Open access
Sep 2026
Tracing the hidden molecular gas in the Small Magellanic Cloud with SOFIA and APEX
In low-metallicity environments, the reduced dust abundance debilitates the shielding of molecular clouds against far-ultraviolet (FUV) radiation, enhancing CO photodissociation and producing extended envelopes of “CO-faint” or “CO-dark” molecular gas. The ̧ii 158 μm fine-structure line is one of the brightest coolants...
K. Rodriguez-Ambler, R. Herrera-Camus, M. Rúbio et al.
· Astronomy & Astrophysics · 0 citations