We compile observations of molecular gas contents and infrared-based star formation rates (SFRs) for 112 circumnuclear star forming regions, in order to re-investigate the form of the disk-averaged Schmidt surface density star formation law in starbursts. We then combine these results with total gas and SFR surface densities for 153 nearby non-starbursting disk galaxies from de los Reyes \& Kennicutt (2019), to investigate the properties of the combined star formation law, following Kennicutt (1998; K98). We confirm that the combined Schmidt law can be fitted with a single power law with slope $n = 1.5\pm0.05$ (including fitting method uncertainties), somewhat steeper than the value $n = 1.4\pm0.15$ found by K98. Fitting separate power laws to the non-starbursting and starburst galaxies, however, produces very different slopes ($n = 1.34\pm0.07$ and $0.98\pm0.07$, respectively), with a pronounced offset in the zeropoint ($\sim$0.6\,dex) of the starburst relation to higher SFR surface densities. This offset is seen even when a common conversion factor between CO intensity and molecular hydrogen surface density is applied, and is confirmed when disk surface densities of interstellar dust are used as proxies for gas measurements. Tests for possible systematic biases in the starburst data fail to uncover any spurious sources for such a large offset. We tentatively conclude that the global Schmidt law in galaxies, at least as it is conventionally measured, is bimodal or possibly multi-modal. Possible causes may include changes in the small-scale structure of the molecular ISM or the stellar initial mass function. A single $n \sim 1.5$ power law still remains as a credible approximation or "recipe" for analytical or numerical models of galaxy formation and evolution.
We use new and updated gas and dust-corrected SFR surface densities to revisit the integrated star formation law for local "quiescent" spiral, dwarf, and low-surface-brightness galaxies. Using UV-based SFRs with individual IR-based dust corrections, we find that "normal" spiral galaxies alone define a tight $Σ_{(\textrm{HI}+\textrm{H}_{2})}$-$Σ_{\textrm{SFR}}$ relation described by a $n=1.41^{+0.07}_{-0.07}$ power law with a dispersion of $0.28^{+0.02}_{-0.02}$ (errors reflect fitting and statistical uncertainties). The SFR surface densities are only weakly correlated with HI surface densities…
Using parsec-resolution simulations of a typical galaxy merger, we study the triggering of starbursts by connecting the (inter-)galactic dynamics to the structure of the interstellar medium. The gravitational encounter between two galaxies enhances tidal compression over large volumes, which increases and modifies the turbulence, in particular its compressive mode with respect to the solenoidal one. This generates an excess of dense gas leading to intense star formation activity. Along the interaction, the compressive turbulence modifies the efficiency of gas-to-star conversion which, in the S…
Multi-wavelength images from the farUV (~0.15 micron) to the sub-millimeter of the central region of the galaxy NGC 3351 are analyzed to constrain its stellar populations and dust attenuation. Despite hosting a ~1 kpc circumnuclear starburst ring, NGC 3351 deviates from the IRX-beta relation, the relation between the infrared-to-UV luminosity ratio and the UV continuum slope (beta) that other starburst galaxies follow. To understand the reason for the deviation, we leverage the high angular resolution of archival nearUV-to-nearIR HST images to divide the ring into ~60-180 pc size regions and m…
We study the impact of deviations from the Kennicutt-Schmidt relation (quantified by the `burstiness' parameter $κ_s$), gas metallicity ($Z$), and density ($n$) on the observed [OIII]88$μ$m/[CII]158$μ$m surface brightness ratios ($Σ_{[OIII]}/Σ_{[CII]}$) in nine galaxies at $z\approx6-9$. We first discuss possible biases in the measured $Σ_{[OIII]}/Σ_{[CII]}$ ratios by comparing the data with zoom-in cosmological simulations, and then use a Markov Chain Monte Carlo algorithm to derive the best fit values of ($κ_s, Z, n$). We find that (i) the strongest dependence of $Σ_{[OIII]}/Σ_{[CII]}$ is on…
Recent studies have shown that star formation in mergers does not seem to follow the same Schmidt-Kennicutt (KS) relation as in spiral disks, presenting a higher star formation rate (SFR) for a given gas column density. In this paper we study why and how different models of star formation arise. To do so we examine the process of star formation in the interacting system Arp 158 and its tidal debris. We perform an analysis of the properties of specific regions of interest in Arp 158 using observations tracing the atomic and the molecular gas, star formation, the stellar populations as well as o…
