The GMRT ARChIve Atomic gas survey (GARCIA)-I. Survey definition,
  methodology and initial results from the pilot sample
  Interferometric observations of HI in galaxies played a pivotal role in
studies of nearby galaxies. Compared to single-dish observation, it provides
resolved distribution of gas in galaxies with unprecedented resolution. Several
extensive HI surveys of nearby galaxies have been performed in the past;
however, most of them consist of less than 100 galaxies due to individual
efforts. On the other hand, present-day archives of the radio telescopes
include data for at least several hundred galaxies. To utilize these data sets
to their full potential, we construct a sample including all galaxies observed
by the Giant Meter wave Radio Telescope (GMRT) in HI. This results in a total
of 515 galaxies, the largest sample to date. We intend to analyze all the data
uniformly and carry out different exciting science. As a pilot project, we
analyze data from 11 galaxies and present the data products in this paper. We
further investigate the neutral ISM in these galaxies and extract cold and warm
phases using a multi-Gaussian decomposition method. This pilot project assures
the quality of the data, which will enable us to perform critical science
investigations using the full sample.
