Citation for published item:fryntD tFtF nd ywersD wFF nd oothmD eFFqF nd groomD FwF nd hriverD FF nd hrinkwterD wFtF nd vorenteD xFFpF nd gorteseD vF nd ottD xF nd gollessD wF nd heferD eF nd ylorD iFxF nd uonstntopoulosD sFF nd ellenD tFF nd fldryD sF nd frnesD vF nd fuerD eFiF nd flndErwthornD tF nd floomD tFF nd frooksD eFwF nd froughD F nd geilD qF nd gouhD F nd grotonD hF nd hviesD F nd illisD F nd pogrtyD vFwFF nd posterD gF nd qlzerookD uF nd qoodwinD wF nd qreenD eF nd qunwrdhnD wFvF nd rmptonD iF nd roD sFEF nd ropkinsD eFwF nd uewleyD vF nd vwreneD tFF nd veonEvlD FqF nd veslieD F nd wilroyD F nd vewisD qF nd viskeD tF nd v¡ opezE¡ nhezD ¡ eFF nd whjnD F nd wedlingD eFwF nd wetlfeD xF nd weyerD wF nd wouldD tF nd yreshkowD hF nd y9ooleD F nd ryD wF nd ihrdsD FxF nd hnksD F nd hrpD F nd weetD FwF nd homsD eFhF nd oniniD gF nd lherD gFtF @PHISA 9he ews qlxy urvey X instrument spei(tion nd trget seletionF9D wonthly noties of the oyl estronomil oietyFD RRU @QAF ppF PVSUEPVUWF Further information on publisher's website: Additional information: Use policyThe full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that:• a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in DRO • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders.Please consult the full DRO policy for further details. ABSTRACTThe SAMI Galaxy Survey will observe 3400 galaxies with the Sydney-AAO Multi-object Integral-field spectrograph (SAMI) on the Anglo-Australian Telescope in a 3-yr survey which began in 2013. We present the throughput of the SAMI system, the science basis and specifications for the target selection, the survey observation plan and the combined properties of the selected galaxies. The survey includes four volume-limited galaxy samples based on cuts in a proxy for stellar mass, along with low-stellar-mass dwarf galaxies all selected from the Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA) survey. The GAMA regions were selected because of the vast array of ancillary data available, including ultraviolet through to radio bands. These fields are on the celestial equator at 9, 12 and 14.5 h, and cover a total of 144 deg 2 (in GAMA-I). Higher density environments are also included with the addition of eight clusters. The clusters have spectroscopy from 2-degree Field Galaxy Redshift Survey (2dFGRS) and Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) and photometry in regions covered by the SDSS and/or VLT Survey Telescope/ATLAS. The aim is to cover a broad range in stellar mass and environment, and therefore the primary survey targets cover redshifts 0.004 < z < 0.095, magnitudes r pet < 19.4, stellar masses 10 7 -10 12 M , and environments from isolated field galaxies through groups to clusters of ∼10 15 M .

It remains a major challenge to derive a theory of cloud-scale ( 100 pc) star formation and feedback, describing how galaxies convert gas into stars as a function of the galactic environment. Progress has been hampered by a lack of robust empirical constraints on the giant molecular cloud (GMC) lifecycle. We address this problem by systematically applying a new statistical method for measuring the evolutionary timeline of the GMC lifecycle, star formation, and feedback to a sample of nine nearby disc galaxies, observed as part of the PHANGS-ALMA survey. We measure the spatially-resolved (∼ 100 pc) CO-to-Hα flux ratio and find a universal de-correlation between molecular gas and young stars on GMC scales, allowing us to quantify the underlying evolutionary timeline. GMC lifetimes are short, typically 10−30 Myr, and exhibit environmental variation, between and within galaxies. At kpc-scale molecular gas surface densities Σ H 2 8 M pc −2 , the GMC lifetime correlates with time-scales for galactic dynamical processes, whereas at Σ H 2 8 M pc −2 GMCs decouple from galactic dynamics and live for an internal dynamical time-scale. After a long inert phase without massive star formation traced by Hα (75−90 per cent of the cloud lifetime), GMCs disperse within just 1−5 Myr once massive stars emerge. The dispersal is most likely due to early stellar feedback, causing GMCs to achieve integrated star formation efficiencies of 4−10 per cent. These results show that galactic star formation is governed by cloud-scale, environmentally-dependent, dynamical processes driving rapid evolutionary cycling. GMCs and HII regions are the fundamental units undergoing these lifecycles, with mean separations of 100−300 pc in star-forming discs. Future work should characterise the multi-scale physics and mass flows driving these lifecycles.

