Cold HI Research Articles

The Formation of Milky Way “Bones”: Ubiquitous HI Narrow Self-absorption Associated with CO Emission

Long and skinny molecular filaments running along Galactic spiral arms are known as “bones,” since they make up the skeleton of the Milky Way. However, their origin is still an open question. Here, we compare spectral images of HI taken by the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST) with archival CO and Herschel dust emission to investigate the conversion from HI to H2 in two typical Galactic bones, CFG028.68-0.28 and CFG047.06+0.26. Sensitive FAST HI images and an improved methodology enabled us to extract HI narrow self-absorption (HINSA) features associated with CO line emission on and off the filaments, revealing the ubiquity of HINSA toward distant clouds for the first time. The derived cold HI abundances, [HI]/[H2], of the two bones range from ∼(0.5 to 44.7) × 10−3, which reveal different degrees of HI–H2 conversion, and are similar to those of nearby, low-mass star-forming clouds, Planck Galactic cold clumps, and a nearby active high-mass star-forming region G176.51+00.20. The HI–H2 conversion has been ongoing for 2.2–13.2 Myr in the bones, a timescale comparable to that of massive star formation therein. Therefore, we are witnessing young giant molecular clouds (GMCs) with rapid massive star formation. Our study paves the way of using HINSA to study cloud formation in Galactic bones and, more generally, in distant GMCs in the FAST era.

Observations of decameter carbon radio recombination lines in several galactic directions. Part 1. Experimental study

Subject and Purpose. Since decameter carbon radio recombination lines (RRLs) were detected for the first time more than forty years ago, they have significantly extended our knowledge of the physics, kinematics and chemistry of the cold rarefied interstellar medium (ISM). A large number of these lines have been observed towards various Galactic radio sources. The present paper describes our studies of decameter carbon RRLs in such Galactic directions as the sight-lines to the S140 emission nebula and to the large volume of cold neutral hydrogen known as the GSH 139-03-69 super shell. Methods and Methodology. Observations within a 1-MHz frequency band centered at 26 MHz were performed using the UTR-2 radio telescope and a multi-channel digital correlator. The UTR-2 is still the world largest and the most sensitive low-frequency radio telescope. Results.We report the detection of decameter carbon RRL series C627α – C637α from the medium lying towards the S140 nebula. The extents of RRL forming regions have been estimated. It is suggested that RRLs in the S140 direction are formed in the local ISM lying along the line of sight. The RRL-forming region is probably associated with omnipresent diffuse neutral HI gas in the Galactic plane rather than with S140 nebula itself. Toward the GSH 139-03-69 super shell, decameter RRLs have been detected as well. Likewise, they apparently originate from the local medium lying along the sight-line. Yet, the spectrum contains a RRL component corresponding to the absorption of the cold gas of the GSH 139-03-69 itself in the ISM. Conclusions. The obtained results indicate great possibilities of decameter carbon RRLs not only for cold ISM probing but also for making a good auxiliary tool for studying large complexes of extremely cold hydrogen HI in the Galaxy.

The multiphase and magnetized neutral hydrogen seen by LOFAR

Faraday tomography of polarimetric observations at low frequency in the radio is a unique tool for studying the structure of the magneto-ionic diffuse interstellar medium (ISM) based on Faraday depth. LOFAR data below 200 MHz have revealed a plethora of features in polarization, whose origin remains unknown. Previous studies have highlighted the remarkable association of such features with tracers of the magnetized-neutral ISM, such as interstellar dust and atomic hydrogen (HI). However, the physical conditions responsible for the correlation between magneto-ionic and neutral media have not been clarified yet. In this Letter we further investigate the correlation between LOFAR data and the HI spectroscopic observations at 21 cm from the Effelsberg-Bonn HI Survey (EBHIS). We focus on the multiphase properties of the HI gas. We present the first statistical study on the morphological correlation between LOFAR tomographic data and the cold (CNM), lukewarm (LNM), and warm (WNM) neutral medium HI phases. We use the Regularized Optimization for Hyper-Spectral Analysis approach to decompose the HI phases based on a Gaussian decomposition of the HI spectra. We study four fields of view – Fields 3C196, A, B, and C – and find, in at least the first two, a significant correlation between the LOFAR and EBHIS data using the histograms of oriented gradients (HOG) feature. The absence of a correlation in Fields B and C is caused by a low signal-to-noise ratio in polarization. The observed HOG correlation in Fields 3C196 and A is associated with all HI phases and it is surprisingly dominant in the CNM and LNM phases. We discuss possible mechanisms that would explain the correlation between CNM, LNM, and WNM with polarized emission at Faraday depths up to 10 rad m−2. Our results show how the complex structure of the ionic medium seen by the LOFAR tomographic data is tightly related to phase transition in the diffuse and magnetized neutral ISM traced by HI spectroscopic data.

