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The Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) is the nearest laboratory for detailed studies on the formation and survival of complex organic molecules (COMs), including biologically important ones, in low-metallicity environments--typical for earlier cosmological epochs. We report the results of 1.2 mm continuum and molecular line observations of three fields in the star-forming region N105 with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). N105 lies at the western edge of the LMC bar with on-going star formation traced by H$_2$O, OH, and CH$_3$OH masers, ultracompact H II regions, and young stellar objects. Based on the spectral line modeling, we estimated rotational temperatures, column densities, and fractional molecular abundances for twelve 1.2 mm continuum sources. We identified sources with a range of chemical make-ups, including two bona fide hot cores and four hot core candidates. The CH$_3$OH emission is widespread and associated with all the continuum sources. COMs CH$_3$CN and CH$_3$OCH$_3$ are detected toward two hot cores in N105 together with smaller molecules typically found in Galactic hot cores (e.g., SO$_2$, SO, and HNCO) with the molecular abundances roughly scaling with metallicity. We report a tentative detection of the astrobiologically relevant formamide molecule (NH$_2$CHO) toward one of the hot cores; if confirmed, this would be the first detection of NH$_2$CHO in an extragalactic sub-solar metallicity environment. We suggest that metallicity inhomogeneities resulting from the tidal interactions between the LMC and the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) might have led to the observed large variations in COM abundances in LMC hot cores., 75 pages, 48 figures, 7 tables (including appendices); Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal

In this paper we make predictions for the behaviour of wind bubbles around young massive stars using analytic theory. We do this in order to determine why there is a discrepancy between theoretical models that predict that winds should play a secondary role to photoionisation in the dynamics of HII regions, and observations of young HII regions that seem to suggest a driving role for winds. In particular, regions such as M42 in Orion have neutral hydrogen shells, suggesting that the ionising radiation is trapped closer to the star. We first derive formulae for wind bubble evolution in non-uniform density fields, focusing on singular isothermal sphere density fields with a power law index of -2. We find that a classical "Weaver"-like expansion velocity becomes constant in such a density distribution. We then calculate the structure of the photoionised shell around such wind bubbles, and determine at what point the mass in the shell cannot absorb all of the ionising photons emitted by the star, causing an "overflow" of ionising radiation. We also estimate perturbations from cooling, gravity, magnetic fields and instabilities, all of which we argue are secondary effects for the conditions studied here. Our wind-driven model provides a consistent explanation for the behaviour of M42 to within the errors given by observational studies. We find that in relatively denser molecular cloud environments \around single young stellar sources, champagne flows are unlikely until the wind shell breaks up due to turbulence or clumping in the cloud., Comment: 17 pages, 10 figures, published in MNRAS

We present new 3 mm observations of the ionized gas toward the nuclear starburst in the nearby (D ~ 3.5 Mpc) galaxy NGC 253. With ALMA, we detect emission from the H40-alpha and He40-alpha lines in the central 200 pc of this galaxy on spatial scales of ~4 pc. The recombination line emission primarily originates from a population of approximately a dozen embedded super star clusters in the early stages of formation. We find that emission from these clusters is characterized by electron temperatures ranging from 7000-10000 K and measure an average singly-ionized helium abundance = 0.25 +/- 0.06, both of which are consistent with values measured for HII regions in the center of the Milky Way. We also report the discovery of unusually broad-linewidth recombination line emission originating from seven of the embedded clusters. We suggest that these clusters contribute to the launching of the large-scale hot wind observed to emanate from the central starburst. Finally, we use the measured recombination line fluxes to improve the characterization of overall embedded cluster properties, including the distribution of cluster masses and the fractional contribution of the clustered star formation to the total starburst, which we estimate is at least 50%., Comment: ApJ Accepted. 20 pages, 8 figures

We present a multiwavelength study of the iconic Bubble Nebula (NGC 7635) and its ionizing star BD+60 degrees 2521 We obtained XMM Newton EPIC X-ray observations to search for. extended X-ray emission as in other similar wind-blown bubbles around massive stars. We also obtained San Pedro Madir spectroscopic observations with. the Manchester Echelle Spectrometer to study the dynamics of the Bubble Nebula. Although our EPIC observations are deep, we do not detect extended X-ray emission from this wind-blown bubble. On the other hand, BD+60 degrees 2522 is a bright X-ray source similar to other 0 stars. We used the stellar atmosphere code PolATR to characterize BD+60 degrees 2522 and found that this star is a young O-type star with stellar wind capable of producing a wirid-blown bubble that in principle could be filled with hot gas. We discussed our findings in line with recent ntirnerical simulations'proposing that the Bubble Nebula has been formed as the result of the fast motion of BD+60 degrees 2522 through the medium. Our kinematic study shows that the Bubble Nebula is composed by a series of nested shells, some showing blister-like structures, but with little signatures of hydrodynamical instabilities that would mix the material producing diffuse X-ray emission as seen in other wind-blown bubbles. Its morphology seems to be merely the result of projection effects of these different shells. © 2020 The Author(s) Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society, This work is based on observations obtained with XMM-Newton, an ESA science mission with instruments and contributions directly funded by ESA Member States and NASA. The NOT data presented were obtained with ALFOSC and FIES, which are provided by the Instituto de Astroffsica de Andalucfa (IAA-CSIC) under ajoint agreement with the University of Copenhagen and NOTSA. This paper makes use of observations carried out at the Observatorio Astronomico Nacional on the Sierra San Pedro Mdfrtir (OAN-SPM), Baja California, Mexico. We thank the daytime and night support staff at the OAN-SPM for facilitating and helping obtain our observations. JAT, MAG, and HT are funded by UNAM DGAPA PAPIIT projects IA100318 and IA100720. GRL acknowledges support from Fundacion Marcos Moshinsky, CONACyT, and PRODEP (Mexico). MAG acknowledges support of the grants AYA 201457280-P and PGC2018-102184-B-I00 of the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovacion y Universidades, cofunded with FEDER funds. LS is supported by Direccion General de Asuntos del Personal Acadmico, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico project IN101819.

