ASTE Observations of Nearby Galaxies: A Tight Correlation between CO J = 3–2 Emission and H$\alpha$

Star formation rates (SFRs) obtained via extinction-corrected H˛ are compared to dense gas, as traced by 12 CO ( J= 3–2) emission at the centers of nearby galaxies, observed with the ASTE telescope. It is found that, although many of the observed positions are dusty, and therefore heavily absorbed at H˛ ,t heSFR shows a striking correlation with dense gas in the form of the Schmidt law with an inde xo f 1.0. The correlation is also compared between gas traced by 12 CO ( J= 1–0) and the application of an H˛ extinction correction. We fin dt hat dense gas produces a