The star formation rate per unit area correlates well with the gas surface density for different types of galaxies. However, this Kennicutt-Schmidt law has not yet been examined for a large, homogeneously selected sample of SMGs, which could provide useful SF implementation information for models of massive galaxy formation and evolution. We aim at determining the K-S law parameters for the first time for a well-selected, statistical sample of SMGs. We used ALMA to conduct a 0.2" resolution, 870 $μ$m imaging survey of 40 SMGs in COSMOS, which were initially selected at 1.1 mm. We analysed a sa…
Starburst galaxies have elevated star formation rates (SFRs) for their stellar mass. In Ellison et al. (2018) we used integral field unit (IFU) maps of star formation rate surface density (Sigma_SFR) and stellar mass surface density (Sigma_*) to show that starburst galaxies in the local universe are driven by SFRs that are preferentially boosted in their central regions. Here, we present molecular gas maps obtained with the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) observatory for 12 central starburst galaxies at z~0 drawn from the Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory (MaNGA) survey…
In order to test a recent hypothesis that the dispersion in the Schmidt-Kennicutt law arises from variations in the evolutionary stage of star forming molecular clouds, we compared molecular gas and recent star formation in an early-phase merger galaxy pair, Taffy I (UGC\ 12915/UGC\ 12914, VV\ 254) which went through a direct collision 20 Myr ago and whose star forming regions are expected to have similar ages. Narrow-band Pa-alpha image is obtained using the ANIR near-infrared camera on the mini-TAO 1m telescope. The image enables us to derive accurate star formation rates within the galaxy d…
We present a CO(3-2) study of four systems composed of six (ultra) luminous infrared galaxies (U/LIRGs), located at 0.28 < z < 0.44, that straddle the transition region between regular star forming galaxies and starbursts. These galaxies benefit from previous multi-wavelength analysis allowing in depth exploration of an understudied population of U/LIRGs at a time when the universe is experiencing a rapid decline in star formation rate density. We detect CO(3-2) emission in four targets and these galaxies fall between the loci of regular star forming galaxies and starbursts on the Kennicutt-Sc…
We analysed the high-resolution (up to $\sim$0.2") ALMA CO (2-1) and 1.3 mm dust continuum data of eight gas-rich post-starburst galaxies (PSBs) in the local Universe, six of which had been studied by Smercina et al. (2022). In contrast to this study reporting the detections of extraordinarily compact (i.e., unresolved) reservoirs of molecular gas in the six PSBs, our visibility-plane analysis resolves the CO (2-1) emission in all eight PSBs with effective radii ($R_\mathrm{e,CO}$) of $0.8_{-0.4}^{+0.9}$ kpc, typically consisting of gaseous components at both circumnuclear and extended disc sc…
Post-starburst (or "E+A") galaxies are characterized by low H$α$ emission and strong Balmer absorption, suggesting a recent starburst, but little current star formation. Although many of these galaxies show evidence of recent mergers, the mechanism for ending the starburst is not yet understood. To study the fate of the molecular gas, we search for CO (1-0) and (2-1) emission with the IRAM 30m and SMT 10m telescopes in 32 nearby ($0.01<z<0.12$) post-starburst galaxies drawn from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. We detect CO in 17 (53%). Using CO as a tracer for molecular hydrogen, and a Galactic …
The surface densities of molecular gas, $Σ_{\rm H_2}$, and the star formation rate (SFR), $\dotΣ_\star$, correlate almost linearly on kiloparsec scales in observed star-forming (non-starburst) galaxies. We explore the origin of the linear slope of this correlation using a suite of isolated $L_\star$ galaxy simulations. We show that in simulations with efficient feedback, the slope of the $\dotΣ_\star$-$Σ_{\rm H_2}$ relation on kiloparsec scales is insensitive to the slope of the $\dotρ_\star$-$ρ$ relation assumed at the resolution scale. We also find that the slope on kiloparsec scales depends…