We present the second dust continuum data release in the Census of High- and Medium-mass Protostars (CHaMP), expanding the methodology trialed in Pitts et al. 2019 to the entire CHaMP survey area ($280^{\circ}, Comment: 33 pages, 13 figures, 2 tables, 51 pages of appendices; accepted to ApJS (in print)

Winds from young massive stars contribute a large amount of energy to their host molecular clouds. This has consequences for the dynamics and observable structure of star-forming clouds. In this paper, we present radiative magnetohydrodynamic simulations of turbulent molecular clouds that form individual stars of 30, 60 and 120 solar masses emitting winds and ultraviolet radiation following realistic stellar evolution tracks. We find that winds contribute to the total radial momentum carried by the expanding nebula around the star at 10 % of the level of photoionisation feedback, and have only a small effect on the radial expansion of the nebula. Radiation pressure is largely negligible in the systems studied here. The 3D geometry and evolution of wind bubbles is highly aspherical and chaotic, characterised by fast-moving "chimneys" and thermally-driven "plumes". These plumes can sometimes become disconnected from the stellar source due to dense gas flows in the cloud. Our results compare favourably with the findings of relevant simulations, analytic models and observations in the literature while demonstrating the need for full 3D simulations including stellar winds. However, more targeted simulations are needed to better understand results from observational studies., Comment: 18 pages, 11 figures, accepted to MNRAS

We present the results of VLT-MUSE integral field spectroscopy of SECCO1, a faint, star-forming stellar system recently discovered as the stellar counterpart of an Ultra Compact High Velocity Cloud (HVC274.68+74.0), very likely residing within a substructure of the Virgo cluster of galaxies. We have obtained the radial velocity of a total of 38 individual compact sources identified as HII regions in the main and secondary body of the system, and derived the metallicity for 18 of them. We provide the first direct demonstration that the two stellar bodies of SECCO1 are physically associated and that their velocities match the HI velocities. The metallicity is quite uniform over the whole system, with a dispersion sigma_12+log(O/H/)=0.08, lower than the uncertainty on individual metallicity estimates. The mean abundance, 12+log(O/H)=8.44, is much higher than the typical values for local dwarf galaxies of similar stellar mass. This strongly suggests that the SECCO~1 stars were born from a pre-enriched gas cloud, possibly stripped from a larger galaxy. Using archival HST images we derive a total stellar mass of ~1.6 X 10^5 M_sun for SECCO1, confirming that it has a very high HI to stellar mass ratio for a dwarf galaxy, M_HI/M_*~ 100. The star formation rate, derived from the H_alpha flux is a factor of more than 10 higher than in typical dwarf galaxies of similar luminosity., Accepted for publication by MNRAS. pdfLaTeX. 10 pages, 4 figures, 4 tables

We present a spatially resolved study of the relation between dust and metallicity in the nearby spiral galaxies M 101 (NGC 5457) and NGC 628 (M 74). We explore the relation between the chemical abundances of their gas and stars with their dust content and their chemical evolution. The empirical spatially resolved oxygen effective yield and the gas-to-dust mass ratio (GDR) across both disc galaxies are derived, sampling 1 dex in oxygen abundance. We find that the metal budget of the NGC 628 disc and most of the M 101 disc appears consistent with the predictions of the simple model of chemical evolution for an oxygen yield between half and one solar, whereas the outermost region (R ≥ 0.8 R 25 ) of M 101 presents deviations suggesting the presence of gas flows. The GDR-metallicity relation shows a two slopes behaviour, with a break at 12 + log(O/H) ≈ 8.4, a critical metallicity predicted by theoretical dust models when stardust production equals grain growth. A relation between GDR and the fraction of molecular to total gas, ΣH 2 }/Σ gas is also found. We suggest an empirical relationship between GDR and the combination of 12 + log(O/H), for metallicity, and ΣH 2 /Σ gas , a proxy for the molecular clouds fraction. The GDR is closely related with metallicity at low abundance and with ΣH 2 /Σ gas for higher metallicities suggesting interstellar medium dust growth. The ratio Σ dust /Σ star correlates well with 12+ log(O/H) and strongly with log(N/O) in both galaxies. For abundances below the critical one, the 'stardust' production gives us a constant value suggesting a stellar dust yield similar to the oxygen yield. © 2018 The Author(s) Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society., This work was partially supported by the Spanish Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad under grants AYA2016-79724-C4-4-P and AYA2016-79724-C4-3-P, and excellence project PEX2011-FQM-7058 of Junta de Andalucia (Spain). MR acknowledges support by the research projects AYA2014-53506-P and AYA2017-84897-P from the Spanish Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad and Junta de Andalucia grant FQM108; support from the European Regional Development Funds (FEDER) is acknowledged.

