Arecibo-Green Bank-LOFAR Carbon Radio Recombination Line Observations toward Cold H I Clouds

We present results from a search for radio recombination lines in three H I self-absorbing (HISA) clouds at 750 MHz and 321 MHz with the Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope, and in three Galactic plane positions at 327 MHz with the Arecibo Telescope. We detect carbon recombination lines (CRRLs) in the direction of DR4 and DR21, as well as in the Galactic plane position G34.94 + 0.0. We additionally detect hydrogen recombination lines in emission in five of the six sightlines, and a Helium line at 750 MHz toward DR21. Combining our new data with 150 MHz Low Frequency Array detections of CRRL absorption toward DR4 and DR21, we estimate the electron densities of the line-forming regions by modeling the line width as a function of frequency. The estimated densities are in the range 1.4 → 6.5 cm^-3 toward DR4, for electron temperatures 200 → 20 K. A dual line-forming region with densities between 3.5 → 24 cm^-3 and 0.008 → 0.3 cm^-3 could plausibly explain the observed line width as a function of frequency on the DR21 sight line. The central velocities of the CRRLs compare well with CO emission and HISA lines in these directions. The cloud densities estimated from the CO lines are smaller (at least a factor of five) than those of the CRRL-forming regions. It is likely that the CRRL-forming and HISA gas is located in a denser, shocked region either at the boundary of or within the CO emitting cloud.