The neutral ISM in Luminous Compact Blue Galaxies

Luminous Compact Blue Galaxies are a class of rapidly evolving galaxies that are common at z similar to 1 but rare at z similar to 0. Through HI and CO observations of a locally defined sample, we have determined dynamical masses and gas depletion timescales and constrained evolutionary scenarios. We find that similar to 80% are likely to fade into dwarf ellipticals but the remaining 20% may be the precursors to low mass spirals or Magellanic irregulars. Star formation rates scale with the 1.4(th) power of total gas column density and follows the Schmidt law prescription of Kennicutt (1998). The star formation rate is also proportional to the molecular-to-atomic mass ratio. CO line ratios indicate abundant warm, dense gas and is consistent with the entire molecular ISM actively forming stars.