How stellar feedback from high-mass stars (e.g., H{\sc ii} regions) influences the surrounding interstellar medium and regulates new star formation is still unclear. To address this question, we observed the G9.62+0.19 complex in 850 $\mu$m continuum with the JCMT/POL-2 polarimeter. An ordered magnetic field has been discovered in its youngest clump, the G9.62 clump. The magnetic field strength is determined to be $\sim$1 mG. Magnetic field plays a larger role than turbulence in supporting the clump. However, the G9.62 clump is still unstable against gravitational collapse even if thermal, turbulent, and magnetic field support are taken into account all together. The magnetic field segments in the outskirts of the G9.62 clump seem to point toward the clump center, resembling a dragged-in morphology, indicating that the clump is likely undergoing magnetically-regulated global collapse. However, The magnetic field in its central region is aligned with the shells of the photodissociation regions (PDRs) and is approximately parallel to the ionization (or shock) front, indicating that the magnetic field therein is likely compressed by the expanding H{\sc ii} regions that formed in the same complex., Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures, accepted to be published on ApJ letter

SECCO1 is an extremely dark, low-mass (M_star=10^5 M_sun), star-forming stellar system lying in the Low Velocity Cloud (LVC) substructure of the Virgo cluster of galaxies, and hosting several HII regions. Here we review our knowledge of this remarkable system, and present the results of (a) additional analysis of our panoramic spectroscopic observations with MUSE, (b) the combined analysis of Hubble Space Telescope and MUSE data, and (c) new narrow-band observations obtained with OSIRIS@GTC to search for additional HII regions in the surroundings of the system. We provide new evidence supporting an age as young as 4 Myr for the stars that are currently ionising the gas in SECCO1. We identify only one new promising candidate HII region possibly associated with SECCO1, thus confirming the extreme isolation of the system. We also identify three additional candidate pressure-supported dark clouds in Virgo among the targets of the SECCO survey. Various possible hypotheses for the nature and origin of SECCO1 are considered and discussed, also with the help of dedicated hydrodynamical simulations showing that a hydrogen cloud with the characteristics of SECCO1 can likely survive for >1 Gyr while traveling within the LVC Intra Cluster Medium., Accepted for publication by MNRAS. PDFLatex. 21 pages, 16 figures, 4 tables

The SPICA mid- and far-infrared telescope will address fundamental issues in our understanding of star formation and ISM physics in galaxies. A particular hallmark of SPICA is the outstanding sensitivity enabled by the cold telescope, optimised detectors, and wide instantaneous bandwidth throughout the mid- and far-infrared. The spectroscopic, imaging, and polarimetric observations that SPICA will be able to collect will help in clarifying the complex physical mechanisms which underlie the baryon cycle of galaxies. In particular, (i) the access to a large suite of atomic and ionic fine-structure lines for large samples of galaxies will shed light on the origin of the observed spread in star-formation rates within and between galaxies, (ii) observations of HD rotational lines (out to similar to 10 Mpc) and fine structure lines such as [C II] 158 mu m (out to similar to 100 Mpc) will clarify the main reservoirs of interstellar matter in galaxies, including phases where CO does not emit, (iii) far-infrared spectroscopy of dust and ice features will address uncertainties in the mass and composition of dust in galaxies, and the contributions of supernovae to the interstellar dust budget will be quantified by photometry and monitoring of supernova remnants in nearby galaxies, (iv) observations of far-infrared cooling lines such as [O I] 63 mu m from star-forming molecular clouds in our Galaxy will evaluate the importance of shocks to dissipate turbulent energy. The paper concludes with requirements for the telescope and instruments, and recommendations for the observing strategy.

The SPICA mid and far-infrared telescope will address fundamental issues in our understanding of star formation and ISM physics in galaxies. A particular hallmark of SPICA is the outstanding sensitivity enabled by the cold telescope, optimized detectors, and wide instantaneous bandwidth throughout the mid- and far-infrared. The spectroscopic, imaging and polarimetric observations that SPICA will be able to collect will help in clarifying the complex physical mechanisms which underlie the baryon cycle of galaxies. In particular: (i) The access to a large suite of atomic and ionic fine-structure lines for large samples of galaxies will shed light on the origin of the observed spread in star formation rates within and between galaxies. (ii) Observations of HD rotational lines (out to $\sim$10 Mpc) and fine structure lines such as [CII] 158 $\mu$m (out to $\sim$100 Mpc) will clarify the main reservoirs of interstellar matter in galaxies, including phases where CO does not emit. (iii) Far-infrared spectroscopy of dust and ice features will address uncertainties in the mass and composition of dust in galaxies, and the contributions of supernovae to the interstellar dust budget will be quantified by photometry and monitoring of supernova remnants in nearby galaxies. (iv) Observations of far-infrared cooling lines such as [OI] 63 $\mu$m from star-forming molecular clouds in our Galaxy will evaluate the importance of shocks to dissipate turbulent energy. The paper concludes with requirements for the telescope and instruments, and recommendations for the observing strategy., Comment: Accepted for publication in PASA; 19 pages, 8 figures, 1 table

