Enabling the next generation of cm-wavelength studies of high-redshift molecular gas with the SKA

The Square Kilometre Array will be a revolutionary instrument for the study of gas in the distant Universe. SKA1 will be among the first facilities with sufficient sensitivity to detect and image atomic 21 cm HI in individual galaxies at significant cosmological distances, complementing on- going ALMA imaging of redshifted high- J CO line emission and far-infrared interstellar medium lines such as [CII] 157.7 m m. At frequencies below 50 GHz, observations of redshifted emission from low- J transitions of CO, HCN, HCO + , HNC, H 2 O and CS provide insight into the kinemat- ics and mass budget of the cold, dense star-forming gas in galaxies. In advance of ALMA band 1 deployment (35 to 52 GHz), the most sensitive facility for high-redshift studies of molecular gas operating below 50 GHz is the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA). Here, we present an overview of the role that the SKA could play in molecular emission line studies during SKA1 and SKA2, with an emphasis on studies of the dense gas tracers directly probing regions of active star-formation.