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1. Looking at the Distant Universe with the MeerKAT Array: Discovery of a Luminous OH Megamaser at z > 0.5

   https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/ac63b0  

   Glowacki, Marcin; Collier, Jordan D.; Kazemi-Moridani, Amir; Frank, Bradley; Roberts, Hayley; Darling, Jeremy; Klöckner, Hans-Rainer; Adams, Nathan; Baker, Andrew J.; Bershady, Matthew; et al (May 2022, The Astrophysical Journal Letters)

   Abstract In the local universe, OH megamasers (OHMs) are detected almost exclusively in infrared-luminous galaxies, with a prevalence that increases with IR luminosity, suggesting that they trace gas-rich galaxy mergers. Given the proximity of the rest frequencies of OH and the hyperfine transition of neutral atomic hydrogen (Hi), radio surveys to probe the cosmic evolution of Hiin galaxies also offer exciting prospects for exploiting OHMs to probe the cosmic history of gas-rich mergers. Using observations for the Looking At the Distant Universe with the MeerKAT Array (LADUMA) deep Hisurvey, we report the first untargeted detection of an OHM atz> 0.5, LADUMA J033046.20−275518.1 (nicknamed “Nkalakatha”). The host system, WISEA J033046.26−275518.3, is an infrared-luminous radio galaxy whose optical redshiftz≈ 0.52 confirms the MeerKAT emission-line detection as OH at a redshiftz_OH= 0.5225 ± 0.0001 rather than Hiat lower redshift. The detected spectral line has 18.4σpeak significance, a width of 459 ± 59 km s⁻¹, and an integrated luminosity of (6.31 ± 0.18 [statistical] ± 0.31 [systematic]) × 10³L_⊙, placing it among the most luminous OHMs known. The galaxy’s far-infrared luminosityL_FIR= (1.576 ±0.013) × 10¹²L_⊙marks it as an ultraluminous infrared galaxy; its ratio of OH and infrared luminosities is similar to those for lower-redshift OHMs. A comparison between optical and OH redshifts offers a slight indication of an OH outflow. This detection represents the first step toward a systematic exploitation of OHMs as a tracer of galaxy growth at high redshifts. 

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2. First Extragalactic Detection of Thermal Hydroxyl (OH) 18 cm Emission in M31 Reveals Abundant CO-faint Molecular Gas

   https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad3af6  

   Busch, Michael P (May 2024, The Astrophysical Journal)

   Abstract The most abundant interstellar molecule, molecular hydrogen (H₂), is practically invisible in cold molecular clouds. Astronomers typically use carbon monoxide (CO) to trace the bulk distribution and mass of H₂in our galaxy and many others. CO observations alone fail to trace a significant component of molecular gas known as “CO-dark” molecular gas, which can be probed with molecules such as OH and CH. We present an extremely sensitive pilot search for the 18 cm hydroxyl (OH) lines in the Andromeda galaxy (M31) with the 100 m Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope. We successfully detected the 1665 and 1667 MHz OH lines in faint emission. The 1665/1667 MHz line ratio displays the characteristic 5:9 ratio predicted under conditions of local thermodynamic equilibrium. To our knowledge, this is the first detection of nonmaser 18 cm OH emission in another galaxy. We compare our OH and Hiobservations with archival CO (1–0) observations. Our OH detection position overlaps with the previously discovered Arp Outer Arm in CO. Our best estimates show that the amount of H₂traced by OH is 100%–140% higher than the amount traced by CO in this sight line. The amount of dark molecular gas implied by dust data supports this conclusion. We conclude that the 18 cm OH lines hold promise as a valuable tool for mapping of the “CO-dark” and “CO-faint” molecular gas phase in nearby galaxies, especially with upcoming multibeam, phased-array feed receivers on radio telescopes, which will allow for drastically improved mapping speeds of faint signals. 

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3. Catching Tidal Dwarf Galaxies at a Later Evolutionary Stage with ALFALFA

   https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/acc4c6  

   Gray, Laurin M.; Rhode, Katherine L.; Leisman, Lukas; Mancera Piña, Pavel E.; Cannon, John M.; Salzer, John J.; Gault, Lexi; Fuson, Jackson; Józsa, Gyula I. G.; Adams, Elizabeth A. K.; et al (April 2023, The Astronomical Journal)

