We present new \mbox { $ { } ^ { 12 } $CO } ( J = 1 - 0 ) observations of Henize 2-10 , a blue compact dwarf galaxy about 8.7 Mpc away , taken with the Atacama Large Millimeter Array .
These are the highest spatial and spectral resolution observations , to date , of the molecular gas in this starburst galaxy .
We measure a molecular mass of ( 1.2 \pm 0.4 ) \times 10 ^ { 8 } ~ { } M _ { \odot } in Henize 2-10 , and 75 \% of the molecular gas mass is contained within the northern region of the galaxy near the previously identified young super star clusters , which has a projected size of about 300 pc .
We use the CPROPS algorithm to identify 119 resolved giant molecular clouds distributed throughout the galaxy , and the molecular gas contained within these clouds make up between 45 to 70 % of the total molecular mass .
The molecular clouds in Henize 2-10 have similar median sizes ( \sim 26 pc ) , luminous masses ( \sim 4 \times 10 ^ { 5 } M _ { \odot } ) , and surface densities ( \sim 180 M _ { \odot } pc ^ { -2 } ) to Milky Way clouds .
However , Henize 2-10 clouds have velocity dispersions ( \sim 3 \mbox { km~ { } s$ { } ^ { -1 } $ } ) about 50 \% higher than those in the Milky Way .
We provide evidence that Henize 2-10 clouds tend to be in virial equilibrium , with the virial and luminous masses scaling according to M _ { vir } \propto M _ { lum } ^ { 1.2 \pm 0.1 } , similar to clouds in the Milky Way .
However , we measure a scaling relationship between luminous mass and size , M _ { lum } \propto R ^ { 3.0 \pm 0.3 } , that is steeper than what is observed in Milky Way clouds .
Assuming Henize 2-10 molecular clouds are virialized , we infer values of the CO-to- H _ { 2 } conversion factor ranging from 0.5 to 13 times the standard value in the Solar Neighborhood .
Given star formation efficiencies as low as 5 % , the most massive molecular clouds in Henize 2-10 currently have enough mass to form the next generation of super-star clusters in the galaxy .