Stellar Populations and Molecular Gas Composition in the Low-Metallicity Environment of WLM

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: Archer, Haylee N., Hunter, Deidre A., Elmegreen, Bruce G., Hunt, Leslie K., O'brien, Rosalia, Brinks, Elias, Cigan, Phil, Rubio, Monica, Windhorst, Rogier A., Jansen, Rolf A., Mathews, Elijah P.
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2025
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author Archer, Haylee N.
Hunter, Deidre A.
Elmegreen, Bruce G.
Hunt, Leslie K.
O'brien, Rosalia
Brinks, Elias
Cigan, Phil
Rubio, Monica
Windhorst, Rogier A.
Jansen, Rolf A.
Mathews, Elijah P.
author_facet Archer, Haylee N.
Hunter, Deidre A.
Elmegreen, Bruce G.
Hunt, Leslie K.
O'brien, Rosalia
Brinks, Elias
Cigan, Phil
Rubio, Monica
Windhorst, Rogier A.
Jansen, Rolf A.
Mathews, Elijah P.
contents We investigate the stellar populations and molecular gas properties of a star-forming region within the dwarf irregular (dIrr) galaxy WLM. Low-metallicity dIrrs like WLM offer a valuable window into star formation in environments that are unlike those of larger, metal-rich galaxies such as the Milky Way. In these conditions, carbon monoxide (CO), typically used to trace molecular clouds, is more easily photodissociated by ultraviolet (UV) radiation, leading to a larger fraction of CO-dark molecular gas, where H$_2$ exists without detectable CO emission, or CO-dark gas in the form of cold HI. Understanding the molecular gas content and the stellar populations in these star-forming regions provides important information about the role of CO-bright and CO-dark gas in forming stars.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2503_23517
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Stellar Populations and Molecular Gas Composition in the Low-Metallicity Environment of WLM
Archer, Haylee N.
Hunter, Deidre A.
Elmegreen, Bruce G.
Hunt, Leslie K.
O'brien, Rosalia
Brinks, Elias
Cigan, Phil
Rubio, Monica
Windhorst, Rogier A.
Jansen, Rolf A.
Mathews, Elijah P.
Astrophysics of Galaxies
We investigate the stellar populations and molecular gas properties of a star-forming region within the dwarf irregular (dIrr) galaxy WLM. Low-metallicity dIrrs like WLM offer a valuable window into star formation in environments that are unlike those of larger, metal-rich galaxies such as the Milky Way. In these conditions, carbon monoxide (CO), typically used to trace molecular clouds, is more easily photodissociated by ultraviolet (UV) radiation, leading to a larger fraction of CO-dark molecular gas, where H$_2$ exists without detectable CO emission, or CO-dark gas in the form of cold HI. Understanding the molecular gas content and the stellar populations in these star-forming regions provides important information about the role of CO-bright and CO-dark gas in forming stars.
title Stellar Populations and Molecular Gas Composition in the Low-Metallicity Environment of WLM
topic Astrophysics of Galaxies
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2503.23517