   Abstract We present deep optical imaging and photometry of four objects classified as “Almost-Dark” galaxies in the Arecibo Legacy Fast Arecibo L-band Feed Array (ALFALFA) survey because of their gas-rich nature and extremely faint or missing optical emission in existing catalogs. They have Himasses of 10⁷–10⁹M_⊙and distances of ∼9–100 Mpc. Observations with the WIYN 3.5 m telescope and One Degree Imager reveal faint stellar components with central surface brightnesses of ∼24–25 $\mathrm{mag}{\mathrm{arcsec}}^{-2}$in thegband. We also present the results of Hisynthesis observations with the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope. These Almost-Dark galaxies have been identified as possible tidal dwarf galaxies (TDGs) based on their proximity to one or more massive galaxies. We demonstrate that AGC 229398 and AGC 333576 likely have the low dark matter content and large effective radii representative of TDGs. They are located much farther from their progenitors than previously studied TDGs, suggesting they are older and more evolved. AGC 219369 is likely dark matter dominated, while AGC 123216 has a dark matter content that is unusually high for a TDG, but low for a normal dwarf galaxy. We consider possible mechanisms for the formation of the TDG candidates such as a traditional major merger scenario and gas ejection from a high-velocity flyby. Blind Hisurveys like ALFALFA enable the detection of gas-rich, optically faint TDGs that can be overlooked in other surveys, thereby providing a more complete census of the low-mass galaxy population and an opportunity to study TDGs at a more advanced stage of their life cycle. 

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4. H i Properties of Field Galaxies at z  ≈ 0.2–0.6: Insights into Declining Cosmic Star Formation

   https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/ae0d8b  

   DePalma, David; Gupta, Neeraj; Chen, Hsiao-Wen; Simcoe, Robert A; Balashev, Sergei; Boettcher, Erin; Cantalupo, Sebastiano; Chen, Mandy C; Combes, Françoise; Faucher-Giguère, Claude-André; et al (October 2025, The Astrophysical Journal Letters)

   Abstract We report statistically significant detection of Hi21 cm emission from intermediate-redshift (z ≈ 0.2–0.6) galaxies. By leveraging multisightline galaxy survey data from the Cosmic Ultraviolet Baryon Survey and deep radio observations from the MeerKAT Absorption Line Survey, we have established a sample of ≈6000 spectroscopically identified galaxies in 11 distinct fields to constrain the neutral gas content at intermediate redshifts. The galaxies sample a broad range in stellar mass, from $\log M_{\mathrm{star}}/M_{\odot }\approx 8$to $\log M_{\mathrm{star}}/M_{\odot }\approx 11$, with a median of ${〈\log M_{\mathrm{star}}/M_{\odot }〉}_{\mathrm{med}}\approx 10$and a wide range in redshift fromz ≈ 0.24 toz ≈ 0.63 with a median of 〈z〉_med = 0.44. While no individual galaxies show detectable Hiemission, the emission line signal is detected in the stacked spectra of all subsamples at greater than 4σsignificance. The observed total Hi21 cm line flux translates to a Himass,M_{H I}≈10¹⁰M_⊙. We find a high Hi-to-stellar-mass ratio ofM_HI/M_star ≈ 6 for low-mass galaxies with $〈\log M_{\mathrm{star}}/M_{\odot }〉\approx 9.3$(>3.7σ). For galaxies with $〈\log M_{\mathrm{star}}/M_{\odot }〉\approx 10.6$, we findM_HI/M_star ≈ 0.3 (>4.7σ). In addition, the redshift evolution of Himass, 〈M_{H I}〉, in both low- and high-mass field galaxies, inferred from the stacked emission-line signal, aligns well with the expectation from the cosmic star formation history. This suggests that the overall decline in the cosmic star formation activity across the general galaxy population may be connected to a decreasing supply of neutral hydrogen. Finally, our analysis has revealed significant 21 cm signals at distances greater than 75 kpc from these intermediate-redshift galaxies, indicating a substantial reservoir of Higas in their extended surroundings. 

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5. Excited Hydroxyl Outflow in the High-mass Star-forming Region G34.26 + 0.15

   https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/acde7b  

   Tan, Wei Siang; Araya, Esteban D.; Rigg, Cade; Hofner, Peter; Kurtz, Stan; Linz, Hendrik; Rosero, Viviana (August 2023, The Astrophysical Journal)

   Abstract G34.26 + 0.15 is a region of high-mass star formation that contains a broad range of young stellar objects in different stages of evolution, including a hot molecular core, hypercompact Hiiregions, and a prototypical cometary ultracompact Hiiregion. Previous high-sensitivity single-dish observations by our group resulted in the detection of broad 6035 MHz OH absorption in this region; the line showed a significant blueshifted asymmetry indicative of molecular gas expansion. We present high-sensitivity Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) observations of the 6035 MHz OH line conducted to image the absorption and investigate its origin with respect to the different star formation sites in the region. In addition, we report detection of 6030 MHz OH absorption with the VLA and further observations of 4.7 GHz and 6.0 GHz OH lines obtained with the Arecibo Telescope. The 6030 MHz OH line shows a very similar absorption profile as the 6035 MHz OH line. We found that the 6035 MHz OH line absorption region is spatially unresolved at ∼2″ scales, and it is coincident with one of the bright ionized cores of the cometary Hiiregion that shows broad radio recombination line emission. We discuss a scenario where the OH absorption is tracing the remnants of a pole-on molecular outflow that is being ionized inside-out by the ultracompact Hiiregion. 

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