Evidence of Interacting Elongated Filaments in the Star-forming Site AFGL 5142

To probe the ongoing physical mechanism, we studied a wide-scale environment around AFGL 5142 (area ~25 pc x 20 pc) using a multi-wavelength approach. The Herschel column density (N(H_2)) map reveals a massive inverted Y-like structure (mass ~6280 M_sun), which hosts a pair of elongated filaments (lengths >10 pc). The Herschel temperature map depicts the filaments in a temperature range of ~12.5-13.5 K. These elongated filaments overlap each other at several places, where N(H_2) > 4.5 x 10^{21}cm^{-2}. The 12CO and 13CO line data also show two elongated cloud components (around -1.5 and -4.5 km/s) toward the inverted Y-like structure, which are connected in the velocity space. First moment maps of CO confirm the presence of two intertwined filamentary clouds along the line of sight. These results explain the morphology of the inverted Y-like structure through a combination of two different filamentary clouds, which are also supported by the distribution of the cold HI gas. Based on the distribution of young stellar objects (YSOs), star formation (SF) activities are investigated toward the inverted Y-like structure. The northern end of the structure hosts AFGL 5142 and tracers of massive SF, where high surface density of YSOs (i.e., 5-240 YSOs/pc^2) reveals strong SF activity. Furthermore, noticeable YSOs are found toward the overlapping zones of the clouds. All these observational evidences support a scenario of collision/interaction of two elongated filamentary clouds/flows, which appears to explain SF history in the site AFGL 5142.

UGMRT detections of H i 21-cm absorption associated with intermediate redshift galaxies

I report detections of four new HI 21-cm absorbers associated with sources at intermediate redshifts, 0.7 < z < 1.0. The sources are part of a sample of 11 radio-loud galaxies, all at 0.7 < z < 1.0, that were searched for associated HI 21-cm absorption using uGMRT. Previously, just four such absorbers were known in the literature at these redshifts; the current observations have increased the total to eight. The results indicate that the detection fraction at intermediate redshifts could be as high as that at lower redshifts, 30\%, on contrary to a much lower detection fraction observed in samples at z > 1. Three detections show strong blueshifted features, indicating cold gas outflows. These three sources also tentatively show excess [O II] line luminosity compared to a bulk of the remaining sample, possibly suggesting that the hosts of these AGNs harbour different environments, either due to interaction with the radio jets or due to excess star formation in the host galaxy. Further, a cold HI mass outflow rate of \approx 78 M_{sun} yr^{-1} , assuming T_s = 1000 K, is estimated for the detection towards SDSS J014652.79-015721.2, at z = 0.95904, which is the highest till date in comparison to similar estimates available in the literature.

H i anisotropies associated with radio-polarimetric filaments

LOFAR detected toward 3C 196 linear polarization structures which were found subsequently to be closely correlated with cold filamentary HI structures. The derived direction-dependent HI power spectra revealed marked anisotropies for narrow ranges in velocity, sharing the orientation of the magnetic field as expected for magneto hydrodynamical turbulence. Using the Galactic portion of the Effelsberg-Bonn HI Survey we continue our study of such anisotropies in the HI distribution in direction of two WSRT fields, Horologium and Auriga; both are well known for their prominent radio-polarimetric depolarization canals. At 349 MHz the observed pattern in total intensity is insignificant but polarized intensity and polarization angle show prominent ubiquitous structures with so far unknown origin. Apodizing the HI survey data by applying a rotational symmetric 50 percent Tukey window, we derive average and position angle dependent power spectra. We fit power laws and characterize anisotropies in the power distribution. We use a Gaussian analysis to determine relative abundances for the cold and warm neutral medium. For the analyzed radio-polarimetric targets significant anisotropies are detected in the HI power spectra; their position angles are aligned to the prominent depolarization canals, initially detected by WSRT. HI anisotropies are associated with steep power spectra. Steep power spectra, associated with cold gas, are detected also in other fields. Radio-polarimetric depolarization canals are associated with filamentary HI structures that belong to the cold neutral medium (CNM). Anisotropies in the CNM are in this case linked to a steepening of the power-spectrum spectral index, indicating that phase transitions in a turbulent medium occur on all scales. Filamentary HI structures, driven by thermal instabilities, and radio-polarimetric filaments are associated with each other.

