Clouds. We analyse key gas-phase cooling species (Oi], [Cii], H2O, CO, OH), in order to characterise the physical conditions in these metal-poor environments.

We have developed a new mm-submm telescope with a diameter of 1.85 m (hereafter, Osaka 1.85-m telescope) installed at the Nobeyama Radio Observatory. The scientific goal is to precisely reveal physical properties of molecular clouds in the Galaxy by obtaining a large-scale distribution of molecular gas, which also can be compared with large-scale observations in various wavelengths. The target frequency is ~230 GHz; simultaneous observations in J = 2–1 lines of 12CO, 13CO and C18O are achieved with a beam size (HPBW) of 2.7 arcmin. Here we present the progress of observations and the scientific results obtained by Osaka 1.85-m telescope. We note that these J = 2–1 data of the Galactic molecular clouds will be precious for the comparison with those of extra-galactic ones that will be obtained with the ALMA with the comparable spatial resolutions.

Observations and simulations have now reached the point where the giant molecular cloud (GMCs) populations can be studied over a whole galaxy. This is immensely helpful for understanding star formation. Yet, are these two groups really comparing the same objects? While simulators work in 6D (x, y, z, vx, vy, vz) position-position-position (PPP) space, observers see 2 + 1D (RA, Dec, vlos) projected properties along the line of sight, identifying clouds in position-position-velocity (PPV) space. In this research we generated PPP and PPV data for a high-resolution simulated galaxy and compared the identified clouds in both data sets. The results show that 70% of the clouds have a single counterpart in each data structure. Cloud boundaries of these clouds are indeed the same. Scatter of the derived cloud properties (radius and velocity dispersion) between PPP and PPV are typically within a factor of two. However, this small scatter can make it difficult to determine if a cloud is truly gravitationally bound.

We use SCUBA-2, HARP C18O J= 3 → 2, Herschel and IRAM N2H+ J= 1 → 0 observations of the Ophiuchus molecular cloud to identify and characterise the properties of the starless cores in the region. The SCUBA-2, HARP and Herschel data were taken as part of the JCMT and Herschel Gould Belt Surveys. We determine masses and temperatures and perform a full virial analysis on our cores, and find that our cores are all either bound or virialised, with gravitational energy and external pressure energy on average of similar importance in confining the cores. There is wide variation from region to region, with cores in the region influenced by B stars (Oph A) being substantially gravitationally bound, and cores in the most quiescent region (Oph C) being pressure-confined. We observe dissipation of turbulence in all our cores, and find that this dissipation is more effective in regions which do not contain outflow-driving protostars. Full details of this analysis are presented by Pattle et al. (2015).

Early-type galaxies (ETGs) host a hot ISM produced mainly by stellar winds, and heated by Type Ia supernovae and the thermalization of stellar motions. High resolution 2D hydrodynamical simulations showed that ordered rotation in the stellar component results in the formation of a centrifugally supported cold equatorial disc. In a recent numerical investigation we found that subsequent generations of stars are formed in this cold disc; this process consumes most of the cold gas, leaving at the present epoch cold masses comparable to those observed. Most of the new stellar mass formed a few Gyrs ago, and resides in a disc.

The existence of grand design spiral galaxies in the universe is still a standing problem. The passage of a small companion is known to be able to induce spiral structures in disc galaxies, but there remains questions over how relevant this mechanism is to the galaxies observed in the real universe. Our study aims to address two key points regarding such interactions; the limiting mass companion needed to drive tidal spiral structures, and the differences between the resulting gas and stellar morphology. We find the minimum mass of a companion to be as low as 5% of the stellar mass of the galaxy, and that the arms formed in the gas and the stars display very minor dynamical and morphological differences.

We have obtained optical to near-infrared (300-2500 nm) VLT/X-shooter spectra of six candidate mYSOs, deeply embedded in the massive star forming region M17. These mYSO candidates have been identified based on their infrared excess and spectral features (double-peaked emission lines, CO band-head emission) indicating the presence of a disk (Hanson et al. 1997). In most cases, we detect a photospheric spectrum allowing us to measure the physical properties of the mYSOs and to confirm their PMS nature.

As a giant compact filamentary cloud, Orion A has a similar morphology with those more distant filaments in infrared dark clouds as revealed in Herschel surveys. We compared their core mass functions and found a similar power law index of N(>m)∝ m−1.0 for the high-mass end, which may possibly indicates a common case for massive filamentary clouds. We also show that the measured mass function for a certain cloud would largely depend on its distance, thus call for caution in interpreting individual measurements of CMF.

In the current paradigm of turbulence-regulated interstellar medium (ISM), star formation rates of entire galaxies are intricately linked to the density structure of the individual molecular clouds. This density structure is essentially encapsulated in the probability distribution function of volume densities (ρ-PDF), which directly affects the star formation rates predicted by analytic models. Contrasting its fundamental role, the ρ-PDF function has remained virtually unconstrained by observations. I describe in this contribution the recent progress in attaining observational constraints for the column density PDFs (N-PDFs) of molecular clouds that function as a proxy of the ρ-PDFs. Specifically, observational works point towards a universal correlation between the shape of the N-PDFs and star formation activity in molecular clouds. The correlation is in place from the scales of a parsec up to the scales of entire galaxies, making it a fundamental, global link between the ISM structure and star formation.