A large-scale study of the molecular clouds toward the Trifid nebula, M20, has been made in the J=2-1 and J=1-0 transitions of 12 CO and 13 CO. M20 is ionized predominantly by an O7.5 star HD164492. The study has revealed that there are two molecular components at separate velocities peaked toward the center of M20 and that their temperatures -30-50 K as derived by an LVG analysis -are significantly higher than the 10 K of their surroundings.We identify that the two clouds as the parent clouds of the first generation stars in M20. The mass of each cloud is estimated to be ∼ 10 3 M ⊙ and their separation velocity is ∼ 8 km s −1 over ∼1-2 pc. We find the total mass of stars and molecular gas in M20 is less than ∼ 3.2 × 10 3 M ⊙ , which is too small by an order of magnitude to gravitationally bind the system. We argue that the formation of the first generation stars, including the main ionizing O7.5 s tar, was triggered by the collision between the two clouds in a short time scale of ∼1 Myrs, a second example alongside Westerlund 2, where a super star cluster may have been formed due to cloud-cloud collision triggering. Subject headings: ISM: clouds -Radio lines: ISM -open clusters and associations: individual: M20NANTEN2 is an international collaboration of ten universities, Nagoya University,

Context. Three dimensional interstellar extinction maps provide a powerful tool for stellar population analysis. However, until now, these 3D maps were rather limited by sensitivity and spatial resolution. Aims. We use data from the VISTA Variables in the Via Lactea survey together with the Besançon stellar population synthesis model of the Galaxy to determine interstellar extinction as a function of distance in the Galactic bulge covering −10 • < l < 10 • and −10 • < b < 5 • . Methods. We adopted a recently developed method to calculate the colour excess. First we constructed the H − Ks vs. Ks and J − Ks vs. Ks colour−magnitude diagrams based on the VVV catalogues that matched 2MASS. Then, based on the temperature−colour relation for M giants and the distance-colour relations, we derived the extinction as a function of distance. The observed colours were shifted to match the intrinsic colours in the Besançon model as a function of distance iteratively. This created an extinction map with three dimensions: two spatial and one distance dimension along each line of sight towards the bulge. Results. We present a 3D extinction map that covers the whole VVV area with a resolution of 6 × 6 for J − Ks and H − Ks using distance bins of 0.5 kpc. The high resolution and depth of the photometry allows us to derive extinction maps for a range of distances up to 10 kpc and up to 30 mag of extinction in A V (3.0 mag in A Ks ). Integrated maps show the same dust features and consistent values as other 2D maps. We discuss the spatial distribution of dust features in the line of sight, which suggests that there is much material in front of the Galactic bar, specifically between 5−7 kpc. We compare our dust extinction map with the high-resolution 12 CO maps (NANTEN2) towards the Galactic bulge, where we find a good correlation between 12 CO and A V . We determine the X factor by combining the CO map and our dust extinction map. Our derived average value X = 2.5 ± 0.47 × 10 20 cm −2 K −1 km −1 s is consistent with the canonical value of the Milky Way. The X-factor decreases with increasing extinction.

Star formation is a fundamental process for galactic evolution. One issue over the last several decades has been determining whether star formation is induced by external triggers or self-regulated in a closed system. The role of an external trigger, which can effectively collect mass in a small volume, has attracted particular attention in connection with the formation of massive stellar clusters, which in extreme cases may lead to starbursts. Recent observations have revealed massive cluster formation triggered by cloud–cloud collisions in nearby interacting galaxies, including the Magellanic system and the Antennae Galaxies as well as almost all well-known high-mass star-forming regions in the Milky Way, such as RCW 120, M 20, M 42, NGC 6334, etc. Theoretical efforts are going into the foundation for the mass compression that causes massive cluster/star formation. Here, we review the recent progress on cloud–cloud collisions and the triggered star-cluster formation, and discuss future prospects for this area of study.

Recent large-area, deep CO surveys in the Galactic disk have revealed the formation of ∼50 highmass stars or clusters triggered by cloud-cloud collisions (CCCs). Although the Galactic Center (GC) -which contains the highest volume density of molecular gas-is the most favorable place for cloud collisions, systematic studies of CCCs in that region are still untouched. Here we report for the first time evidence of CCCs in the common foot point of molecular loops 1 and 2 in the GC. We have investigated the distribution of molecular gas toward the foot point by using a methodology for identifying CCCs, and we have discovered clear signatures of CCCs. Using the estimated displacements and relative velocities of the clouds, we find the elapsed time since the beginnings of the collisions to be 10 5−6 yr. We consider possible origins for previously reported peculiar velocity features in the foot point and discuss star formation triggered by CCCs in the GC.