Cold H i in faint dwarf galaxies

We present the results of a study of the amount and distribution of cold atomic gas, as well its correlation with recent star formation in a sample of extremely faint dwarf irregular galaxies. Our sample is drawn from the Faint Irregular Galaxy GMRT Survey (FIGGS) and its extension, FIGGS2. We use two different methods to identify cold atomic gas. In the first method, line-of-sight HI spectra were decomposed into multiple Gaussian components and narrow Gaussian components were identified as cold HI. In the second method, the brightness temperature (T_B) is used as a tracer of cold HI. We find that the amount of cold gas identified using the T_B method is significantly larger than the amount of gas identified using Gaussian decomposition. We also find that a large fraction of the cold gas identified using the T_B method is spatially coincident with regions of recent star formation, although the converse is not true. That is only a small fraction of the regions with recent star formation are also covered by cold gas. For regions where the star formation and the cold gas overlap, we study the relationship between the star formation rate density and the cold \HI column density. We find that the star formation rate density has a power law dependence on the HI column density, but that the slope of this power law is significantly flatter than that of the canonical Kennicutt-Schmidt relation.

THE RADIAL VARIATION OF H i VELOCITY DISPERSIONS IN DWARFS AND SPIRALS

Gas velocity dispersions provide important diagnostics of the forces counteracting gravity to prevent collapse of the gas. We use the 21 cm line of neutral atomic hydrogen (HI) to study HI velocity dispersion and HI phases as a function of galaxy morphology in 22 galaxies from The HI Nearby Galaxy Survey (THINGS). We stack individual HI velocity profiles and decompose them into broad and narrow Gaussian components. We study the HI velocity dispersion and the HI surface density, as a function of radius. For spirals, the velocity dispersions of the narrow and broad components decline with radius and their radial profiles are well described by an exponential function. For dwarfs, however, the profiles are much flatter. The single Gaussian dispersion profiles are, in general, flatter than those of the narrow and broad components. In most cases, the dispersion profiles in the outer disks do not drop as fast as the star formation profiles, derived in the literature. This indicates the importance of other energy sources in driving HI velocity dispersion in the outer disks. The radial surface density profiles of spirals and dwarfs are similar. The surface density profiles of the narrow component decline more steeply than those of the broad component, but not as steep as what was found previously for the molecular component. As a consequence, the surface density ratio between the narrow and broad components, an estimate of the mass ratio between cold HI and warm HI, tends to decrease with radius. On average, this ratio is lower in dwarfs than in spirals. This lack of a narrow, cold HI component in dwarfs may explain their low star formation activity.

Circumnuclear and infalling H i gas in a merging galaxy pair at z = 0.123

Using long-slit optical spectra obtained with the 2-m telescope at IUCAA Girawali Observatory, we show that the radio source J094221.98+062335.2 (z=0.123) is associated with a galaxy pair undergoing a major merger. Its companion is a normal star-forming galaxy infalling with a velocity of 185 km/s at a projected separation of 4.8 kpc. Using the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope (WSRT) and Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) we detect a strong HI 21-cm absorption at the systemic redshift of the radio galaxy with N(HI)~9x10^21 cm^{-2} for an assumed spin-temperature of 100 K. Such a strong HI 21-cm absorption is rare and has been seen only in a few compact radio sources associated with similar merging galaxy pairs. Milliarcsecond resolution Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) observations resolve the radio source into a compact symmetric object with the hotspot separation of 89 pc. The 21-cm absorption is detected in the VLBA spectra towards both the radio lobes albeit with a strong optical depth gradient. We show that the strong 21-cm absorption is consistent with it being arising from a clumpy circumnuclear disk/torus. We also detect two weaker absorption lines redshifted with respect to the radio source in the WSRT/GMRT spectrum. They probably represent cold (i.e. T< 10^4 K) HI gas falling into the radio source. The presence of high concentration of HI gas in the circumnuclear regions and signature of infalling cold gas allows us to conjecture that the young radio source may have been triggered by the gas infall due to the ongoing merger.

