A search for H i absorption in nearby radio galaxies using HIPASS

Using archival data from the H i Parkes All-Sky Survey (HIPASS), we have searched for 21 cm line absorption in 204 nearby radio and star-forming galaxies with continuum flux densities greater than S-1.4 approximate to 250 mJy within the redshift range 0 < cz < 12 000 km s(-1). By applying a detection method based on Bayesian model comparison, we successfully detect and model absorption against the radio-loud nuclei of four galaxies, of which the Seyfert 2 galaxy 2MASX J130804201-2422581 was previously unknown. All four detections were achieved against compact radio sources, which include three active galactic nuclei (AGNs) and a nuclear starburst, exhibiting high dust and molecular gas content. Our results are consistent with the detection rate achieved by the recent ALFALFA (Arecibo Legacy Fast Arecibo L-band Feed Array) H i absorption pilot survey by Darling et al. and we predict that the full ALFALFA survey should yield more than three to four times as many detections as we have achieved here. Furthermore, we predict that future all-sky surveys on the Square Kilometre Array precursor telescopes will be able to detect such strong absorption systems associated with type 2 AGNs at much higher redshifts, providing potential targets for detection of H2O megamaser emission at cosmological redshifts.