ASTE observations of nearby galaxies: A tight correlation between CO(J=3-2) emission and Halpha

Abstract

Star formation rates (SFRs) obtained via extinction corrected H alpha are compared to dense gas as traced by CO(J=3-2) emission at the centers of nearby galaxies, observed with the ASTE telescope. It is found that, although many of the observed positions are dusty and therefore heavily absorbed at H alpha, the SFR shows a striking correlation with dense gas in the form of the Schmidt law with an index 1.0. The correlation is also compared between gas traced by CO(J=1-0) and application of H alpha extinction correction. We find that dense gas produces a far better correlation with SFR in view of surface density values.