We probe the star formation properties of the gas in AzTEC-1 in the COSMOS field, one of the best resolved and brightest starburst galaxies at $z \approx 4.3$, forming stars at a rate > 1000 $\mathrm{M_{\odot}}\,\mathrm{yr^{-1}}$. Using recent ALMA observations, we study star formation in the galaxy nucleus and an off-center star-forming clump and measure a median star formation rate (SFR) surface density of $Σ^{\mathrm{nucleus}}_{\mathrm{SFR}} = 270\pm54$ and $Σ^{\mathrm{sfclump}}_{\mathrm{SFR}} = 170\pm38\,\mathrm{M_{\odot}}\,\mathrm{yr}^{-1}\,\mathrm{kpc}^{-2}$, respectively. Following the …
We present 2D-spectroscopic observations from Centro Astronómico Hispano Alemán (CAHA) 3.5 m telescope and the millimetre observation from NOrthern Extended Millimeter Array (NOEMA) of the nearby S0 galaxy PGC 26218, which shows central star-formation activity and post-starburst outside in the disk. We estimate the star formation rate (SFR = $0.28\pm0.01$ $M_{\odot} \rm yr^{-1}$) and molecular gas mass ($\rm log\ $$M_{\rm H_{2}}=7.60\pm0.15\ M_{\odot}$) of PGC 26218 based on the extinction-corrected H$α$ emission line and the CO-$\rm H_{2}$ conversion factor ($α_{\rm CO}$) of the Milky Way, re…
We report on the internal distribution of star formation efficiency in IRAS 08339+6517 (hereafter IRAS08), using $\sim$200~pc resolution CO(2-1) observations from NOEMA. The molecular gas depletion time changes by 2 orders-of-magnitude from disk-like values in the outer parts to less than 10$^8$~yr inside the half-light radius. This translates to a star formation efficiency per free-fall time that also changes by 2 orders-of-magnitude, reaching 50-100\%, different than local spiral galaxies and typical assumption of constant, low star formation efficiencies. Our target is a compact, massive di…
A general treatment of disk star formation is developed from a dissipative multi-phase model, with the dominant dissipation due to cloud collisions. The Schmidt-Kennicutt law emerges naturally for star-forming disks and starbursts. We predict that there should be an inverse correlation between Tully-Fisher law and Schmidt-Kennicutt law residuals. The model is extended to include a multi-phase treatment of supernova feedback that leads to a turbulent pressure-regulated generalization of the star formation law and is applicable to gas-rich starbursts. Enhanced pressure, as expected in merger-ind…
We present an analysis of high-resolution ALMA interferometry of CO(4-3) line emission and dust continuum in the "Ruby" (PLCK_G244.8+54.9), a bright, gravitationally lensed galaxy at z = 3.0 discovered with the Planck all-sky survey. The Ruby is the brightest of Planck's Dusty GEMS, a sample of 11 of the brightest gravitationally lensed high-redshift galaxies on the extragalactic sub-mm sky. We resolve the high-surface-brightness continuum and CO line emission of the Ruby in several extended clumps along a partial, nearly circular Einstein ring with 1.4" diameter around a massive galaxy at z =…
We study the molecular content and the star formation efficiency of 21 Blue Compact Dwarfs (BCDs). We present CO(1-0) and (2-1) observations, further supplemented with additional CO measurements and multiwavelength ancillary data from the literature. We find the CO luminosity to be correlated with the stellar and HI masses, SFR tracers, the size of the starburst and its metallicity. BCDs appear offset from the Schmidt-Kennicutt (SK) law, showing extremely low ($\lesssim$0.1 Gyr) H2 and H2+HI depletion timescales. The departure from the SK law is smaller when considering H2+HI rather than H2 on…
Giant radio galaxies provide important clues into the life cycles and triggering mechanisms of radio jets. With large-scale jets spanning 1.8 Mpc, ESO 422-G028 ($z = 0.038$) is a giant radio galaxy that also exhibits signs of restarted jet activity in the form of pc-scale jets. We present a study of the spatially-resolved stellar and gas properties of ESO 422-G028 using optical integral field spectroscopy from the WiFeS spectrograph. In addition to the majority $\sim 13\,\rm Gyr$ old stellar population, ESO 422-G028 exhibits a much younger ($\lesssim 10\,\rm Myr$ old) component with an estimat…
Using high-resolution (sub-kiloparsec scale) submillimeter data obtained by ALMA, we analyze the star formation rate (SFR), gas content and kinematics in SDP 81, a gravitationally-lensed star-forming galaxy at redshift 3. We estimate the SFR surface density ($Σ_{\mathrm{SFR}}$) in the brightest clump of this galaxy to be $357^{+135}_{-85}\,\mathrm{M_{\odot}\,yr^{-1}\,kpc^{-2}}$, over an area of $0.07\pm0.02\,\mathrm{kpc}^2$. Using the intensity-weighted velocity of CO$\,$(5-4), we measure the turbulent velocity dispersion in the plane-of-the-sky and find $σ_{\mathrm{v,turb}} = 37\pm5\,\mathrm{…