We present metallicity gradients in 49 local field star-forming galaxies. We derive gasphase oxygen abundances using two widely adopted metallicity calibrations based on the [O III]/Hβ, [N II]/Hα and [N II]/[O II] line ratios. The two derived metallicity gradients are usually in good agreement within ±0.14 dex R −1 25 (R 25 is the B-band iso-photoal radius), but the metallicity gradients can differ significantly when the ionisation parameters change systematically with radius. We investigate the metallicity gradients as a function of stellar mass (8 < log(M * /M ⊙ ) < 11) and absolute B-band luminosity (−16 > M B > −22). When the metallicity gradients are expressed in dex kpc −1 , we show that galaxies with lower mass and luminosity, on average, have steeper metallicity gradients. When the metallicity gradients are expressed in dex R −1 25 , we find no correlation between the metallicity gradients, and stellar mass and luminosity. We provide a local benchmark metallicity gradient of field star-forming galaxies useful for comparison with studies at high redshifts. We investigate the origin of the local benchmark gradient using simple chemical evolution models and observed gas and stellar surface density profiles in nearby field spiral galaxies. Our models suggest that the local benchmark gradient is a direct result of the coevolution of gas and stellar disk under virtually closed-box chemical evolution when the stellar-to-gas mass ratio becomes high (≫ 0.3). These models imply low current mass accretion rates ( 0.3 × SFR), and low mass outflow rates ( 3 × SFR) in local field star-forming galaxies. Key words:2 The effective radius is the radius at which the integrated flux is half of the total one. Comparing to the disk scale-length for the classical exponential profile, Re = 1.67835R d .

We present PHANGS–ALMA, the first survey to map CO J = 2 → 1 line emission at ∼1″ ∼100 pc spatial resolution from a representative sample of 90 nearby (d ≲ 20 Mpc) galaxies that lie on or near the z = 0 “main sequence” of star-forming galaxies. CO line emission traces the bulk distribution of molecular gas, which is the cold, star-forming phase of the interstellar medium. At the resolution achieved by PHANGS–ALMA, each beam reaches the size of a typical individual giant molecular cloud, so that these data can be used to measure the demographics, life cycle, and physical state of molecular clouds across the population of galaxies where the majority of stars form at z = 0. This paper describes the scientific motivation and background for the survey, sample selection, global properties of the targets, Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) observations, and characteristics of the delivered data and derived data products. As the ALMA sample serves as the parent sample for parallel surveys with MUSE on the Very Large Telescope, the Hubble Space Telescope, AstroSat, the Very Large Array, and other facilities, we include a detailed discussion of the sample selection. We detail the estimation of galaxy mass, size, star formation rate, CO luminosity, and other properties, compare estimates using different systems and provide best-estimate integrated measurements for each target. We also report the design and execution of the ALMA observations, which combine a Cycle 5 Large Program, a series of smaller programs, and archival observations. Finally, we present the first 1″ resolution atlas of CO emission from nearby galaxies and describe the properties and contents of the first PHANGS–ALMA public data release.

The distribution of metals within a galaxy traces the baryon cycle and the buildup of galactic disks, but the detailed gas phase metallicity distribution remains poorly sampled. We have determined the gas phase oxygen abundances for 7,138 HII regions across the disks of eight nearby galaxies using VLT/MUSE optical integral field spectroscopy as part of the PHANGS-MUSE survey. After removing the first order radial gradients present in each galaxy, we look at the statistics of the metallicity offset (∆O/H) and explore azimuthal variations. Across each galaxy, we find low (σ=0.03-0.05 dex) scatter at any given radius, indicative of efficient mixing. We compare physical parameters for those HII regions that are 1σ outliers towards both enhanced and reduced abundances. Regions with enhanced abundances have high ionization parameter, higher Hα luminosity, lower Hα velocity dispersion, younger star clusters and associated molecular gas clouds show higher molecular gas densities. This indicates recent star formation has locally enriched the material. Regions with reduced abundances show increased Hα velocity dispersions, suggestive of mixing introducing more pristine material. We observe subtle azimuthal variations in half of the sample, but can not always cleanly associate this with the spiral pattern. Regions with enhanced and reduced abundances are found distributed throughout the disk, and in half of our galaxies we can identify subsections of spiral arms with clearly associated metallicity gradients. This suggests spiral arms play a role in organizing and mixing the ISM.