HI Surface Research Articles

A search for correlations between turbulence and star formation in LITTLE THINGS and THINGS galaxies

Abstract Azimuthal variations in HI velocity dispersion do not correlate with variations in the star formation rate per unit area, SFR/A, suggesting that local star formation does not increase HI turbulence significantly. These variations are determined for each pixel in HI and FUV maps of THINGS and LITTLE THINGS galaxies by subtracting the average radial profiles from the measured quantities. The kinetic energy density and HI surface density increase slightly with SFR/A, suggesting that feedback goes into pushing the local dense gas around without increasing the velocity dispersion. We suggest that star formation feedback does not promote large-scale stability against gravitational forces through turbulence regulation, and that gravitational energy from recurrent instabilities drives turbulence on galactic scales.

A Catalog of Holes and Shells in the Interstellar Medium of the LITTLE THINGS Dwarf Galaxies

Abstract We present a catalog of holes and shells in the neutral atomic hydrogen (H i) of 41 gas-rich dwarf galaxies in LITTLE THINGS (Local Irregulars That Trace Luminosity Extremes, The H i Nearby Galaxy Survey). We analyzed their properties as part of an investigation into the relation between star formation and structures and kinematics in the H i of small galaxies. We confirmed 306 holes between 38 pc (our resolution limit) and 2.3 kpc, with expansion velocities up to 30 km s−1. The global star formation rates (SFRs) measured by Hα and far-UV (FUV) emission are consistent with those estimated from the energy required to create the cataloged holes in our sample. Although we found no obvious correlation between global SFRs and the H i surface and volume porosities of our sample, two of the four galaxies with the lowest porosity and the two galaxies with the highest porosity have no recent star formation as measured by Hα and FUV emission.

GASP – XVII. H i imaging of the jellyfish galaxy JO206: gas stripping and enhanced star formation

We present VLA HI observations of JO206, a prototypical ram-pressure stripped galaxy in the GASP sample. This massive galaxy (M$_{\ast} =$ 8.5 $\times$ 10$^{10}$ M$_{\odot}$) is located at a redshift of $z =$ 0.0513, near the centre of the low-mass galaxy cluster, IIZw108 ($\sigma \sim575$ km/s). JO206 is characterised by a long tail ($\geq$90 kpc) of ionised gas stripped away by ram-pressure. We find a similarly long HI tail in the same direction as the ionised gas tail and measure a total HI mass of $3.2 \times 10^{9}$ M$_{\odot}$. This is about half the expected HI mass given the stellar mass and surface density of JO206. A total of $1.8 \times 10^{9}$ M$_{\odot}$ (60%) of the detected HI is in the gas stripped tail. An analysis of the star formation rate shows that the galaxy is forming more stars compared to galaxies with the same stellar and HI mass. On average we find a HI gas depletion time of $\sim$0.5 Gyr which is about four times shorter than that of "normal" spiral galaxies. We performed a spatially resolved analysis of the relation between star formation rate density and gas density in the disc and tail of the galaxy at the resolution of our HI data. The star formation efficiency of the disc is about 10 times higher than that of the tail at fixed HI surface densities. Both the inner and outer parts of JO206 show an enhanced star formation compared to regions of similar HI surface density in field galaxies. The enhanced star formation is due to ram-pressure stripping during the galaxy's first infall into the cluster.

Dust emission profiles of DustPedia galaxies

Most radiative transfer models assume that dust in spiral galaxies is distributed exponentially. In this paper our goal is to verify this assumption by analysing the two-dimensional large-scale distribution of dust in galaxies from the DustPedia sample. For this purpose, we have made use of Herschel imaging in five bands, from 100 to 500 μm, in which the cold dust constituent is primarily traced and makes up the bulk of the dust mass in spiral galaxies. For a subsample of 320 disc galaxies, we successfully performed a simultaneous fitting with a single Sérsic model of the Herschel images in all five bands using the multi-band modelling code GALFITM. We report that the Sérsic index n, which characterises the shape of the Sérsic profile, lies systematically below 1 in all Herschel bands and is almost constant with wavelength. The average value at 250 μm is 0.67 ± 0.37 (187 galaxies are fitted with n250 ≤ 0.75, 87 galaxies have 0.75 < n250 ≤ 1.25, and 46 – with n250 > 1.25). Most observed profiles exhibit a depletion in the inner region (at r < 0.3−0.4 of the optical radius r25) and are more or less exponential in the outer part. We also find breaks in the dust emission profiles at longer distances (0.5−0.6) r25 which are associated with the breaks in the optical and near-infrared. We assumed that the observed deficit of dust emission in the inner galaxy region is related to the depression in the radial profile of the HI surface density in the same region because the atomic gas reaches high enough surface densities there to be transformed into molecular gas. If a galaxy has a triggered star formation in the inner region (for example, because of a strong bar instability, which transfers the gas inwards to the centre, or a pseudobulge formation), no depletion or even an excess of dust emission in the centre is observed.

