We compare atomic gas, molecular gas, and the recent star formation rate (SFR) inferred from Hα in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC). By using infrared dust emission and local dust-to-gas ratios, we construct a map of molecular gas that is independent of CO emission. This allows us to disentangle conversion factor effects from the impact of metallicity on the formation and star formation efficiency of molecular gas. On scales of 200 pc to 1 kpc (where the distributions of H 2 and star formation match well) we find a characteristic molecular gas depletion time of τ mol dep ∼ 1.6 Gyr, similar to that observed in the molecule-rich parts of large spiral galaxies on similar spatial scales. This depletion time shortens on much larger scales to ∼0.6 Gyr because of the presence of a diffuse Hα component, and lengthens on much smaller scales to ∼7.5 Gyr because the Hα and H 2 distributions differ in detail. We estimate the systematic uncertainties in our dust-based τ mol dep measurement to be a factor of ∼2-3. We suggest that the impact of metallicity on the physics of star formation in molecular gas has at most this magnitude, rather than the factor of ∼40 suggested by the ratio of SFR to CO emission. The relation between SFR and neutral (H 2 + H i) gas surface density is steep, with a power-law index ≈2.2 ± 0.1, similar to that observed in the outer disks of large spiral galaxies. At a fixed total gas surface density the SMC has a 5-10 times lower molecular gas fraction (and star formation rate) than large spiral galaxies. We explore the ability of the recent models by Krumholz et al. and Ostriker et al. to reproduce our observations. We find that to explain our data at all spatial scales requires a low fraction of cold, gravitationally bound gas in the SMC. We explore a combined model that incorporates both large-scale thermal and dynamical equilibrium and cloud-scale photodissociation region structure and find that it reproduces our data well, as well as predicting a fraction of cold atomic gas very similar to that observed in the SMC.

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We introduce a new set of selection criteria for the identification of infrared bright young stellar object (YSO) candidates and apply them to nine Hii regions in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), focusing particularly on lower mass candidates missed by most surveys. Data are from the Spitzer Space Telescope legacy program SAGE (Surveying the Agents of Galaxy Evolution; Meixner et al. 2006, AJ, 132, 2268, combined with optical photometry from the Magellanic Clouds Photometric Survey (MCPS; Zaritsky et al. 1997, AJ, 114, 1002 and near-infrared photometry from the InfraRed Survey Facility (IRSF; Kato et al. 2007, PASJ, 59, 615). We choose regions of diverse physical size, star formation rates (SFRs), and ages. We also cover a wide range of locations and surrounding environments in the LMC. These active star-forming regions are LHA 120-N 11, N 44, N 51, N 105, N 113, N 120, N 144, N 160, and N 206. Some have been well-studied (e.g., N11, N44, N160) in the past, while others (e.g., N51, N144) have received little attention. We identify 1045 YSO candidates, including 918 never before identified and 127 matching previous candidate lists. We characterize the evolutionary stage and physical properties of each candidate using the spectral energy distribution (SED) fitter of Robitaille et al. (2007, ApJS, 169, 328) and estimate mass functions and SFRs for each region.

H II regions are the birth places of stars, and as such they provide the best measure of current star formation rates (SFRs) in galaxies. The close proximity of the Magellanic Clouds allows us to probe the nature of these star forming regions at small spatial scales. To study the H II regions, we compute the bolometric infrared flux, or total infrared (TIR), by integrating the flux from 8 to 500 µm. The TIR provides a measure of the obscured star formation because the UV photons from hot young stars are absorbed by dust and re-emitted across the mid-to-far-infrared (IR) spectrum. We aim to determine the monochromatic IR band that most accurately traces the TIR and produces an accurate obscured SFR over large spatial scales. We present the spatial analysis, via aperture/annulus photometry, of 16 Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) and 16 Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) H II region complexes using the Spitzer Space Telescope's IRAC (3.6, 4.5, 8 µm) and MIPS (24, 70, 160 µm) bands. Ultraviolet rocket data (1500 and 1900 Å) and SHASSA Hα data are also included. All data are convolved to the MIPS 160 µm resolution (40 arcsec full width at half-maximum), and apertures have a minimum radius of 35 ′′ . The IRAC, MIPS, UV, and Hα spatial analysis are compared with the spatial analysis of the TIR. We find that nearly all of the LMC and SMC H II region spectral energy distributions (SEDs) peak around 70 µm at all radii, from ∼ 10 to ∼ 400 pc from the central ionizing sources. As a result, we find the following: the sizes of H II regions as probed by 70 µm is approximately equal to the sizes as probed by TIR (≈ 70 pc in radius); the radial profile of the 70 µm flux, normalized by TIR, is constant at all radii (70 µm ∼ 0.45 TIR); the 1σ standard deviation of the 70 µm fluxes, normalized by TIR, is a lower fraction of the mean (0.05 − 0.12 out to ∼ 220 pc) than the normalized 8, 24, and 160 µm normalized fluxes (0.12 − 0.52); and these results are the same for the LMC and the SMC. From these results, we argue that 70 µm is the most suitable IR band to use as a monochromatic obscured star formation indicator because it most accurately reproduces the TIR of H II regions in the LMC and SMC and over large spatial scales. We also explore the general trends of the 8, 24, 70, and 160 µm bands in the LMC and SMC H II region SEDs, radial surface brightness profiles, sizes, and normalized (by TIR) radial flux profiles. We derive an obscured SFR equation that is modified from the literature to use 70 µm luminosity, SFR (M ⊙ yr −1 ) = 9.7(0.7) × 10 −44 L 70 (ergs s −1 ), which is applicable from 10 to 300 pc distance from the center of an H II region. We include an analysis of the spatial variations around H II regions between the obscured star formation indicators given by the IR and the unobscured star formation indicators given by UV and Hα. We compute obscured and unobscured SFRs using equations from the literature and examine the spatial variations of the SFRs around H II regions.

The Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) provides a unique laboratory for the study of the lifecycle of dust given its low metallicity (∼1/5 solar) and relative proximity (∼60 kpc). This motivated the SAGE-SMC (Surveying the Agents of Galaxy Evolution in the Tidally-Stripped, Low Metallicity Small Magellanic Cloud) Spitzer Legacy program with the specific goals of studying the amount and type of dust in the present interstellar medium, the sources of dust in the winds of evolved stars, and how much dust is consumed in star formation. This program mapped the full SMC (30 ⊓ ⊔ • ) including the Body, Wing, and Tail in 7 bands from 3.6 to 160 µm using the IRAC and MIPS instruments on the Spitzer Space Telescope. The data were reduced, mosaicked, and the point sources measured using customized routines specific for large surveys. We have made the resulting mosaics and point source catalogs available to the community. The infrared colors of the SMC are compared to those of other nearby galaxies and the 8 µm/24 µm ratio is somewhat lower and the 70 µm/160 µm ratio is somewhat higher than the average. The global infrared spectral energy distribution shows that the SMC has approximately 1/3 the aromatic emission/PAH (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon) abundance of most nearby galaxies. Infrared color-magnitude diagrams are given illustrating the distribution of different asymptotic giant branch stars and the locations of young stellar objects. Finally, the average spectral energy distribution (SED) of HII/star formation regions is compared to the equivalent Large Magellanic Cloud average HII/star formation region SED. These preliminary results will be expanded in detail in companion papers.