The Physics at High Angular resolution in Nearby GalaxieS (PHANGS) Surveys

A major advance in understanding the process of star formation will come from charting the connections between cold (molecular) gas and young stars on the scale of individual molecular clouds, HII regions, and star clusters. For the first time, the ESO facilities ALMA and MUSE, in combination with HST, offer the opportunity to survey the properties of these regions and clusters across a large sample of galaxies, capturing the range of diverse galactic environments found in the local universe. Guided by theoretical models and simulations, the PHANGS collaboration has begun an endeavour which aims to reveal the physical processes controlling the process of star formation in galaxies.