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Merger INduced starbursts and Gas Lifecycle Examination with ALMA (ALMA-MINGLE)
The Merger INduced starbursts and Gas Lifecycle Examination with ALMA (ALMA-MINGLE) is a 111 hr 12-m Array CO(2-1) survey of 22 mid-stage luminous infrared galaxy (LIRG) mergers. During merger events, compressive tides and turbulence are theorized to be most impactful from first pericentric passage to just prior to final coalescence, fueling energetic star formation activity in the ISM with high molecular gas fractions and high specific star formation rates. We will measure the luminosity, mass, and kinematics of individual giant molecular clouds (~ 70 pc) across each LIRG. This, combined with HST measures of the star formation rate, will enable the characterization of the physical processes which drive extreme star formation and feedback in these dynamically evolving systems. Our immediate science goals and the future science enabled with this Large Program complement the legacy that surveys such as the Physics at High Angular resolution in Nearby GalaxieS (PHANGS), are delivering in the nearby Universe for non-interacting galaxies. Without high-resolution ALMA observations of the cold molecular gas, we are missing a vital component in the study of birth clouds, the lifecycle of the cool ISM, and the relationship between turbulence and star formation in mergers.
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Team members: Sean Linden, Aaron Evans, Susanne Aalto, Ezequiel Treister, Hideo Matsuhara, Yiqing Song, Cosima Eibensteiner, Maria Sanchez-Garcia, Lee Armus, David Sanders, George Privon, Eric Murphy, Takuji Yamashita, Justin Howell, Kirsten Larson, Tanio Diaz-Santos, Jeffrey Rich, Miguel Ángel Perez-Torres, Joseph Mazzarella, Vivian U-Chiang, Sabrina Stierwalt, Ilsang Yoon, Loreto Barcos-Muñoz, Dong-Chan Kim, Vassilis Charmandaris, Yoshiaki Taniguchi, James Braatz, Niklas Falstad, Desika Narayanan, Hanae Inami, Devaky Kunneriath, Clare Wethers, Jason Chu, Andrew Lipnicky, Thomas Lai, Alejandro Saravia, Emmanuel Momjian, Kimberly Emig, Jaya Nagarajan-Swenson, Kara Green, Nuria Torres-Alba, Makoto Johnstone, Claudio Ricci, Paul Torrey, Yu-Hsuan Teng, Marina Bianchin, Justin Kader, Thomas Bohn, Toshiki Saito, Laura Lenkic
