Abstract

Contributed Talk - Splinter StarFormation

THOR-GC: Characterizing the interstellar medium towards the Galactic Center

Michael Rugel
DZA/NRAO

What are the dynamics, properties and star formation in the innermost regions of our Galaxy? How do molecular clouds form out of the atomic gas across our Galaxy? I will discuss new HI observations tracing atomic gas in and around molecular clouds: With the THOR-GC survey - an expansion of The OH, HI, Recombination Line survey (THOR) - we observed the Galactic center and its surroundings in HI, four OH, 12 radio recombination lines as well as the L-band continuum between 1-2 GHz in full polarization, to study the interstellar medium (ISM) in the extreme conditions of the Galactic Center. The new data provide maps of atomic hydrogen at high angular resolution closer to existing Galactic plane surveys of molecular gas and dust continuum tracers, allowing us to properly characterize the transition between phases of the ISM with observations of HI emission and self-absorption. I will present an overview of THOR-GC and first results, as well as outlooks for future projects.