We present integrated-light spectra of 8 Young Massive Clusters (YMCs) in the metal-rich spiral galaxy NGC 5236 (M 83). The observations were taken with the X-Shooter spectrograph on the ESO Very Large Telescope. Through the use of theoretical isochrones and synthetic integrated-light (IL) spectra we derive metallicities and study the radial metallicity gradient observed through these young populations. For the inner regions of the galaxy we observe a relatively shallow metallicity gradient of $-$0.37 $\pm$0.29 dex R$_{25}^{-1}$, agreeing with chemical evolution models with an absence of infall material and a relatively low mass loss due to winds in the inner parts of the disk. We estimate a central metallicity of [$Z$] = $+$0.17 $\pm$ 0.12 dex, finding excellent agreement with that obtained via other methods (e.g. blue supergiants and J-band). We infer a metallicity of 12+log(O/H) = 8.75 $\pm$ 0.08 dex at R/R$_{25}$ = 0.4, which fits the stellar mass-metallicity relation (MZR) compilation of blue supergiants and IL studies., 13 pages, 10 figures, MNRAS accepted

With its relatively low ionization potential, C+ can be found throughout the interstellar medium (ISM) and provides one of the main cooling channels of the ISM via the [C II] 157 μm emission. While the strength of the [C II] line correlates with the star formation rate, the contributions of the various gas phases to the [C II] emission on galactic scales are not well established. In this study we establish an empirical multi-component model of the ISM, including dense H II regions, dense photon dissociation regions (PDRs), the warm ionized medium (WIM), low density and {G}0 surfaces of molecular clouds (SfMCs), and the cold neutral medium (CNM). We test our model on ten luminous regions within the two nearby galaxies NGC 3184 and NGC 628 on angular scales of 500-600 pc. Both galaxies are part of the Herschel key program KINGFISH, and are complemented by a large set of ancillary ground- and space-based data. The five modeled phases together reproduce the observed [C II] emission quite well, overpredicting the total flux slightly (about 45%) averaged over all regions. We find that dense PDRs are the dominating component, contributing 68% of the [C II] flux on average, followed by the WIM and the SfMCs, with mean contributions of about half of the contribution from dense PDRs, each. CNM and dense H II regions are only minor contributors with less than 5% each. These estimates are averaged over the selected regions, but the relative contributions of the various phases to the [C II] flux vary significantly between these regions.

We have computed the Galactic Habitable Zones (GHZs) of the Andromeda galaxy (M31) based on the probability of terrestrial planet formation, which depends on the metallicity (Z) of the interstellar medium, and the number of stars formed per unit surface area. The GHZ was obtained from a chemical evolution model built to reproduce a metallicity gradient in the galactic disk, [O/H](r)=-0.015 dex kpc(-1) x r (kpc) + 0.44 dex. If we assume that Earth-like planets form with a probability law that follows the Z distribution shown by stars with detected planets, the most probable GHZ per pc(2) is located between 3 and 7 kpc for planets with ages between 6 and 7 Gyr. However, the highest number of stars with habitable planets is located in a ring between 12 and 14 kpc with a mean age of 7 Gyr. 11% and 6.5% of the all formed stars in M31 may have planets capable of hosting basic and complex life, respectively.

We present a high-resolution smoothed particle hydrodynamics simulation of the Antennae galaxies (NGC 4038/4039) and follow the evolution $3$ Gyrs beyond the final coalescence. The simulation includes metallicity dependent cooling, star formation, and both stellar feedback and chemical enrichment. The simulated best-match Antennae reproduces well both the observed morphology and the off-nuclear starburst. We also produce for the first time a simulated two-dimensional metallicity map of the Antennae and find good agreement with the observed metallicity of off-nuclear stellar clusters, however the nuclear metallicities are overproduced by $\sim 0.5$ dex. Using the radiative transfer code SKIRT we produce multi-wavelength observations of both the Antennae and the merger remnant. The $1$ Gyr old remnant is well fitted with a S\'ersic profile of $n=7.07$, and with an $r$-band effective radius of $r_{\mathrm{e}}= 1.6$ kpc and velocity dispersion of $\sigma_{\mathrm{e}}=180$ km$/$s the remnant is located on the fundamental plane of early-type galaxies (ETGs). The initially blue Antennae remnant evolves onto the red sequence after $\sim 2.5$ Gyr of secular evolution. The remnant would be classified as a fast rotator, as the specific angular momentum evolves from $\lambda_{\mathrm{Re}}\approx0.11$ to $\lambda_{\mathrm{Re}}\approx0.14$ during its evolution. The remnant shows ordered rotation and a double peaked maximum in the mean 2D line-of-sight velocity. These kinematical features are relatively common among local ETGs and we specifically identify three local ETGs (NGC 3226, NGC 3379 and NGC 4494) in the ATLAS$^\mathrm{3D}$ sample, whose photometric and kinematic properties most resemble the Antennae remnant., Comment: 27 pages, 18 figures, revised version accepted for publication in MNRAS

