Cold atomic gas identified by HI self-absorption. Cold atomic clouds toward giant molecular filaments

TL;DR

This study uses high-resolution data and a new detection routine to identify cold atomic hydrogen in giant molecular filaments, revealing its spatial correlation with molecular gas and its physical properties relevant to star formation.

Contribution

It introduces astroSABER, a novel method for detecting HI self-absorption, and applies it to analyze cold atomic gas in giant molecular filaments in the Galactic plane.

Findings

Cold atomic gas correlates spatially with molecular gas in filaments.

HISA column densities are about 5% of total atomic gas.

Cold atomic gas shows log-normal distribution and moderate supersonic turbulence.

Abstract

Stars form in the dense interiors of molecular clouds. The dynamics and physical properties of the atomic interstellar medium (ISM) set the conditions under which molecular clouds and eventually stars will form. It is, therefore, critical to investigate the relationship between the atomic and molecular gas phase to understand the global star formation process. Using the high angular resolution data from The HI/OH/Recombination line survey of the Milky Way (THOR), we aim to constrain the kinematic and physical properties of the cold atomic hydrogen gas phase toward the inner Galactic plane. HI self-absorption (HISA) has proven to be a viable method to detect cold atomic hydrogen clouds in the Galactic plane. With the help of a newly developed self-absorption extraction routine (astroSABER), we build upon previous case studies to identify HI self-absorption toward a sample of Giant Molecular Filaments (GMFs). We find the cold atomic gas to be spatially correlated with the molecular gas on a global scale. The column densities of the cold atomic gas traced by HISA are usually of the order of $10^{20}\rm\,cm^{-2}$ whereas those of molecular hydrogen traced by $\rm^{13}CO$ are at least an order of magnitude higher. The HISA column densities are attributed to a cold gas component that accounts for a fraction of $\sim$5% of the total atomic gas budget within the clouds. The HISA column density distributions show pronounced log-normal shapes that are broader than those traced by HI emission. The cold atomic gas is found to be moderately supersonic with Mach numbers of a $\sim$few. In contrast, highly supersonic dynamics drive the molecular gas within most filaments.