A self-consistent hydrostatic mass modelling of pressure-supported dwarf galaxy Leo T

Assuming a hydrostatic equilibrium in an HI cloud, the joint Poisson's equation is set up and numerically solved to calculate the expected HI distribution. Unlike previous studies, the cloud is considered to be non-isothermal, and an {\it iterative} method is employed to iteratively estimate the intrinsic velocity dispersion profile using the observed second-moment of the HI data. We apply our {\it iterative} method to a recently discovered dwarf galaxy Leo T and find that its observed HI distribution does not comply with the expected one if one assumes no dark matter in it. To model the mass distribution in Leo T, we solve the Poisson's equation using a large number of trial dark matter halos and compare the model HI surface density ($\Sigma_{HI}$) profiles to the observed one to identify the best dark matter halo parameters. For Leo T, we find a pseudo-isothermal halo with core density, $\rho_0 \sim 0.67$ $\rm M_{\odot} \thinspace pc^{-3}$ and core radius, $r_s \sim 37$ parsec explains the observation best. The resulting dark matter halo mass within the central 300 pc, $M_{300}$, found to be $\sim 2.7 \times 10^6$ $\rm M_{\odot}$. We also find that a set of dark matter halos with similar $M_{300} \sim 3.7 \times 10^6$ $\rm M_{\odot}$ but very different $\rho_0$ and $r_s$ values, can produce equally good $\Sigma_{HI}$ profile within the observational uncertainties. This, in turn, indicates a strong degeneracy between the halo parameters and the best fit values are not unique. Interestingly, it also implies that the mass of a dark matter halo, rather than its structure primarily directs the expected HI distribution under hydrostatic equilibrium.

The relation between specific baryon angular momentum and mass for a sample of nearby low-mass galaxies with resolved H i kinematics

This paper investigates the relationship between specific baryon angular momentum $j_\mathrm{b}$ and baryon mass $M_\mathrm{b}$ for a sample of nearby late-type galaxies with resolved HI kinematics. This work roughly doubles the number of galaxies with $M_\mathrm{b} \lesssim 10^{10}$ $M_{\odot}$ used to study the $j_\mathrm{b} - M_\mathrm{b}$ relation. Most of the galaxies in the sample have their baryon mass dominated by their gas content, thereby offering $j_\mathrm{b}$ and Mb measures that are relatively unaffected by uncertainties arising from the stellar mass-to-light ratio. Measured HI surface density radial profiles together with optical and rotation curve data from the literature are used to derive a best-fit relation given by $j_\mathrm{b}=qM_\mathrm{b}^{\alpha}$, with $\alpha=0.62\pm 0.02$ and $\log_{10}q=-3.35\pm 0.25$. This result is consistent with the $j_\mathrm{b}\propto M_\mathrm{b}^{2/3}$ relation that is theoretically expected and also measured by Obreschkow & Glazebrook (2014) for their full sample of THINGS spiral galaxies, yet differs to their steeper relation found for subsets with fixed bulge fraction. The 30 arcsec spatial resolution of the HI imaging used in this study is significantly lower than that of the THINGS imaging used by Obreschkow & Glazebrook (2014), yet the results presented in this work are clearly shown to contain no significant systematic errors due to the low-resolution imaging.

The Local Volume H i Survey: star formation properties

We built a multi-wavelength dataset for galaxies from the Local Volume HI Survey (LVHIS), which comprises 82 galaxies. We also select a sub-sample of ten large galaxies for investigating properties in the galactic outskirts. The LVHIS sample covers nearly four orders of magnitude in stellar mass and two orders of magnitude in HI mass fraction (fHI). The radial distribution of HI gas with respect to the stellar disc is correlated with fHI but with a large scatter. We confirm the previously found correlations between the total HI mass and star formation rate (SFR), and between HI surface densities and SFR surface densities beyond R25. However, the former correlation becomes much weaker when the average surface densities rather than total mass or rate are considered, and the latter correlation also becomes much weaker when the effect of stellar mass is removed or controlled. Hence the link between SFR and HI is intrinsically weak in these regions, consistent with what was found on kpc scales in the galactic inner regions. We find a strong correlation between the SFR surface density and the stellar mass surface density, which is consistent with the star formation models where the gas is in quasi-equilibrium with the mid-plane pressure. We find no evidence for HI warps to be linked with decreasing star forming efficiencies.

