H I OBSERVATIONS OF THE Ca II ABSORBING GALAXIES Mrk 1456 AND SDSS J211701.26-002633.7

In an effort to study Damped Ly alpha (DLA) galaxies at low redshift, we have been using the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) to identify galaxies projected onto quasi-stellar object (QSO) sight lines and to characterize their optical properties. For low-redshift galaxies, the H I 21 cm emission line can be used as an alternate tool for identifying possible DLA galaxies, since H I-emitting galaxies typically exhibit H I columns that are larger than the classical DLA limit. Here, we report on follow-up H I 21 cm emission-line observations of two DLA candidates that are both low-redshift spiral galaxies, Mrk 1456 and SDSS J211701.26-002633.7. The observations were made using the Green Bank Telescope (GBT) and Arecibo telescope, respectively. Analysis of their H I properties reveal the galaxies to be about one and two M-H (I)* galaxies, respectively, and to have average H I mass, gas richness, and gas-mass fraction for their morphological types. We consider Mrk 1456 and SDSS J211701.26-002633.7 to be candidate DLA systems based upon the strength of the Ca II absorption lines they cause in their QSO's spectra, and impact parameters to the QSO that are smaller than the stellar disk. Compared to the small numbers of other H I detected DLA and candidate DLA galaxies, Mrk 1456 and SDSS J211701.26-002633.7 have high H I masses. Mrk 1456 and SDSS J211701.26-002633.7 have also been found to lie in galaxy groups that are high in H I gas mass compared to the group containing SBS 1543+593, the only DLA galaxy previously known to be situated in a galaxy group. When compared with the expected properties of low-z DLAs from an H I-detected sample of galaxies, Mrk 1456 and SDSS J211701.26-002633.7 fall within the ranges for impact parameter and M-B; and the H I mass distribution for the H I-detected DLAs agrees with that of the expected H I mass distribution for low-z DLAs. Our observations support galaxy-evolution models in which high-mass galaxies make up an increasing contribution to the DLA cross section at lower redshifts. We also report on the 21 cm line emission of Mrk 1457, a Seyfert galaxy observed within the beam of the GBT.