We study fundamental properties of transonic galactic outflows in the gravitational potential of a cold dark matter halo (DMH) with a central super-massive black hole (SMBH) assuming a polytropic, steady and spherically symmetric state. We have classified the transonic solutions with respect to their topology in the phase space. As a result, we have found two types of transonic solutions characterized by a magnitude relationship between the gravity of DMH and that of SMBH. These two types of solutions have different loci of the transonic points; one transonic point is formed at a central region (< 0.01kpc) and another is at a distant region (> 100kpc). Also, mass fluxes and outflow velocities are different between the two solutions. These two transonic solutions may play different roles on the star formation history of galaxies and the metal contamination of intergalactic space. Furthermore, we have applied our model to the Sombrero galaxy. In this galaxy, the wide-spread hot gas is detected as an apparent trace of galactic outflows while the star-formation rate is disproportionately low, and the observed gas density distribution is quite similar to the hydrostatic state (Li et al. 2011). To solve this discrepancy, we propose a slowly accelerating outflow in which the transonic point forms in a distant region (~ 120 kpc) and the subsonic region spreads across the stellar distribution. In the subsonic region, the gas density distribution is similar to that of the hydrostatic state. Our model predicts the possibility of the slowly accelerating outflow in the Sombrero galaxy. Igarashi et al. 2014 used the isothermal model and well reproduced the observed gas density distribution, but the estimated mass flux (1.8M⊙/yr) is lager than the mass of the gas supplied by stars (0.3-0.4M⊙/yr). Then, we expect that the polytropic model may reproduce the observational mass of the supplied gas (Igarashi et al. 2015). Such slowly accelerating outflows should be distinguished from the conventional supersonic outflows frequently argued in star-forming galaxies.

How is gas converted into stars across cosmic time? Observations of star-forming galaxies at high redshift indicate that the conditions of the interstellar medium (ISM) were remarkably distinct from typical spirals in the local universe. Nevertheless, these observations are biased towards objects brighter than L*, due to the large luminosity distances involved. Here I present a survey targeting the molecular gas in galaxies at low redshift (z ~ 0.2) with ISM conditions remarkably similar to those observed at earlier epochs, including high star formation rates and lower metallicities. CO observations performed with CARMA indicate that these galaxies follow the same star-formation law as local spirals and other galaxies at the same redshift, albeit at much higher densities. We also present recent results from our ALMA program studying galaxies down to 12 + log(O/H) ~ 8, and discuss the implications of these data to our understanding of the molecular gas reservoir and the conversion factor between CO luminosity and gas mass in environments that are simultaneously low in metal content and extremely dense.

Luminous, extragalactic OH masers are excellent tracers of merger triggered, intense star formation in Ultra Luminous Infrared Galaxies (ULIRGs). As such, they are tracers of high density regions in the centers of active galaxies. From high resolution imaging of the 1667 MHz emission in a small sample of OH megamaser galaxies, the general consensus is that most of the maser emission arises in thick, circumnuclear structures. Here we summarize the current work on OH megamasers, and present the preliminary results on VLA observations of the 1720 MHz satellite line in III Zw 35, Mrk 231 and Arp 220. We also briefly mention ongoing work on investigating the nature of the high molecular gas density environment in a sample of ULIRGs, using CO (J=3–2) observations. A subset of the ULIRG sample harbors OH megamaser emission, and is therefore suited for comparing gas properties between ULIRGs with and without OH megamaser emission.

We have observed over 100 interacting galaxies (IGs) with Spitzer IRAC as part of a detailed study of the their properties (see also Zezas, et al. in this volume). The majority of sources are nearby. Precise IRAC imaging photometry of these galaxies finds a wide range of colors in these systems, and correlative spectroscopic data suggests the colors are reflected by composition that is in turn reflective of age; orientation also plays a role. We have also observed a distant pair of interacting galaxies at z=3.01, a HyLIG, EGS20 J1418+5236 (Huagg et al. 2006), and find that, like the nearby systems, it has similar processes at work albeit in a hyperactive way.

To overcome limitations of some previous studies of IGs, we observed two complementary nearby samples, one selected on the basis of galaxy separation, and the other selected on a morphological basis. Figure 1 below is a summary IRAC [3.6um]-[4.5um] versus [5.8um]-[8.0um] color-color plot of these IGs. Five generic regions emerge: ellipticals near (0,-0.1), early-stage IGS around (1.5, -0.1), Seyfert 1s around (1.3, 0.5), Seyfert 2s around (1.5, 1.2), and LINERS/HII galaxies centered at 2.2, 0.2). These systems are each characterized by spectral dust features in the IRAC bands that are strong enough to influence and]or mirror the underlying stellar continuum colors. The arrows suggest possible evolutionary development.