Accurate techniques which allow for the derivation of the spatial density in star formation regions are rare. A technique which has found application for the derivation of spatial densities in Galactic star formation regions utilizes the density-sensitive properties of the K-doublet transitions of formaldehyde (H2CO). In this paper, we present an extension of our survey of the formaldehyde 1(10)-1(11) (lambda = 6.2 cm) and 2(11)-2(12) (lambda = 2.1 cm) K-doublet transitions of H2CO in a sample of 56 starburst systems (Mangum etal. 2008). We have extended the number of galaxies in which both tr…
Carbon monoxide (CO) observations show a luminosity$-$line-width correlation that evolves with redshift. We present a method to use CO measurements alone to infer the molecular gas fraction ($f_{\rm mol}$) and constrain the CO$-$H$_2$ conversion factor ($α_{\rm CO}$). We compile from the literature spatially integrated low-$J$ CO observations of six galaxy populations, including a total of 449 galaxies between $0.01 \leq z \leq 3.26$. The CO data of each population provide an estimate of the $α_{\rm CO}$-normalized mean molecular gas fraction ($f_{\rm mol}/α_{\rm CO}$). The redshift evolution …
We derive dust masses ($M_{\rm dust}$) from the spectral energy distributions of 58 post-starburst galaxies (PSBs). There is an anticorrelation between specific dust mass ($M_{\rm dust}$/$M_{\star}$) and the time elapsed since the starburst ended, indicating that dust was either destroyed, expelled, or rendered undetectable over the $\sim$1 Gyr after the burst. The $M_{\rm dust}$/$M_{\star}$ depletion timescale, 205$^{+58}_{-37}$ Myr, is consistent with that of the CO-traced $M_{\rm H_2}/M_{\star}$, suggesting that dust and gas are altered via the same process. Extrapolating these trends leads…
We derive a metallicity dependent relation between the surface density of the star formation rate (Sigma_{SFR}) and the gas surface density (Sigma_{g}) in a feedback regulated model of star formation in galactic disks. In this model, star formation occurs in gravitationally bound protocluster clumps embedded in larger giant molecular clouds with the protocluster clump mass function following a power law function with a slope of -2. Metallicity dependent feedback is generated by the winds of OB stars (M > 5 Msol) that form in the clumps. The quenching of star formation in clumps of decreasing m…
We present a novel method to simultaneously characterise the star formation law and the interstellar medium properties of galaxies in the Epoch of Reionization (EoR) through the combination of [CII] 158$μ$m (and its known relation with star formation rate) and CIII]$λ$1909Å emission line data. The method, based on a Markov Chain Monte Carlo algorithm, allows to determine the target galaxy average density, $n$, gas metallicity, $Z$, and burstiness parameter, $κ_s$, quantifying deviations from the Kennicutt-Schmidt relation. As an application, we consider COS-3018 (z=6.854), the only EoR Lyman B…
The centers of bulges are formed dissipationally via gas inflows over short timescales: the 'starburst' mode of star formation (SF). Recent work has shown that detailed observations can be used to separate the stellar mass profile of these 'burst relic' components in local systems. Together with the assumption that some Kennicutt-Schmidt law holds, and that the burst was indeed a dissipational gas-rich event, we show that the observed profiles can be inverted to obtain the time and space-dependent SF history of each burst. Performing this with a large sample of well-studied spheroids, we show …
We present a dynamical model for gas transport, star formation, and winds in the nuclear regions of galaxies, focusing on the Milky Way's Central Molecular Zone (CMZ). In our model angular momentum and mass are transported by a combination of gravitational and bar-driven acoustic instabilities. In gravitationally-unstable regions the gas can form stars, and the resulting feedback drives both turbulence and a wind that ejects mass from the CMZ. We show that the CMZ is in a quasi-steady state where mass deposited at large radii by the bar is transported inward to a star-forming, ring-shaped regi…
