2025ApJ...982...82B

The improved sensitivity of interferometric facilities to the 21 cm line of atomic hydrogen (H I) enables studies of its properties in galaxies beyond the local Universe. In this work, we perform a 21 cm line spectral stacking analysis combining the MeerKAT International GigaHertz Tiered Extragalactic Exploration and COSMOS H I Large Extra-galactic Survey surveys in the COSMOS field to derive a robust H I-stellar mass relation at z ≈ 0.36. In particular, by stacking thousands of star-forming galaxies subdivided into stellar mass bins, we optimize the signal-to-noise ratio of targets and derive mean H I masses in the different stellar mass intervals for the investigated galaxy population. We combine spectra from the two surveys, estimate H I masses, and derive the scaling relation ${\mathrm{log}}_{10}{M}_{{\rm{H}}{\rm\small{I}}}=(0.32\pm 0.04){\mathrm{log}}_{10}{M}_{\star }+(6.65\pm 0.36)$. Our findings indicate that galaxies at z ≈ 0.36 are H I richer than those at z ≈ 0 but H I poorer than those at z ≈ 1, with a slope consistent across redshift, suggesting that stellar mass does not significantly affect H I exchange mechanisms. We also observe a slower growth rate H I relative to the molecular gas, supporting the idea that the accretion of cold gas is slower than the rate of consumption of molecular gas to form stars. This study contributes to understanding the role of atomic gas in galaxy evolution and sets the stage for future development of the field in the upcoming Square Kilometre Array era.