Neal J. Evans II studies star formation and the connection between interstellar gas and newly formed stars. His 2012 review with Robert C. Kennicutt Jr. compares ways of estimating gas content and star formation rates, from individual molecular clouds to entire galaxies.
The comparison matters because neither quantity is simply read off a photograph: a measured signal must be converted into gas mass or a star formation rate. The review assembles those measurement prescriptions before comparing the physical relations inferred from them.[ref]
Star Formation in the Milky Way and Nearby Galaxies by Robert C. Kennicutt Jr. and Neal J. Evans II. Abstract: gas measurements, updated rate prescriptions and the range of spatial scales
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