The scaling relations and the star formation laws for molecular cloud complexes in the Milky Way is investigated. We compare their masses $M_{\rm gas}$, mass surface densities $Σ_{M_{\rm gas}}$, radii $R$, velocity dispersions $σ$, star formation rates $SFR$, and SFR densities $Σ_{\rm SFR}$ with those of structures ranging from cores, clumps, Giant Molecular Clouds (GMCs), to Molecular Cloud Complexes (MCCs), and to Galaxies, spanning 8 orders of magnitudes in size and 13 orders of magnitudes in mass. MCC are mostly large ($R>50$ pc), massive ($\sim 10^{6}$\,\msun) gravitationally unbound clou…
Observations of low order CO transitions represent the most direct way to study galaxies' cold molecular gas, the fuel of star formation. Here we present the first detection of CO(2-1) in a galaxy lying on the main-sequence of star-forming galaxies at z>6. Our target, G09-83808 at z=6.03, has a short depletion time-scale of T_dep~50Myr and a relatively low gas fraction of M_gas/M_star=0.30 that contrasts with those measured for lower redshift main-sequence galaxies. We conclude that this galaxy is undergoing a starburst episode with a high star formation efficiency that might be the result of …
Star-forming regions are usually studied in the context of Galactic surveys, but dedicated observations are sometimes needed when the study reaches beyond the survey area. Here, we studied the G345.5+1.5 region, which is located slightly above the Galactic plane, to understand its star formation properties. We combined the LABOCA and $^{12}$CO(4$-$3) transition line observations complemented with the Hi-GAL and $\it{Spitzer}$-GLIMPSE surveys to study the star formation toward this region. We used the Clumpfind algorithm to extract the clumps from the 870$μ$m and $^{12}$CO(4$-$3) data. Radio em…
HCN emission from translucent gas and UV-illuminated cloud edges revealed by wide-field IRAM 30m maps of Orion B GMC: Revisiting its role as tracer of the dense gas reservoir for star formation
We study the star formation process at galactic scales and the role of rotation through numerical simulations of spiral and starburst galaxies using the adaptive mesh refinement code Enzo. We focus on the study of three integrated star formation laws found in the literature: the Kennicutt-Schmidt (KS) and Silk-Elmegreen (SE) laws, and the dimensionally homogeneous equation proposed by Escala (2015) $Σ_{\rm SFR} \propto \sqrt{G/L}Σ_{\rm gas}^{1.5}$. We show that using the last we take into account the effects of the integration along the line of sight and find a unique regime of star formation …
(abridged) In this work we have a closer look at the gas content or fraction and the associated star formation rate in main sequence and starburst galaxies at z=0 and z~1-2 by applying an analytical model of galactic clumpy gas disks to samples of local spiral galaxies, ULIRGs, submillimeter (smm), and high-z starforming galaxies. The model gas and dust temperatures are determined by the heating and cooling equilibrium. Dense clouds are heated by turbulent mechanical and cosmic ray heating. The molecular abundances of individual gas clouds are determined by a detailed chemical network involvin…
High-resolution observations of ionized and molecular gas in the nuclear regions of galaxies are indispensable for delineating the interplay of star formation, gaseous inflows, stellar radiation, and feedback processes. Combining our new ALMA band 3 mapping and archival VLT/MUSE data, we present a spatially resolved analysis of molecular and ionized gas in the central 5.4 Kpc region of NGC 1365. We find the star formation rate/efficiency (SFR/SFE) in the inner circumnuclear ring is about 0.4/1.1 dex higher than in the outer regions. At a linear resolution of 180 pc, we obtain a super-linear Ke…
We use simulations with realistic models for stellar feedback to study galaxy mergers. These high resolution (1 pc) simulations follow formation and destruction of individual GMCs and star clusters. The final starburst is dominated by in situ star formation, fueled by gas which flows inwards due to global torques. The resulting high gas density results in rapid star formation. The gas is self gravitating, and forms massive (~10^10 M_sun) GMCs and subsequent super-starclusters (masses up to 10^8 M_sun). However, in contrast to some recent simulations, the bulk of new stars which eventually form…