OPTICALLY THICK H I DOMINANT IN THE LOCAL INTERSTELLAR MEDIUM: AN ALTERNATIVE INTERPRETATION TO “DARK GAS”

Dark gas in the interstellar medium (ISM) is believed to not be detectable either in CO or Hi radio emission, but it is detected by other means including gamma-rays, dust emission and extinction traced outside the Galactic plane at |b|>5 degree. In these analyses, the 21-cm HI emission is usually assumed to be completely optically thin. We have reanalyzed the HI emission from the whole sky at |b|>15 degree by considering temperature stratification in the ISM inferred from the Planck/IRAS analysis of the dust properties. The results indicate that the HI emission is saturated with an optical depth ranging from 0.5 to 3 for 85% of the local HI gas. This optically thick HI is characterized by spin temperature in the range 10K-60K, significantly lower than previously postulated in the literature, whereas such low temperature is consistent with emission/absorption measurements of the cool HI toward radio continuum sources. The distribution and the column density of the HI are consistent with those of the dark gas sug- gested by gamma-rays, and it is possible that the dark gas in the Galaxy is dominated by optically thick cold HI gas. This result implies that the average density of HI is 2-2.5 times higher than that derived on the optically-thin assumption in the local ISM.

AHerschel[C II] Galactic plane survey

We study the relationship between the [CII] emission and the star formation rate (SFR) in the Galactic plane and separate the relationship of different ISM phases to the SFR. We compare these relationships to those in external galaxies and local clouds, allowing examinations of these relationships over a wide range of physical scales. We compare the distribution of the [CII] emission, with its different contributing ISM phases, as a function of Galactocentric distance with the SFR derived from radio continuum observations. We also compare the SFR with the surface density distribution of atomic and molecular gas, including the CO-dark H2 component. The [CII] and SFR are well correlated at Galactic scales with a relationship that is in general agreement with that found for external galaxies. By combining [CII] and SFR data points in the Galactic plane with those in external galaxies and nearby star forming regions, we find that a single scaling relationship between the [CII] luminosity and SFR applies over six orders of magnitude. The [CII] emission from different ISM phases are each correlated with the SFR, but only the combined emission shows a slope that is consistent with extragalactic observations. These ISM components have roughly comparable contributions to the Galactic [CII] luminosity: dense PDRs (30%), cold HI (25%), CO-dark H2 (25%), and ionized gas (20%). The SFR-gas surface density relationship shows a steeper slope compared to that observed in galaxies, but one that it is consistent with those seen in nearby clouds. The different slope is a result of the use of a constant CO-to-H2 conversion factor in the extragalactic studies, which in turn is related to the assumption of constant metallicity in galaxies. We find a linear correlation between the SFR surface density and that of the dense molecular gas.

COLD AND WARM ATOMIC GAS AROUND THE PERSEUS MOLECULAR CLOUD. I. BASIC PROPERTIES

(Abridged) Using the Arecibo Observatory we have obtained neutral hydrogen (HI) absorption and emission spectral pairs in the direction of 26 background radio continuum sources in the vicinity of the Perseus molecular cloud. Strong absorption lines were detected in all cases allowing us to estimate spin temperature (T_s) and optical depth for 107 individual Gaussian components along these lines of sight. Basic properties of individual HI clouds (spin temperature, optical depth, and the column density of the cold and warm neutral medium, CNM and WNM) in and around Perseus are very similar to those found for random interstellar lines of sight sampled by the Millennium HI survey. This suggests that the neutral gas found in and around molecular clouds is not atypical. However, lines of sight in the vicinity of Perseus have on average a higher total HI column density and the CNM fraction, suggesting an enhanced amount of cold HI relative to an average interstellar field. Our estimated optical depth and spin temperature are in stark contrast with the recent attempt at using Planck data to estimate properties of the optically thick HI. Only ~15% of lines of sight in our study have a column density weighted average spin temperature lower than 50 K, in comparison with >85% of Planck's sky coverage. The observed CNM fraction is inversely proportional to the optical-depth weighted average spin temperature, in excellent agreement with the recent numerical simulations by Kim et al. While the CNM fraction is on average higher around Perseus relative to a random interstellar field, it is generally low, 10-50%. This suggests that extended WNM envelopes around molecular clouds, and/or significant mixing of CNM and WNM throughout molecular clouds, are present and should be considered in the models of molecule and star formation.