A halo model for cosmological neutral hydrogen : abundances and clustering

We extend the results of previous analyses towards constraining the abundance and clustering of post-reionization ($z \sim 0-5$) neutral hydrogen (HI) systems using a halo model framework. We work with a comprehensive HI dataset including the small-scale clustering, column density and mass function of HI galaxies at low redshifts, intensity mapping measurements at intermediate redshifts and the UV/optical observations of Damped Lyman Alpha (DLA) systems at higher redshifts. We use a Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) approach to constrain the parameters of the best-fitting models, both for the HI-halo mass relation and the HI radial density profile. We find that a radial exponential profile results in a good fit to the low-redshift HI observations, including the clustering and the column density distribution. The form of the profile is also found to match the high-redshift DLA observations, when used in combination with a three-parameter HI-halo mass relation and a redshift evolution in the HI concentration. The halo model predictions are in good agreement with the observed HI surface density profiles of low-redshift galaxies, and the general trends in the the impact parameter and covering fraction observations of high-redshift DLAs. We provide convenient tables summarizing the best-fit halo model predictions.

Mass content of UGC 6446 and UGC 7524 through H i rotation curves: deriving the stellar discs from stellar population synthesis models

In this work we study the mass distribution of two irregular galaxies, UGC 6446 and UGC 7524, by means of HI rotation curves derived from high resolution HI velocity fields obtained through the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope data archive. We constrain the stellar and gas content of both galaxies with stellar population synthesis models and by deriving the HI+He+metals rotation curves from the total HI surface density maps, respectively. The discrepancy between the circular velocity maxima of the stellar plus the HI+He+metals rotation curves and the observed HI rotation curves of both galaxies requires the inclusion of a substantial amount of dark matter. We explore the Navarro Frenk and White, Burkert, Di Cintio, Einasto and Stadel dark matter halo models. We obtain acceptable fits to the observed HI rotation curves of UGC 6446 and UGC 7524 with the cored Burkert, Einasto and Stadel dark matter halos. In particular, Einasto and Stadel models prove to be an appropriate alternative to the Burkert dark matter halo. This result should increase the empirical basis that justify the usage of dark matter exponential models to adjust the observed rotation curves of real galaxies.

Neutral atomic hydrogen observation of low redshift galaxies

We review recent studies on the atomic hydrogen gas (HI) in galaxies at low redshift. The topics include how HI is accreted onto galaxies, how it is distributed in galaxies and related to the other galaxy properties, how it is used to form stars, and how it is affected by environmental effects. There is no direct evidence for on-going gas accretion at low redshift, implying that gas accretion has become gentle and hard to trace compared to at the high redshift. There is strong evidence that both the cluster$\\slash$group environments and local galaxy number densities affect the HI content and further affect the star formation in galaxies, but how and when these happen still remain unclear to us. The distributions of HI in different galaxies have many common features, like the HI size-mass relation and the prevalence of HI warps. However we do not fully understand the physical drivers for these common features. At low gas column densities in galaxies, where the molecular gas is hardly detectable, HI seems to be a major regulator on star forming efficiency. Both the star forming region covering fraction and the star formation rate surface density correlate with the HI surface density. However it remains unclear how HI is turned to stars and regulated by other physical properties.We believe that the coming large HI surveys will shed light on these questions.

GMRT H i study of giant low surface brightness galaxies

We present HI observations of four giant low surface brightness (GLSB) galaxies UGC 1378, UGC 1922, UGC 4422 and UM 163 using the Giant Meterwave Radio Telescope (GMRT). We include HI results on UGC 2936, UGC 6614 and Malin 2 from literature. HI is detected from all the galaxies and the extent is roughly twice the optical size; in UM 163, HI is detected along a broken disk encircling the optical galaxy. We combine our results with those in literature to further understand these systems. The main results are the following: (1) The peak HI surface densities in GLSB galaxies are several times 10^21 cm^{-2} . The HI mass is between 0.3 - 4 x 10^10 M_Sun/yr, dynamical mass ranges from a few times 10^11 M_Sun/yr to a few times 10^12 M_Sun/yr. (2) The rotation curves of GLSB galaxies are flat to the outermost measured point with rotation velocities of the seven GLSB galaxies being between 225 and 432 km s^{-1}. (3) Recent star formation traced by near-ultraviolet emission in five GLSB galaxies in our sample appears to be located in rings around the galaxy centre. We suggest that this could be due to a stochastic burst of star formation at one location in the galaxy being propagated along a ring over a rotation period. (4) The Hi is correlated with recent star formation in five of the seven GLSB galaxies.

