Review to appear in the proceedings of the 17th IAP Colloquium on Gaseous Matter In Galaxies And Intergalactic Space, ed. R. Ferlet (Frontier Group: Paris).
astro-ph/0110471

For a Pdf version of the article, click here.

For a Postscript version of the article, click here.

Abstract. I review the properties of the interstellar medium in the Magellanic Clouds and Local Group dwarf galaxies. The more massive, star-forming galaxies show a complex, multi-phase ISM full of shells and holes ranging from very cold phases (a few 10 K) to extremely hot gas (> 10⁶ K). In environments with high UV radiation fields the formation of molecular gas is suppressed, while in dwarfs with low UV fields molecular gas can form at lower than typical Galactic column densities. There is evidence of ongoing interactions, gas accretion, and stripping of gas in the Local Group dwarfs. Some dwarf galaxies appear to be in various stages of transition from gas-rich to gas-poor systems. No ISM was found in the least massive dwarfs.

Table of Contents

• INTRODUCTION
• THE MAGELLANIC CLOUDS
• The Large Magellanic Cloud
• The Small Magellanic Cloud
• The Magellanic Bridge and Stream
• OTHER LOCAL GROUP IRREGULARS
• ELLIPTICAL, SPHEROIDAL, AND TRANSITION-TYPE DWARFS
• REFERENCES