We aim to measure the average dust and molecular gas content of massive star-forming galaxies ($\rm > 3 \times 10^{10}\,M_\odot$) up to z=4 in the COSMOS field to determine if the intense star formation observed at high redshift is induced by major mergers or caused by large gas reservoirs. Firstly, we measured the evolution of the average spectral energy distributions as a function of redshift using a stacking analysis of Spitzer, Herschel, LABOCA, and AzTEC data for two samples of galaxies: normal star-forming objects and strong starbursts, as defined by their distance to the main sequence. …
We present XSHOOTER observations with previous ALMA, MUSE and $HST$ observations to study the nature of radio-jet triggered star formation and the interaction of radio jets with the interstellar medium in the brightest cluster galaxy (BCG) in the Abell 1795 cluster. Using $HST$ UV data we determined an ongoing star formation rate of 9.3 M$_\odot$ yr$^{-1}$. The star formation follows the global Kennicutt-Schmidt law, however, it has a low efficiency compared to circumnuclear starbursts in nearby galaxies with an average depletion time of $\sim$1 Gyr. The star formation and molecular gas are of…
Gas-rich minor mergers contribute significantly to the gas reservoir of early-type galaxies (ETGs) at low redshift, yet the star formation efficiency (SFE; the star formation rate divided by the molecular gas mass) appears to be strongly suppressed following some of these events, in contrast to the more well-known merger-driven starbursts. We present observations with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) of six ETGs, which have each recently undergone a gas-rich minor merger, as evidenced by their disturbed stellar morphologies. These galaxies were selected because they exhi…
We use observations of the radial profiles of the mass surface density of total, Sigma_g, and molecular, Sigma_H2, gas, rotation velocity and star formation rate surface density, Sigma_sfr, of the molecular dominated regions of 12 disk galaxies from Leroy et al. to test several star formation laws: a "Kennicutt-Schmidt power law", Sigma_sfr=A_g Sigma_{g,2}^{1.5}$; a "Constant molecular law", Sigma_sfr = A_H2 Sigma_{H2,2}; the "Turbulence-regulated laws" of Krumholz & McKee (KM) and Krumholz, McKee & Tumlinson (KMT), a "Gas-Omega law", Sigma_sfr = B_Omega Sigma_g Omega; and a shear-driven "GMC …
We present a sample of 17 objects from the CALIFA survey where we find initial evidence of galactic winds based on their off-axis ionization properties. We identify the presence of outflows using various optical diagnostic diagrams (e.g., EW(H$α$), [Nii]/H$α$, [Sii]/H$α$, [Oi]/H$α$ line-ratio maps). We find that all 17 candidate outflow galaxies lie along the sequence of active star formation in the M$_\star$ vs. star-formation rate diagram, without a clear excess in the integrated SFR. The location of galaxies along the star-formation main sequence (SFMS) does not influence strongly the prese…
In the second work of this series, we analyse the connection between the availability of gas and the position of a region with respect to the spatially resolved main sequence (MS) relation. Following the procedure presented in Paper I we obtain 500pc scales estimates of stellar mass and star formation rate surface densities ($Σ_{\star}$ and $Σ_{\rm{SFR}}$). Our sample consists of five face-on, grand design spiral galaxies located on the MS. Thanks to HI 21cm and $^{12}$CO(2-1) maps, we connect the gas surface densities and gas fractions to the observed star formation properties of each region.…
We present numerical methods for including stellar feedback in galaxy-scale simulations. We include heating by SNe (I & II), gas recycling and shock-heating from O-star & AGB winds, HII photoionization, and radiation pressure from stellar photons. The energetics and time-dependence are taken directly from stellar evolution models. We implement these in simulations with pc-scale resolution, modeling galaxies from SMC-like dwarfs and MW analogues to massive z~2 starburst disks. Absent feedback, gas cools and collapses without limit. With feedback, the ISM reaches a multi-phase steady state in wh…
We present an analysis of the relation between star formation rate (SFR) surface density (sigmasfr) and mass surface density of molecular gas (sigmahtwo), commonly referred to as the Kennicutt-Schmidt (K-S) relation, at its intrinsic spatial scale, i.e. the size of giant molecular clouds (10-150 pc), in the central, high-density regions of four nearby low-luminosity active galactic nuclei (AGN). We used interferometric IRAM CO(1-0) and CO(2-1), and SMA CO(3-2) emission line maps to derive sigmahtwo and HST-Halpha images to estimate sigmasfr. Each galaxy is characterized by a distinct molecular…