Under pressure: quenching star formation in low-mass satellite galaxies via stripping

Recent studies of galaxies in the local Universe, including those in the Local Group, find that the efficiency of environmental (or satellite) quenching increases dramatically at satellite stellar masses below ~ $10^8\ {\rm M}_{\odot}$. This suggests a physical scale where quenching transitions from a slow "starvation" mode to a rapid "stripping" mode at low masses. We investigate the plausibility of this scenario using observed HI surface density profiles for a sample of 66 nearby galaxies as inputs to analytic calculations of ram-pressure and viscous stripping. Across a broad range of host properties, we find that stripping becomes increasingly effective at $M_{*} < 10^{8-9}\ {\rm M}_{\odot}$, reproducing the critical mass scale observed. However, for canonical values of the circumgalactic medium density ($n_{\rm halo} < 10^{-3.5}$ ${\rm cm}^{-3}$), we find that stripping is not fully effective; infalling satellites are, on average, stripped of < 40 - 70% of their cold gas reservoir, which is insufficient to match observations. By including a host halo gas distribution that is clumpy and therefore contains regions of higher density, we are able to reproduce the observed HI gas fractions (and thus the high quenched fraction and short quenching timescale) of Local Group satellites, suggesting that a host halo with clumpy gas may be crucial for quenching low-mass systems in Local Group-like (and more massive) host halos.

PREDICTED SIZES OF PRESSURE-SUPPORTED HI CLOUDS IN THE OUTSKIRTS OF THE VIRGO CLUSTER

ABSTRACT Using data from the ALFALFA AGES Arecibo HI survey of galaxies and the Virgo cluster X-ray pressure profiles from XMM-Newton, we investigate the possibility that starless dark HI clumps, also known as “dark galaxies,” are supported by external pressure in the surrounding intercluster medium. We find that the starless HI clump masses, velocity dispersions, and positions allow these clumps to be in pressure equilibrium with the X-ray gas near the virial radius of the Virgo cluster. We predict the sizes of these clumps to range from 1 to 10 kpc, in agreement with the range of sizes found for spatially resolved HI starless clumps outside of Virgo. Based on the predicted HI surface density of the Virgo sources, as well as a sample of other similar resolved ALFALFA HI dark clumps with follow-up optical/radio observations, we predict that most of the HI dark clumps are on the cusp of forming stars. These HI sources therefore mark the transition between starless HI clouds and dwarf galaxies with stars.

New lessons from the H i size–mass relation of galaxies

We revisit the HI size-mass (D$_{\rm HI}$-M$_{\rm HI}$) relation of galaxies with a sample of more than 500 nearby galaxies covering over five orders of magnitude in HI mass and more than ten $B$-band magnitudes. The relation is remarkably tight with a scatter $\sigma \sim$0.06 dex, or 14%. The scatter does not change as a function of galaxy luminosity, HI richness or morphological type. The relation is linked to the fact that dwarf and spiral galaxies have a homogenous radial profile of HI surface density in the outer regions when the radius is normalised by D$_{\rm HI}$. The early-type disk galaxies typically have shallower HI radial profiles, indicating a different gas accretion history. We argue that the process of atomic-to-molecular gas conversion or star formation cannot explain the tightness of the D$_{\rm HI}$-M$_{\rm HI}$ relation. This simple relation puts strong constraints on simulation models for galaxy formation.

Characterizing uniform star formation efficiencies with marginally stable galactic discs

We examine the HI-based star formation efficiency (SFE_HI), the ratio of star formation rate to the atomic Hydrogen (HI) mass, in the context of a constant stability star-forming disk model. Our observations of HI-selected galaxies show SFE to be fairly constant (log SFE_HI = -9.65 yr-1 with a dispersion of 0.3 dex) across ~5 orders of magnitude in stellar masses. We present a model to account for this result, whose main principle is that the gas within galaxies forms a uniform stability disk and that stars form within the molecular gas in this disk. We test two versions of the model differing in the prescription that determines the molecular gas fraction, based on either the hydrostatic pressure, or the stellar surface density of the disk. For high-mass galaxies such as the Milky Way, we find that either prescription predicts SFE_HI similar to the observations. However, the hydrostatic pressure prescription is a more accurate SFE_HI predictor for low-mass galaxies. Our model is the first model that links the uniform SFE_HI observed in galaxies at low redshifts to star-forming disks with constant marginal stability. While the rotational amplitude Vmax is the primary driver of disk structure in our model, we find the specific angular momentum of the galaxy may play a role in explaining a weak correlation between SFE_HI and effective surface brightness of the disk.