ALFALFA DISCOVERY OF THE NEARBY GAS-RICH DWARF GALAXY LEO P. V. NEUTRAL GAS DYNAMICS AND KINEMATICS

We present new HI spectral line imaging of the extremely metal-poor, star-forming dwarf irregular galaxy Leo P. Our HI images probe the global neutral gas properties and the local conditions of the interstellar medium (ISM). The HI morphology is slightly elongated along the optical major-axis. We do not find obvious signatures of interaction or infalling gas at large spatial scales. The neutral gas disk shows obvious rotation, although the velocity dispersion is comparable to the rotation velocity. The rotation amplitude is estimated to be V_c = 15 +/- 5 km/s. Within the HI radius probed by these observations, the mass ratio of gas to stars is roughly 2:1, while the ratio of the total mass to the baryonic mass is ~15:1. We use this information to place Leo P on the baryonic Tully-Fisher relation, testing the baryonic content of cosmic structures in a sparsely populated portion of parameter space that has hitherto been occupied primarily by dwarf spheroidal galaxies. We detect the signature of two temperature components in the neutral ISM of Leo P; the cold and warm components have characteristic velocity widths of 4.2 +/- 0.9 km/s and 10.1 +/- 1.2 km/s, corresponding to kinetic temperatures of ~1100 K and ~6200 K, respectively. The cold HI component is unresolved at a physical resolution of 200 pc. The highest HI surface densities are observed in close physical proximity to the single HII region. A comparison of the neutral gas properties of Leo P with other extremely metal-deficient (XMD) galaxies reveals that Leo P has the lowest neutral gas mass of any known XMD, and that the dynamical mass of Leo P is more than two orders of magnitude smaller than any known XMD with comparable metallicity.

INTERSTELLAR PROTONS IN THE TeV γ-RAY SNR HESS J1731-347: POSSIBLE EVIDENCE FOR THE COEXISTENCE OF HADRONIC AND LEPTONIC γ-RAYS

HESS J1731-347 (G353.6-0.7) is one of the TeV gamma-ray SNRs which shows the shell-like morphology. We have made a new analysis of the interstellar protons toward the SNR by using both the 12CO(J=1-0) and HI datasets. The results indicate that the TeV gamma-ray shell shows significant spatial correlation with the interstellar protons at a velocity range from -90 km/s to -75 km/s, and the distance corresponding to the velocity range is ~5.2 kpc, a factor of 2 larger than the previous figure 3 kpc. The total mass of the interstellar protons is estimated to be 6.4x10^4 M_sun, 25 % of which is atomic gas. We have identified the cold HI gas observed as self-absorption which shows significant correspondence with the northeastern gamma-ray peak. While the good correspondence between the interstellar protons and TeV gamma-rays in the north of the SNR lends support to the hadronic scenario for the TeV gamma-rays, the southern part of the shell shows a break in the correspondence; in particular, the southwestern rim of the SNR shell shows a significant decrease of the interstellar protons by a factor of 2. We argue that this discrepancy can be explained as due to leptonic gamma-rays, because this region well coincides with the bright shell which emit non-thermal radio continuum emission and non-thermal X-rays, suggesting that the gamma-rays of HESS J1713-347 consist of both the hadronic and leptonic components. The leptonic contribution then corresponds to ~20 % of the total gamma-rays. The total energy of cosmic-ray protons is estimated to be 10^49 erg for the gamma-ray energy range of 1 GeV - 100 TeV by assuming that 80 % of the total gamma-ray is of the hadronic origin.

