Analysis of the absorption line profile at 21 cm for the hydrogen atom in the interstellar medium

Abstract

This paper analyzes the absorption line profile at 21 cm for the hydrogen atom in the interstellar medium (ISM). The hydrogen atom is treated as a three-level system illuminated by a powerful light source at neighboring resonances corresponding to the hyperfine splitting of the ground state and Lyman-α (Lyα) transition. The field acting upon the resonances gives rise to physical processes, which can be explained as interfering pathways between different transitions. The paper considers particular cases when the 21 cm line profile is substantially modified by the Lyα transition. A correction to the optical depth is introduced as a result of theory. It is shown that the correction can be considerable and should be taken into account when determining the column density of hydrogen atoms in the ISM. The paper also deals with the effects of non-Doppler broadening and frequency shift.