We combine samples of nearby galaxies with Herschel photometry selected on their dust, metal, HI, and stellar mass content, and compare these to chemical evolution models in order to discriminate between different dust sources. In a companion paper, we used a HI-selected sample of nearby galaxies to reveal a sub-sample of very gas rich (gas fraction > 80 per cent) sources with dust masses significantly below predictions from simple chemical evolution models, and well below $M_d/M_*$ and $M_d/M_{gas}$ scaling relations seen in dust and stellar-selected samples of local galaxies. We use a chemical evolution model to explain these dust-poor, but gas-rich, sources as well as the observed star formation rates (SFRs) and dust-to-gas ratios. We find that (i) a delayed star formation history is required to model the observed SFRs; (ii) inflows and outflows are required to model the observed metallicities at low gas fractions; (iii) a reduced contribution of dust from supernovae (SNe) is needed to explain the dust-poor sources with high gas fractions. These dust-poor, low stellar mass galaxies require a typical core-collapse SN to produce 0.01 - 0.16 $M_{\odot}$ of dust. To match the observed dust masses at lower gas fractions, significant grain growth is required to counteract the reduced contribution from dust in SNe and dust destruction from SN shocks. These findings are statistically robust, though due to intrinsic scatter it is not always possible to find one single model that successfully describes all the data. We also show that the dust-to-metals ratio decreases towards lower metallicity., 15 pages (+10 pages appendix), 8 figures, Accepted for publication in MNRAS

Interarm star formation contributes significantly to a galaxy's star formation budget, and provides an opportunity to study stellar birthplaces unperturbed by spiral arm dynamics. Using optical integral field spectroscopy of the nearby galaxy NGC 628 with VLT/MUSE, we construct Halpha maps including detailed corrections for dust extinction and stellar absorption to identify 391 HII regions at 35pc resolution over 12 kpc^2. Using tracers sensitive to the underlying gravitational potential, we associate HII regions with either arm (271) or interarm (120) environments. Using our full spectral coverage of each region, we find that most HII region physical properties (luminosity, size, metallicity, ionization parameter) are independent of environment. We calculate the fraction of Halpha luminosity due to the diffuse ionized gas (DIG) background contaminating each HII region, and find the DIG surface brightness to be higher within HII regions compared to the surroundings, and slightly higher within arm HII regions. Use of the temperature sensitive [SII]/Halpha line ratio map instead of the Halpha surface brightness to identify HII region boundaries does not change this result. Using the dust attenuation as a tracer of the gas, we find depletion times consistent with previous work (2 x 10^9 yr) with no differences between the arm and interarm, however this is very sensitive to the DIG correction. Unlike molecular clouds, which can be dynamically affected by the galactic environment, we see fairly consistent HII region properties in both arm and interarm environments. This suggests either a difference in arm star formation and feedback, or a decoupling of dense star forming clumps from the more extended surrounding molecular gas., 10 pages, 4 figures, 1 table, accepted for publication in ApJ

We derive total (atomic + molecular) hydrogen densities in giant molecular clouds (GMCs) in the nearby spiral galaxy M33 using a method that views the atomic hydrogen near regions of recent star formation as the product of photodissociation. Far-ultraviolet (FUV) photons emanating from a nearby OB association produce a layer of atomic hydrogen on the surfaces of nearby GMCs. Our approach provides an estimate of the total hydrogen density in these GMCs from observations of the excess FUV emission that reaches the GMC from the OB association and of the excess 21-cm radio H I emission produced after these FUV photons convert H-2 into H I on the GMC surface. The method provides an alternative approach to the use of CO emission as a tracer of H-2 in GMCs and is especially sensitive to a range of densities well below the critical density for CO(1-0) emission. We describe our 'PDR method' in more detail and apply it using GALEX FUV and Very Large Array 21-cm radio data to obtain volume densities in a selection of GMCs in the nearby spiral galaxy M33. We have also examined the sensitivity of the method to the linear resolution of the observations used; the results obtained at 20 pc are similar to those for the larger set of data at 80-pc resolution. The cloud densities we derive range from 1 to 500 cm(-3), with no clear dependence on the galactocentric radius; these results are generally similar to those obtained earlier in the cases of M81, M83 and M101 using the same method.

We present the first results of a pilot study aimed at understanding the influence of bars on the evolution of galaxy discs through the study of their stellar content. We examine here the kinematics, star formation history, mass-weighted, luminosity-weighted and single stellar population (SSP) equivalent ages and metallicities for four galaxies ranging from lenticulars to late-type spirals. The data employed extend to 2-3 disc scalelengths, with S/N(angstrom) > 50, where S/N stands for the signal-to-noise ratio. Several techniques are explored to derive star formation histories and SSP-equivalent parameters, each of which is shown to be compatible. We demonstrate that the age-metallicity degeneracy is highly reduced by using spectral fitting techniques - instead of indices - to derive these parameters. Our results are robust to the choices of stellar population models. We found that the majority of the stellar mass in our sample is composed of old (similar to 10 Gyr) stars. This is true in the bulge and disc regions, even beyond 2 disc scalelengths. In the bulge region, we find that the young, dynamically cold, structures produced by the presence of the bar (e. g. nuclear discs or rings) are responsible for shaping the bulges' age and metallicity gradients, as suggested by Peletier et al. In the disc region, a larger fraction of young stars are present in the external parts of the disc compared with the inner parts. The disc growth is therefore compatible with a moderate inside-out formation scenario, where the luminosity-weighted age changes from similar to 10 Gyr in the centre to similar to 4 Gyr at 2 disc scalelengths, depending upon the galaxy. However, the presence of substructures, like star-forming rings, can produce stellar population trends that are not directly related to the growing of the disc but to the bar potential. For two galaxies, we compare the metallicity and age gradients of the disc major-axis with that of the bar, finding very important differences. In particular, the stellar population of the bar is more similar to that of the bulge than to that of the disc, indicating that, at least in those two galaxies, bars formed long ago and have survived to the present day.

