The Magellanic Stream to Halo Interface: Processes that shape our
  nearest gaseous Halo Stream
  Understanding the hydrodynamical processes and conditions at the interface
between the Magellanic Stream (MS) and the Galactic halo is critical to
understanding the MS and by extension, gaseous tails in other interacting
galaxies. These processes operate on relatively small scales and not only help
shape this clumpy stream, but also affect the neutral gas dynamics and transfer
of mass from the stream to the halo, thus affecting metal enrichment and gas
replenishment of the Galaxy. We describe an observational program to place
constraints on these processes through high-resolution measurements of HI
emission, HI absorption and Halpha emission with unprecedented sensitivity.
Methods will include structural analysis, searching for cold gas cores in
clumps and analyzing gas kinematics as it transitions to the halo. The latter
method includes sophisticated spatial integration techniques to deeply probe
the neutral gas, which we apply to a new HI map obtained from the Green Bank
Telescope with the highest sensitivity HI observations of the MS to date. We
demonstrate that the integration techniques enhance sensitivity even further,
thus allowing detection of apparent MS gas components with density approaching
that of the Galactic halo.
