Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: Much of the evolution of galaxies across cosmic time is driven by star formation, and thus tightly coupled to the physics of the interstellar medium, which is continuously evolving between a diffuse ionized medium, a warm atomic phase, and a much colder and denser molecular phase, which gradually concentrates and fragments into star-forming cores. This cascade of energies and gas flows relies on the interplay of processes such as turbulence, gravity, feedback, and magnetic fields, all concurring within complex systems – their host galaxies. Still, unraveling the physical processes driving the evolution of the interstellar medium remains an unsolvable challenge with present-day observing facilities, which are unable to map entire galactic ecosystems down to the scales of individual star-forming clumps. Only a next generation millimetre/submillimetre interferometer, combining a true step-change in increased sensitivity, with exquisite resolution and image fidelity, would allow, for the first time, the mapping of entire (tens-of-kpc) galactic systems in the nearby Universe, resolved down to the small (pc) scale physics of star formation. This would finally enable tracking the flows of matter and energy across a vast range of interacting and evolving environments, a critical missing piece for addressing the long-standing question of what regulates star formation across cosmic time.
Source: arXiv (Cornell University)
Authors: Duarte-Cabral, Ana, Valeille-Manet, Maxime, Bouvier, Mathilde, Querejeta, Miguel, Forbrich, Jan, Calzetti, Daniela, Bacchini, Cecilia, Motte, Frédérique, Jimenez-Donaire, Maria J., Elmegreen, Bruce G., Nguyen, Dieu D., Traficante, Alessio, Hacar, Alvaro, Peretto, Nicolas, Salvestrini, Francesco, Colzi, Laura, Williams, Thomas G., Davis, Timothy A., Wong, Tony, Vieira, Helena Faustino, Durán-Camacho, Eva, Rivilla, Victor M., Pattle, Kate, Linden, Sean T., Paladino, Rosita, Ruffa, Ilaria, Lai, Shih-Ping, Brinks, Elias, Schinnerer, Eva, Lapeer, Drew, Georgatos, Theotokis, Pereira-Santaella, Miguel, Langan, Ivanna
Institutions: Cardiff University, Leiden University, University of Bonn, Leiden Observatory, Spanish National Observatory, University of Hertfordshire, University of Massachusetts Amherst, University of Copenhagen, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Institut de Planétologie et d'Astrophysique de Grenoble, Space Telescope Science Institute, University of Michigan, National Institute for Astrophysics, University of Vienna, Trieste Astronomical Observatory, Centro de Astrobiología, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Stockholm University, AlbaNova, Universidad de La Laguna, Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, University College London, University of Arizona, Rochester Institute of Technology, European Southern Observatory, Arcetri Astrophysical Observatory, National Tsing Hua University, Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, University of Manchester, Instituto de Física Fundamental, Istituto di Radioastronomia di Bologna
Language: English
Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7201873943