MIPSGAL is a 278 deg(2) survey of the inner Galactic plane using the Multiband Infrared Photometer for Spitzer aboard the Spitzer Space Telescope. The survey field was imaged in two passbands, 24 and 70 mu m with resolutions of 6 '' and 18 '', respectively. The survey was designed to provide a uniform, well-calibrated and well-characterized data set for general inquiry of the inner Galactic plane and as a longer-wavelength complement to the shorter-wavelength Spitzer survey of the Galactic plane: Galactic Plane Infrared Mapping Survey Extraordinaire. The primary science drivers of the current survey are to identify all high-mass (M > 5 M-circle dot) protostars in the inner Galactic disk and to probe the distribution, energetics, and properties of interstellar dust in the Galactic disk. The observations were planned to minimize data artifacts due to image latents at 24 mu m and to provide full coverage at 70 mu m. Observations at ecliptic latitudes within 15 of the ecliptic plane were taken at multiple epochs to help reject asteroids. The data for the survey were collected in three epochs, 2005 September-October, 2006 April, and 2006 October with all of the data available to the public. The estimated point-source sensitivities of the survey are 2 and 75 mJy (3 sigma) at 24 and 70 mu m, respectively. Additional data processing was needed to mitigate image artifacts due to bright sources at 24 mu m and detector responsivity variations at 70 mu m due to the large dynamic range of the Galactic plane. Enhanced data products including artifact-mitigated mosaics and point-source catalogs are being produced with the 24 mu m mosaics already publicly available from the NASA/IPAC Infrared Science Archive. Some preliminary results using the enhanced data products are described.

Within the Local Universe galaxies can be studied in great detail star by star, and here we review the results of quantitative studies in nearby dwarf galaxies. The color-magnitude diagram synthesis method is well established as the most accurate way to determine star-formation histories of galaxies back to the earliest times. This approach received a large boost from the exceptional data sets that wide-field CCD imagers on the ground and the Rubble Space Telescope could provide. Spectroscopic studies using large ground-based telescopes such as VLT, Magellan, Keck, and HET have allowed the determination of abundances and kinematics for significant samples of stars in nearby dwarf galaxies. These studies have shown how the properties of stellar populations can vary spatially and temporally. This leads to important constraints to theories of galaxy formation and evolution. The combination of spectroscopy and imaging and what they have taught us about dwarf galaxy formation and evolution is the aim of this review.

We present mid-infrared Spitzer spectra of 11 planetary nebulae in the Galactic bulge. We derive argon, neon, sulfur, and oxygen abundances for them using mainly infrared line fluxes combined with some optical line fluxes from the literature. Due to the high extinction toward the bulge, the infrared spectra allow us to determine abundances for certain elements more accurately than previously possible with optical data alone. Abundances of argon and sulfur ( and in most cases neon and oxygen) in planetary nebulae in the bulge give the abundances of the interstellar medium at the time their progenitor stars formed; thus, these abundances give information about the formation and evolution of the bulge. The abundances of bulge planetary nebulae tend to be slightly higher than those in the disk on average, but they do not follow the trend of the disk planetary nebulae, thus confirming the difference between bulge and disk evolution. In addition, the bulge planetary nebulae show peculiar dust properties compared to the disk nebulae. Oxygen-rich dust features (crystalline silicates) dominate the spectra of all of the bulge planetary nebulae; such features are more scarce in disk nebulae. In addition, carbon-rich dust features (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) appear in roughly half of the bulge planetary nebulae in our sample, which is interesting in light of the fact that this dual chemistry is comparatively rare in the Milky Way as a whole.

H I features near young star clusters in M81 are identified as the photodissociated surfaces of giant molecular clouds (GMCs) from which the young stars have recently formed. The H I column densities of these features show a weak trend, from undetectable values inside R = 3.7 kpc and increasing rapidly to values around 3 x 10(21) cm(-2) near R approximate to 7.5 kpc. This trend is similar to that of the radially averaged H I distribution in this galaxy, and implies a constant area covering factor of approximate to 0.21 for GMCs throughout M81. The incident UV fluxes G(0) of our sample of candidate PDRs decrease radially. A simple equilibrium model of the photodissociation-reformation process connects the observed values of the incident UV flux, the H I column density, and the relative dust content, permitting an independent estimate to be made of the total gas density in the GMC. Within the GMC this gas will be predominantly molecular hydrogen. Volume densities of 1

