Gas Phase Distribution in the Neutral ISM: A Comparison between Observation and Numerical Simulation

TL;DR

This study compares observational Hi 21-cm data with numerical simulations to analyze the phase distribution of the neutral interstellar medium, confirming the presence of cold, warm, and unstable phases.

Contribution

It provides empirical phase fractions of the neutral ISM and validates simulation results with observational data, highlighting the importance of turbulence in phase distribution.

Findings

19.8% of gas in CNM phase

32.5% of gas in UNM phase

47.8% of gas in WNM phase

Abstract

The neutral hydrogen (Hi) 21-cm line serves as a powerful tracer of the neutral interstellar medium (ISM). Thermal stability analysis suggests that the neutral ISM is bistable in nature, consisting of the cold neutral medium (CNM) embedded within the warm neutral medium (WNM), both in approximate thermal pressure equilibrium. When turbulence is incorporated into the numerical simulations, a third thermally unstable medium (UNM) emerges between the CNM and the WNM. Although observational studies support the existence of this intermediate phase, a clear empirical correlation between the fraction of the UNM gas and the strength of the turbulence remains elusive. In this study, we investigate the various phases of neutral ISM using Hi 21-cm emission-absorption spectra from the publicly available GWA and LAB surveys and compare it with TIGRESS-NCR and TIGRESS-CLASSIC numerical simulations. From our observational modeling, we find that 19.8% of the gas reside in the CNM phase, 32.5% in the UNM phase, and 47.8% in the WNM phase, assuming phase boundaries defined by spin temperature: T_s < 250 K for the CNM, 250 K < T_s < 5000 K for the UNM, and T_s > 5000 K for the WNM. These results are entirely in agreement with the TIGRESS-NCR numerical simulation. We further expect that deep, sensitive absorption studies with the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) or the Next Generation Very Large Array (ngVLA) or existing Upgraded Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (uGMRT) capable of robustly detecting WNM clouds in absorption will place more tighter observational constraints on the fraction of the gas in three different phases of the neutral ISM.