Scientific Rationale
General overview
Understanding galaxy formation and evolution is at the heart of modern astronomy. Central to that goal is the necessity to improve our understanding of star formation, and thus the evolution of the interstellar medium of galaxies, where molecular gas plays a key role. Given the numerous current instrumental efforts at mm and sub-mm wavelengths, a conference reviewing our knowledge of the field and delineating future research directions is both timely and exciting.
The conference "Molecules in Galaxies", to be held in Oxford, UK, 26-30 July 2010, will tackle many of the contemporary questions surrounding the molecular gas content of galaxies. In particular, it will allow to review the state of the field as the Atacama Large Millimeter/Sub-Millimeter Array (ALMA) starts operation, and thus carefully plan its exploitation. First, the conference will provide a census of the molecular gas in galaxies, across both Hubble types (dwarfs, spirals, early-types) and cosmological epochs (from the Milky Way to high-redshit quasars). Second, it will review molecular line diagnostics constraining the physical conditions and excitation mechanisms of the gas, as well as its chemistry. Third, the conference will propose a census of star formation, and explore the star formation rate, efficiency, and empirical laws in galaxies. Fourth, it will explore the importance of dust, its formation, evolution, and relationship to molecules, and the diagnostics provided by far-infrared (FIR) and sub-mm observations, particularly in view of early Herschel Space Observatory results. Lastly, it will discuss the latest current and planned mm/sub-mm facilities, particulary ALMA. Throughout, attention will be paid to theoretical models, particularly regarding the atomic-molecular balance.