Interstellar and circumstellar matter.-- et al., Planck has mapped the polarized dust emission over the whole sky, making it possible to trace the Galactic magnetic field structure that pervades the interstellar medium (ISM). We combine polarization data from Planck with rotation measure (RM) observations towards a massive star-forming region, the Rosette Nebula in the Monoceros molecular cloud, to study its magnetic field structure and the impact of an expanding H ii region on the morphology of the field. We derive an analytical solution for the magnetic field, assumed to evolve from an initially uniform configuration following the expansion of ionized gas and the formation of a shell of swept-up ISM. From the RM data we estimate a mean value of the line-of-sight component of the magnetic field of about 3 μG (towards the observer) in the Rosette Nebula, for a uniform electron density of about 12 cm-3. The dust shell that surrounds the Rosette H ii region is clearly observed in the Planck intensity map at 353 GHz, with a polarization signal significantly different from that of the local background when considered asa whole. The Planck observations constrain the plane-of-the-sky orientation of the magnetic field in the Rosette’s parent molecular cloud to be mostly aligned with the large-scale field along the Galactic plane. The Planck data are compared with the analytical model, which predicts the mean polarization properties of a spherical and uniform dust shell for a given orientation of the field. This comparison leads to an upper limit of about 45° on the angle between the line of sight and the magnetic field in the Rosette complex, for an assumed intrinsic dust polarization fraction of 4%. This field direction can reproduce the RM values detected in the ionized region if the magnetic field strength in the Monoceros molecular cloud is in the range 6.5–9 μG. The present analytical model is able to reproduce the RM distribution across the ionized nebula, as well as the mean dust polarization properties of the swept-up shell, and can be directly applied to other similar objects., The Planck Collaboration acknowledges the support of: ESA; CNES and CNRS/INSU-IN2P3-INP (France); ASI, CNR, and INAF (Italy); NASA and DoE (USA); STFC and UKSA (UK); CSIC, MICINN, and JA (Spain); Tekes, AoF, and CSC (Finland); DLR and MPG (Germany); CSA (Canada); DTU Space (Denmark); SER/SSO (Switzerland); RCN (Norway); SFI (Ireland); FCT/MCTES (Portugal); and DEISA (EU). The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Research Council under the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013)/ERC grant agreement No. 267934.

The search of extragalactic regions with conspicuous presence of Wolf-Rayet (WR) stars outside the Local Group is challenging task owing to the difficulty in detecting their faint spectral features. In this exploratory work, we develop a methodology to perform an automated search of WR signatures through a pixel-by-pixel analysis of integral field spectroscopy (IFS) data belonging to the Calar Alto Legacy Integral Field Area survey, CALIFA. This procedure has been applied to a sample of nearby galaxies spanning a wide range of physical, morphological, and environmental properties. This technique allowed us to build the first catalogue of regions rich in WR stars with spatially resolved information, and enabled us to study the properties of these complexes in a two-dimensional (2D) context. The detection technique is based on the identification of the blue WR bump (around He iiλ4686 Å, mainly associated with nitrogen-rich WR stars; WN) and the red WR bump (around C ivλ5808 Å, mainly associated with carbon-rich WR stars; WC) using a pixel-by-pixel analysis that maximizes the number of independent regions within a given galaxy. We identified 44 WR-rich regions with blue bumps distributed in 25 out of a total of 558 galaxies. The red WR bump was identified only in 5 of those regions. Most of the WR regions are located within one effective radius from the galaxy centre, and around one-third are located within ~1 kpc or less from the centre. We found that the majority of the galaxies hosting WR populations in our sample are involved in some kind of interaction process. Half of the host galaxies share some properties with gamma-ray burst (GRB) hosts where WR stars, such as potential candidates to the progenitors of GRBs, are found. We also compared the WR properties derived from the CALIFA data with stellar population synthesis models, and confirm that simple star models are generally not able to reproduce the observations. We conclude that other effects, such as binary star channel (which could extend theWR phase up to 10 Myr), fast rotation, or other physical processes that cause the loss of observed Lyman continuum photons, very likely affect the derived WR properties, and hence should be considered when modelling the evolution of massive stars. © 2016 ESO., D.M.C., A.I.D., and F.F.R.O. would like to acknowledge financial support provided by the project AYA2010-21887-C04-03 (former Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion, Spain) as well as the exchange programme >Study of Emission-Line Galaxies with Integral-Field Spectroscopy> (SELGIFS, FP7-PEOPLE-2013-IRSES-612701), funded by the EU through the IRSES scheme. A.M.I. acknowledges support from Agence Nationale de la Recherche through the STILISM project (ANR-12-BS05-0016-02). R.G.D. acknowledges support through the project AYA2014-57490-P. C.J.W. acknowledges support through the Marie Curie Career Integration Grant 303912

Aims. We present a comparison between independent computer codes, modeling the physics and chemistry of interstellar photon dominated regions (PDRs). Our goal was to understand the mutual differences in the PDR codes and their effects on the physical and chemical structure of the model clouds, and to converge the output of different codes to a common solution.Methods. A number of benchmark models have been created, covering low and high gas densities n = 10(3), 10(5.5) cm(-3) and far ultraviolet intensities chi = 10, 10(5) in units of the Draine field (FUV: 6 Results. We investigated the impact of PDR geometry and agreed on the comparison of results from spherical and plane-parallel PDR models. We identified a number of key processes governing the chemical network which have been treated differently in the various codes such as the effect of PAHs on the electron density or the temperature dependence of the dissociation of CO by cosmic ray induced secondary photons, and defined a proper common treatment. We established a comprehensive set of reference models for ongoing and future PDR model bench-marking and were able to increase the agreement in model predictions for all benchmark models significantly. Nevertheless, the remaining spread in the computed observables such as the atomic fine-structure line intensities serves as a warning that there is still a considerable uncertainty when interpreting astronomical data with our models.

