In this project, all available databases of molecular and gas-dust clouds in the Galaxy were cross- identified by taking into account available properties, including position, angular dimensions, velocity, density, temperature and mass. An initial list of about 7000 entries was condensed into a cross-identified all-sky catalogue containing molecular and gas-dust clouds. Some relationships were studied between the main physical features of clouds. Finally, we prepared a complex observing program and address future work for filling in the gaps.

We carry out three-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations of the supernova remnants (SNRs) produced inside molecular clouds (MCs) near their surface using the HLL code (Harten et al. 1983). We explore the dynamical evolution and the X-ray morphology of SNRs after breaking through the MC surface for ranges of the explosion depths below the surface and the density ratios of the clouds to the intercloud media (ICM). We find that if an SNR breaks out through an MC surface in its Sedov stage, the outermost dense shell of the remnant is divided into several layers. The divided layers are subject to the Rayleigh-Taylor instability and fragmented. On the other hand, if an SNR breaks through an MC after the remnant enters the snowplow phase, the radiative shell is not divided to layers. We also compare the predictions of previous analytic solutions for the expansion of SNRs in stratified media with our one- dimensional simulations. Moreover, we produce synthetic X-ray surface brightness in order to research the center-bright X-ray morphology shown in thermal composite SNRs. In the late stages, a breakout SNR shows the center-bright X-ray morphology inside an MC in our results. We apply our model to the observational results of the X-ray morphology of the thermal composite SNR 3C 391.

We map two molecular clouds located in the exact anticenter region emitting in the (J = 1-0) transition of 12CO and 13CO using the 3-mm SIS mixer receiver on the 14-m radio telescope at Taeduk Radio Astronomy Observatory. The target clouds with anomalous velocities of VLSR ~ - 20 km s-1 are distinguished from other clouds in this direction. In addition, they are located in the interarm region between the Orion Arm and the Perseus Arm. Sizes of the clouds are estimated to be about 8.6 and 10.8 pc, respectively. The total mass is estimated to be about 4 x 103 M⊙ using CO luminosity of the clouds. Several cores are detected, but no sign of star formation is found according to the IRAS point sources. Their larger linewidths, anomalous velocities, and their location at the interarm region make these clouds more distinguished, though their physical properties are similar to the dark clouds in the solar neighborhood in terms of mass and size.

We have estimated the fractal dimension of the molecular clouds associated with the H ΙΙ region Sh 156 in the Outer Galaxy. We selected the 12CO cube data from the FCRAO CO Survey of the Outer Galaxy. Using a developed code within IRAF, we identified slice-clouds (2-dimensional clouds in velocity-channel maps) with two threshold temperatures to estimate the fractal dimension. With the threshold temperatures of 1.8 K, and 3 K, we identified 317 slice-clouds and 217 slice-clouds, respectively. There seems to be a turn-over location in fractional dimension slope around NP (area; number of pixel) = 40. The fractal dimensions was estimated to be D = 1.5 ∼ 1.53 for NP ≥ 40, where P ∝ AD/2 (P is perimeter and A is area), which is slightly larger than other results. The sampling rate (spatial resolution) of observed data must be an important parameter when estimating fractal dimension. Fractal dimension is apparently invariant when varying the threshold temperatures applied to slice-clouds identification.

We conducted an analysis of a selected region from the FCRAO 12CO Outer Galaxy Survey. The selected region is located between galactic longitude 117° and 124° with the velocity of -23 km s-1 < VLSR <-10 km s-1. Molecular clouds in this region show a peculiar velocity field, protruding from the Local Arm population. The selected region is divided into 7 clouds by spatial location. Though we were not able to identify the direct driving source for peculiar velocity of our target region, we find that there are several internal YSOs or star forming activities; there are many associated sources like an outflows, a high-mass protostellar candidate and H2O maser sources. We attribute the driving energy source to older generation of episodic star formation. Masses of main clouds(cloud 1-4) estimated using a conversion factor from 12CO luminosity are larger than 104M⊙. Other components have a small mass as about 103M⊙. Among main clouds, cloud 2 and 4 seem to be marginally gravitational bound systems as their ratio of MCO to MVIR is about 2~3, and the internal velocity dispersion is larger than the centroid velocity dispersion. Total mass estimated using a conversion factor from 12CO luminosity is 7.9 × 104M⊙.

Infrared color-color diagram of 10 giant molecular clouds are examined to explore the dust property from the COBE Diffuse Infrared Background Experiment of the 100, 140, and 240μm emission. Four of them, Taurus, Mon OB1, Gem OB1, and Chameleon, show the anti-correlation in R100/140−R140/240 plot and the horizontal distribution in R100/240−R140/240 plot, which disagree with those of theoretical calculation. These could be explained by the depletion of 100μm and the excess of 140μm emission, though no existing dust model could support them. Mean color temperature of the anti-correlation region appears to be lower than that of the linear region, whose temperatures are 15.3, 17.0 K, respectively. And the linear region shows large dispersion in the plot of intensity relation. Both imply that a star formation would be more active, but not homogeneous, in the linear region compared to the anti-correlation region.

We carried out CO survey toward IR-excess clouds using SRAO 6-m telescope in search of molecular H2. These clouds, which show far-infrared excess over what is expected from HI column density, are considered to be candidates of molecular clouds. In order to find new high Galactic latitude clouds, we made mapping observations for 14 IR-excess clouds selected from Reach et al.(1998) in 12CO J = 1 - 0 line, supplementing the similar survey in southern hemisphere (Onishi et al. 2001). 12CO emission is detected from three IR-excess clouds among 14 objects. Three newly detected clouds exhibit somewhat clumpy morphology and column densities amount to ~ 1021 cm-2. One of three clouds, DIR120-28, show discrepancy between IR-excess center and CO emission center. It seems that IR-excess may not be an effective tracer of molecular gas. Instead, optical depth(τ) excess, i.e., IR-excess corrected for temperature dependence, may be more effective tracer of molecular clouds, since, by combining statistics from both hemispheres, we found that the detection rate is higher for IR-excess clouds with lower dust temperature.

We have calculated 2448 interstellar cloud models to investigate the formation and destruction of high rotational level H2 according to the combinations of five physical conditions: the input UV intensity, the H2 column density, cloud temperature, total density, and the H2 formation rate efficiency. The models include the populations of all the accessible states of H2 with the rotational quantum number J < 16 as a function of depth through the model clouds, and assume that the abundance of H2 is in a steady state governed primarily by the rate of formation on the grain surfaces and the rates of destruction by spontaneous fluorescent dissociation following absorption in the Lyman and Werner band systems. The high rotational levels J = 4 and J = 5 are both populated by direct formation into these levels of newly created molecules, and by pumping from J = 0 and J = 1, respectively The model results show that the high rotational level ratio N(4)/N(0) is proportional to the incident UV intensity, and is inversely proportional to the H2 molecular fraction, as predicted in theory.