Testing models for molecular gas formation in galaxies: Hydrostatic pressure or gas and dust shielding

Stars in galaxies form in giant molecular clouds that coalesce when the atomic hydrogen is converted into molecules. There are currently two dominant models based on the property of the galactic disk that determines its molecular fraction: either hydrostatic pressure driven by the gravity of gas and stars, or a combination of gas column density and metallicity. To assess the validity of these models, we compare theoretical predictions to the observed atomic gas content of low-metallicity dwarf galaxies with high stellar densities. The extreme conditions found in these systems are optimal for distinguishing the two models, otherwise degenerate in nearby spirals. Locally, on scales