The WSRT ZoA Perseus-Pisces filament wide-field H i imaging survey – I. H i catalogue and atlas

We present results of a blind 21cm HI-line imaging survey of a galaxy overdensity located behind the Milky Way at $\ell,b$ $\approx$ 160 deg, 0.5 deg. The overdensity corresponds to a Zone-of-Avoidance crossing of the Perseus-Pisces Supercluster filament. Although it is known that this filament contains an X-ray galaxy cluster (3C129) hosting two strong radio galaxies, little is known about galaxies associated with this potentially rich cluster because of the high Galactic dust extinction. We mapped a sky area of $\sim$9.6 sq.deg using the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope in a hexagonal mosaic of 35 pointings observed for 12 hours each, in the radial velocity range $cz = 2400 - 16600$ km/s. The survey has a sensitivity of 0.36 mJy/beam rms at a velocity resolution of 16.5 km/s. We detected 211 galaxies, 62% of which have a near-infrared counterpart in the UKIDSS Galactic Plane Survey. We present a catalogue of the HI properties and an HI atlas containing total intensity maps, position-velocity diagrams, global HI profiles and UKIDSS counterpart images. For the resolved galaxies we also present HI velocity fields and radial HI surface density profiles. A brief analysis of the structures outlined by these galaxies finds that 87 of them lie at the distance of the Perseus-Pisces Supercluster ($cz \sim 4000 - 8000$ km/s) and seem to form part of the 3C129 cluster. Further 72 detections trace an overdensity at a velocity of $cz \approx$ 10000 km/s and seem to coincide with a structure predicted from mass density reconstructions in the first 2MASS Redshift Survey.

The void galaxy survey: Star formation properties

We study the star formation properties of 59 void galaxies as part of the Void Galaxy Survey (VGS). Current star formation rates are derived from $\rm{H\alpha}$ and recent star formation rates from near-UV imaging. In addition, infrared 3.4 $\rm{\mu m}$, 4.6 $\rm{\mu m}$, 12 $\rm{\mu m}$ and 22 $\rm{\mu m}$ WISE emission is used as star formation and mass indicator. Infrared and optical colours show that the VGS sample displays a wide range of dust and metallicity properties. We combine these measurements with stellar and HI masses to measure the specific SFRs ($\rm{SFR/M_{*}}$) and star formation efficiencies ($\rm{SFR/M_{HI}}$). We compare the star formation properties of our sample with galaxies in the more moderate density regions of the cosmic web, 'the field'. We find that specific SFRs of the VGS galaxies as a function of stellar and HI mass are similar to those of the galaxies in these field regions. Their $\rm{SFR\alpha}$ is slightly elevated than the galaxies in the field for a given total HI mass. In the global star formation picture presented by Kennicutt-Schmidt, VGS galaxies fall into the regime of low average star formation and correspondingly low HI surface density. Their mean $\rm{SFR\alpha/M_{HI}}$ and $\rm{SFR\alpha/M_{*}}$ are of the order of $\rm{10^{-9.9}}$ $\rm{yr^{-1}}$. We conclude that while the large scale underdense environment must play some role in galaxy formation and growth through accretion, we find that even with respect to other galaxies in the more mildly underdense regions, the increase in star formation rate is only marginal.