The pros and cons of the inversion method approach to derive 3D dust emission properties in the ISM: the Hi-GAL field centred on (l, b) = (30 , 0 )

Herschel FIR continuum data obtained as part of the Hi-GAL survey have been used, together with the GLIMPSE 8 $\mu$m and MIPSGAL 24 $\mu$m data, to attempt the first 3D-decomposition of dust emission associated with atomic, molecular and ionized gas at 15 arcmin angular resolution. Our initial test case is a 2$\times$2 square degrees region centred on (l,b)=(30$^{\circ}$,0$^{\circ}$), a direction that encompasses the origin point of the Scutum-Crux Arm at the tip of the Galactic Bar. Coupling the IR maps with velocity maps specific for different gas phases (HI 21cm, $^{12}$CO and $^{13}$CO, and RRLs), we estimate the properties of dust blended with each of the gas components and at different Galactocentric distances along the LOS. A statistical Pearson's coefficients analysis is used to study the correlation between the column densities and the intensity of the IR emission. This analysis provides evidence that the 2$\times$2 square degree field under consideration is characterized by the presence of a gas component not accounted for by the standard tracers, possibly associated with warm H$_{2}$ and cold HI. We demonstrate that the IR radiation in the range 8 $\mu$m $<$ $\lambda$ $<$ 500 $\mu$m is systematically dominated by emission originating within the Scutum-Crux Arm. By applying an inversion method, we recover the dust emissivities associated with atomic, molecular and ionized gas. Using the DustEM model we obtain an indication for PAHs depletion in the diffuse ionized gas. However, the main goal of this work is to discuss the impact of the missing column density associated with the dark gas component on the accurate evaluation of the dust properties, and to shed light on the limitations of the inversion method approach when this is applied to a small section of the Galactic Plane and when the working resolution allows sufficient de-blending of the gas components along the LOS.

Narrow-line H i and cold structures in the interstellar medium

Context. In the HI line profiles in the Leiden-Argentina-Bonn (LAB) all-sky database, we have found a population of very cold HI clouds. So far, the role of these clouds in the interstellar medium (ISM) has remained unclear. Aims. In this paper, we attempt to confirm the existence of the narrow-line HI emission (NHIE) clouds by using the data from the Parkes Galactic all-sky survey (GASS) and try to find their place among other coldest constituents of the ISM. Methods. We repeat the search of NHIE with the GASS data and derive or compile some preliminary estimates for the distribution, temperatures, distances, linear sizes, column and number densities, masses, and the composition of NHIE clouds, and compare these data with corresponding estimates for HI self-absorption (HISA) features, the Planck cold clumps (CC), and infrared dark clouds (IRDC). Results. We demonstrate that from LAB and GASS we can separate comparable NHIE complexes, and the properties of the obtained NHIE clouds are very similar to those of HISA features, but both of these types of clouds are somewhat warmer and more extended and have lower densities than the cores in the Planck CC and IRDC. Conclusions. We conclude that NHIE may be the same type of clouds as HISA, but in different observing conditions, in the same way as the Planck CC and IRDC are most likely similar ISM structures in different observing conditions and probably in slightly different evolutionary stages. Both NHIE and HISA may be an intermediate phase between the diffuse cold neutral medium and star-forming molecular clumps represented by the Planck CC and IRDC.

TRACING COLD H I GAS IN NEARBY, LOW-MASS GALAXIES

We analyze line-of-sight atomic hydrogen (HI) line profiles of 31 nearby, low-mass galaxies selected from the Very Large Array - ACS Nearby Galaxy Survey Treasury (VLA-ANGST) and The HI Nearby Galaxy Survey (THINGS) to trace regions containing cold (T $\lesssim$ 1400 K) HI from observations with a uniform linear scale of 200 pc/beam. Our galaxy sample spans four orders of magnitude in total HI mass and nine magnitudes in M_B. We fit single and multiple component functions to each spectrum to isolate the cold, neutral medium given by a low dispersion (<6 km/s) component of the spectrum. Most HI spectra are adequately fit by a single Gaussian with a dispersion of 8-12 km/s. Cold HI is found in 23 of 27 (~85%) galaxies after a reduction of the sample size due to quality control cuts. The cold HI contributes ~20% of the total line-of-sight flux when found with warm HI. Spectra best fit by a single Gaussian, but dominated by cold HI emission (i.e., have velocity dispersions <6 km/s) are found primarily beyond the optical radius of the host galaxy. The cold HI is typically found in localized regions and is generally not coincident with the very highest surface density peaks of the global HI distribution (which are usually areas of recent star formation). We find a lower limit for the mass fraction of cold-to-total HI gas of only a few percent in each galaxy.

