Title: Dense Gas and Star formation in Interacting Galaxies from the VIXENS survey and 
Comparison to Galactic Dense Cores

Abstract:
We present first results from the VIRUS-P Investigation of the eXtreme ENvironments of 
Starbursts (VIXENS) integral field unit and IRAM surveys of 15 interacting galaxies with a range 
of interaction stages. We discuss relations between star formation and dense gas content in 
these nearby mergers on disk-averaged and spatially resolved ~kpc scales and compare them 
to Galactic dense cores.