Galactic MCs associated with HII regions

Sources were selected by having radio recombination lines to provide identification of associated MCs and dense clumps. Radio continuum emission and mid-infrared emission were used to determine star formation rates (SFRs), while ^13^CO and submillimeter dust continuum emission were used to obtain the masses of molecular and dense gas, respectively.

We test whether total molecular gas or dense gas provides the best predictor of SFR. We also test two specific theoretical models, one relying on the molecular mass divided by the free-fall time, the other using the free-fall time divided by the crossing time. Neither is supported by the data.