WARM GAS IN THE VIRGO CLUSTER. I. DISTRIBUTION OF Lyα ABSORBERS

The first systematic study of the warm gas (T=10^4-5 K) distribution across a galaxy cluster is presented using multiple background QSOs to the Virgo Cluster. We detect 25 Lya absorbers (N_HI = 10^13.1-15.4 cm^-2) in the Virgo velocity range toward 9 of 12 QSO sightlines observed with Cosmic Origin Spectrograph, with a cluster impact parameter range of 0.36-1.65 Mpc (0.23-1.05R_vir). Including 18 Lya absorbers previously detected by STIS or GHRS toward 7 of 11 background QSOs in and around the Virgo Cluster, we establish a sample of 43 absorbers towards a total of 23 background probes for studying the incidence of Lya absorbers in and around the Virgo Cluster. With these absorbers, we find: (1) warm gas is predominantly in the outskirts of the cluster and avoids the X-ray detected hot ICM. Also, Lya absorption strength increases with cluster impact parameter. (2) Lya absorbing warm gas traces cold HI emitting gas in the substructures of the Virgo Cluster. (3) Including the absorbers associated with the surrounding substructures, the warm gas covering fraction (100% for N_HI > 10^13.1 cm^-2) is in agreement with cosmological simulations. We speculate that the observed warm gas is part of large-scale gas flows feeding the cluster both the ICM and galaxies.

The Accretion of Fuel at the Disk-Halo Interface

We discuss the support for the cooling of gas directly at the disk-halo interface as a mechanism to continually fuel a galaxy. This may be an important reservoir as there is not enough cold gas observed in galaxy halos and simulations indicate the existing cold clouds will be rapidly destroyed as they move through the surrounding halo medium. We show possible evidence for a net infall of the WIM layer in the Milky Way, simulation results showing the recooling of warm clouds at the disk-halo interface, and GALFA HI data of small, cold HI clouds that could represent this recooling.

A search for H i 21 cm absorption in strong Mg ii absorbers in the redshift desert

We report results from a deep search for redshifted HI 21cm absorption in 55 strong MgII$\lambda$2796 absorbers (having $W (MgII) > 0.5 \AA$) at intermediate redshifts, $0.58 < z_{\rm abs} < 1.70$, with the Green Bank Telescope (GBT) and the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT). Nine detections of HI 21cm absorption were obtained, all at $1.17 < z_{\rm abs} < 1.68$, including three systems reported earlier by Gupta et al. (2007). Absorption was not detected at $> 3\sigma$ significance in 32 other MgII absorbers, with 26 of these providing strong upper limits to the HI 21cm optical depth, $\tau_{3\sigma} < 0.013$ per $\sim 10$ km/s. For the latter 26 systems, the spin temperature $T_s$ of the absorber must be $> [800 \times f]$ K (where $f$ is the covering factor), if the HI column density is $\ge 2 \times 10^{20}$ cm$^{-2}$, i.e. if the absorber is a damped Lyman-$\alpha$ system (DLA). Data on the remaining 13 systems of the sample were affected by radio frequency interference and were hence not useful. Excluding "associated" systems (within 3000 km/s of the quasar redshift), the detection rate of HI 21cm absorption in strong MgII absorbers is $x_{\rm 21,MgII} ({\bar z} = 1.1) = 25^{+11}_{-8}$%, at a $3\sigma$ optical depth sensitivity of $\sim 0.013$ per 10 km/s. Comparing the detection rates of HI 21cm and damped Lyman-$\alpha$ absorption in strong MgII absorber samples yields a detection rate of HI 21cm absorption in DLAs of $x_{\rm 21,DLA} ({\bar z} = 1.1) = (73 \pm 27)$%, consistent with the detection rate of HI 21cm absorption in low-$z$ DLAs. Since HI 21cm absorption arises in cold neutral gas, this indicates that most gas-rich galaxies contain significant fractions of cold HI by $z \sim 1$. (abridged)