Star formation in infrared dark clouds: Self-gravity and dynamics
  The role played by gravity in the transfer of interstellar matter from
molecular cloud scales to protostellar scales is still highly debated. Only
detailed studies on the kinematics of large samples of star-forming clouds will
settle the issue. We present new IRAM 30m observations of a sample of 27
infrared dark clouds covering a large range of sizes, masses, and aspect
ratios. Preliminary results suggest that gravity is regulating the dynamical
evolution of these clouds on a couple of parsec scales.