Aims. We present a comparison between independent computer codes, modeling the physics and chemistry of interstellar photon dominated regions (PDRs). Our goal was to understand the mutual differences in the PDR codes and their effects on the physical and chemical structure of the model clouds, and to converge the output of different codes to a common solution. Methods. A number of benchmark models have been created, covering low and high gas densities n = 10^3, 10^(5.5) cm^(-3) and far ultraviolet intensities χ = 10, 10^5 in units of the Draine field (FUV: 6 < h υ < 13.6 eV). The benchmark models were computed in two ways: one set assuming constant temperatures, thus testing the consistency of the chemical network and photo-processes, and a second set determining the temperature self consistently by solving the thermal balance, thus testing the modeling of the heating and cooling mechanisms accounting for the detailed energy balance throughout the clouds. Results. We investigated the impact of PDR geometry and agreed on the comparison of results from spherical and plane-parallel PDR models. We identified a number of key processes governing the chemical network which have been treated differently in the various codes such as the effect of PAHs on the electron density or the temperature dependence of the dissociation of CO by cosmic ray induced secondary photons, and defined a proper common treatment. We established a comprehensive set of reference models for ongoing and future PDR model bench-marking and were able to increase the agreement in model predictions for all benchmark models significantly. Nevertheless, the remaining spread in the computed observables such as the atomic fine-structure line intensities serves as a warning that there is still a considerable uncertainty when interpreting astronomical data with our models.

New low-resolution UV spectra of a sample of reddened OB stars in M31 were obtained with HST/STIS to study the wavelength dependence of interstellar extinction and the nature of the underlying dust grain populations. Extinction curves were constructed for four reddened sightlines in M31 paired with closely matching stellar atmosphere models. The new curves have a much higher S/N than previous studies. Direct measurements of N(H I) were made using the Ly$\alpha$ absorption lines enabling gas-to-dust ratios to be calculated. The sightlines have a range in galactocentric distance of 5 to 14 kpc and represent dust from regions of different metallicities and gas-to-dust ratios. The metallicities sampled range from Solar to 1.5 Solar. The measured curves show similarity to those seen in the Milky Way and the Large Magellanic Cloud. The Maximum Entropy Method was used to investigate the dust composition and size distribution for the sightlines observed in this program finding that the extinction curves can be produced with the available carbon and silicon abundances if the metallicity is super-Solar., Comment: ApJ, in press, 9 pages, 5 figures

Aims. In order to show the importance of high spatial resolution observations of extra-galactic sources when compared to observations obtained with larger apertures such as ISO, we present N-band spectra (8-13 mu m) of some locations in three starburst galaxies. In particular, we show the two galactic nuclei of the spiral galaxy NGC 3256, the compact IR supernebula in the dwarf galaxy II Zw40 and the two brightest IR knots in the central starburst of the WR galaxy He 2-10.Methods. The spectra were obtained with TIMMI2 on the ESO 3.6 m telescope. An inventory of the spectra in terms of atomic fine-structure lines and molecular bands is presented.Results. We show the value of these high spatial resolution data in constraining properties such as the extinction in the mid-IR, metallicity or stellar content (age, IMF, etc.). We have constrained the stellar content of the IR compact knot in II Zw40 by using the mid-IR fine-structure lines and setting restrictions on the nebular geometry. We have constructed a new mid-/far-IR diagnostic diagram based on the 11.2 mu m PAH and continuum, accessible to ground-based observations. We find that extra-galactic nuclei and star clusters observed at high spatial resolution ( as is the case of the TIMMI2 observations) are closer in PAH/far-IR to compact H-II regions, while galaxies observed by large apertures such as ISO are closer to exposed PDRs such as Orion. This is likely due to the aperture difference. We find a dependence between the presence of PAHs and the hardness of the radiation field as measured by the [S-IV]/[Ne-II] ratio that may be explained by the PAH-dust competition for FUV photons or the relative contribution of the different phases of the interstellar medium.

An overview is given of ISO results on regions of high excitation ISM and gas, i.e. H II regions, the Galactic Centre and Supernova Remnants. IR emission due to fine-structure lines, molecular hydrogen, silicates, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and dust are summarised, their diagnostic capabilities illustrated and their implications highlighted.

We present a mid-infrared study of four H II regions based on the combination of Infrared Space Observatory (ISO) SWS observations with spatial information from SpectroCam-10 images and long-slit spectra. We report a prominent broad emission feature near 8.9 mum. The peak position and width of this feature do not resemble known polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon ( PAH) or dust emission features. Its spatial distribution is analyzed for two H II regions and is clearly distinct from that of the PAH emission features, being more similar to that of the ionized gas and especially to the spatial distribution of the dust continuum at 15 mum. Thus, the carrier of this band likely resides within the H II region. Possible carriers of this feature are highlighted.

We present a mid-infrared study of four H II regions based on the combination of Infrared Space Observatory (ISO) SWS observations with spatial information from SpectroCam-10 images and long-slit spectra. We report a prominent broad emission feature near 8.9 mum. The peak position and width of this feature do not resemble known polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon ( PAH) or dust emission features. Its spatial distribution is analyzed for two H II regions and is clearly distinct from that of the PAH emission features, being more similar to that of the ionized gas and especially to the spatial distribution of the dust continuum at 15 mum. Thus, the carrier of this band likely resides within the H II region. Possible carriers of this feature are highlighted.