The DiskMass Survey

We present results from 21 cm radio synthesis imaging of 28 spiral galaxies from the DiskMass Survey obtained with the VLA, WSRT, and GMRT facilities. We detail the observations and data reduction procedures and present a brief analysis of the radio data. We construct 21 cm continuum images, global HI emission-line profiles, column-density maps, velocity fields, and position-velocity diagrams. From these we determine star formation rates (SFRs), HI line widths, total HI masses, rotation curves, and azimuthally-averaged radial HI column-density profiles. All galaxies have an HI disk that extends beyond the readily observable stellar disk, with an average ratio and scatter of R_{HI}/R_{25}=1.35+/-0.22, and a majority of the galaxies appear to have a warped HI disk. A tight correlation exists between total HI mass and HI diameter, with the largest disks having a slightly lower average column density. Galaxies with relatively large HI disks tend to exhibit an enhanced stellar velocity dispersion at larger radii, suggesting the influence of the gas disk on the stellar dynamics in the outer regions of disk galaxies. We find a striking similarity among the radial HI surface density profiles, where the average, normalized radial profile of the late-type spirals is described surprisingly well with a Gaussian profile. These results can be used to estimate HI surface density profiles in galaxies that only have a total HI flux measurement. We compare our 21 cm radio continuum luminosities with 60 micron luminosities from IRAS observations for a subsample of 15 galaxies and find that these follow a tight radio-infrared relation, with a hint of a deviation from this relation at low luminosities. We also find a strong correlation between the average SFR surface density and the K-band surface brightness of the stellar disk.

The distribution of atomic hydrogen in eagle galaxies: morphologies, profiles, and H i holes

We compare the mass and internal distribution of atomic hydrogen (HI) in 2200 present-day central galaxies with M_star > 10^10 M_Sun from the 100 Mpc EAGLE Reference simulation to observational data. Atomic hydrogen fractions are corrected for self-shielding using a fitting formula from radiative transfer simulations and for the presence of molecular hydrogen using an empirical or a theoretical prescription from the literature. The resulting neutral hydrogen fractions, M_(HI+H2)/M_star, agree with observations to better than 0.1 dex for galaxies with M_star between 10^10 and 10^11 M_Sun. Our fiducial, empirical H2 model based on gas pressure results in galactic HI mass fractions, M_HI/M_star, that agree with observations from the GASS survey to better than 0.3 dex, but the alternative theoretical H2 formula leads to a negative offset in M_HI/M_star of up to 0.5 dex. Visual inspection reveals that most HI disks in simulated HI-rich galaxies are vertically disturbed, plausibly due to recent accretion events. Many galaxies (up to 80 per cent) contain spuriously large HI holes, which are likely formed as a consequence of the feedback implementation in EAGLE. The HI mass-size relation of all simulated galaxies is close to (but 16 per cent steeper than) observed, and when only galaxies without large holes in the HI disc are considered, the agreement becomes excellent (better than 0.1 dex). The presence of large HI holes also makes the radial HI surface density profiles somewhat too low in the centre, at \Sigma_HI > 1 M_Sun pc^-2 (by a factor of <~ 2 compared to data from the Bluedisk survey). In the outer region (\Sigma_HI < 1 M_Sun pc^-2), the simulated profiles agree quantitatively with observations. Scaled by HI size, the simulated profiles of HI-rich (M_HI > 10^9.8 M_Sun) and control galaxies (10^9.1 M_Sun > M_HI > 10^9.8 M_Sun) follow each other closely, as observed. (Abridged)

COLD AND WARM ATOMIC GAS AROUND THE PERSEUS MOLECULAR CLOUD. II. THE IMPACT OF HIGH OPTICAL DEPTH ON THE HI COLUMN DENSITY DISTRIBUTION AND ITS IMPLICATION FOR THE HI-TO-H2TRANSITION

We investigate the impact of high optical depth on the HI saturation observed in the Perseus molecular cloud by using Arecibo HI emission and absorption measurements toward 26 radio continuum sources. The spin temperature and optical depth of individual HI components are derived along each line-of-sight, enabling us to estimate the correction for high optical depth. We examine two different methods for the correction, Gaussian decomposition and isothermal methods, and find that they are consistent (maximum correction factor ~ 1.2) likely due to the relatively low optical depth and insignificant contribution from the diffuse radio continuum emission for Perseus. We apply the correction to the optically thin HI column density on a pixel-by-pixel basis, and find that the total HI mass increases by ~10%. Using the corrected HI column density image and far-infrared data from the IRIS Survey, we then derive the H2 column density on ~0.4 pc scales. For five dark and star-forming sub-regions, the HI surface density is uniform with Sigma_HI ~ 7-9 solar mass/pc2, in agreement with the minimum HI surface density required for shielding H2 against photodissociation. As a result, Sigma_H2/Sigma_HI and Sigma_HI+Sigma_H2 show a tight relation. Our results are consistent with predictions for H2 formation in steady state and chemical equilibrium, and suggest that H2 formation is mainly responsible for the Sigma_HI saturation in Perseus. We also compare the optically thick HI with the observed "CO-dark" gas, and find that the optically thick HI only accounts for ~20% of the "CO-dark" gas in Perseus.