Probing the conditions for the atomic-to-molecular transition in the interstellar medium

Gyueun Park*, Min-Young Lee, Shmuel Bialy, Blakesley Burkhart, Joanne Dawson, Carl Heiles, Di Li, Claire Murray, Hiep Nguyen, Anita Petzler, Snežana Stanimirović

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference proceeding contributionpeer-review

Abstract

We examine the physical conditions required for the formation of H2 in the solar neighborhood by comparing Hi emission and absorption spectra toward 58 lines of sight at b<−5 to CO(1–0) and dust data. Our analysis of CO-associated cold and warm neutral medium (CNM and WNM) shows that the formation of CO-traced molecular gas is favored in regions with high column densities where the CNM becomes colder and more abundant. In addition, our comparison to the one-dimensional steady-state Hi-to-H2 transition model of Bialy et al. (2016) suggests that only a small fraction of the clumpy CNM participates in the formation of CO-traced molecular gas. Another possible interpretation would be that missing physical and chemical processes in the model could play an important role in H2 formation.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationResolving the rise and fall of star formation in galaxies
Subtitle of host publicationProceedings of the 373rd Symposium of the International Astronomical Union held in Busan, Republic of Korea, 9–11 August, 2022
EditorsTony Wong, Woong-Tae Kim
Place of PublicationBusan
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP)
Pages81-86
Number of pages6
ISBN (Print)9781009352956
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2023
Event373rd Symposium of the International Astronomical Union - Busan, Korea, Republic of
Duration: 9 Aug 202211 Aug 2022

Publication series

NameProceedings of the International Astronomical Union
NumberS373
Volume17
ISSN (Print)1743-9213
ISSN (Electronic)1743-9221

Conference

Conference373rd Symposium of the International Astronomical Union
Country/TerritoryKorea, Republic of
CityBusan
Period9/08/2211/08/22

Keywords

  • dust, extinction
  • ISM: atoms
  • ISM: clouds
  • ISM: molecules
  • ISM: structure
  • radio lines: ISM

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