HI observations of blue compact galaxies from the first and second Byurakan surveys^*

¹ Astronomy Department, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22903, U.S.A.
² Département d'Astronomie Extragalactique et de Cosmologie, Observatoire de Paris, F-92195 Meudon Cedex, France
³ Special Astrophysical Observatory, Russian Academy of Sciences, Nizhnij Arkhyz, Karachai-Circessia 357147, Russia
⁴ Département de Radioastronomie ARPEGES, Observatoire de Paris, F-92195 Meudon Cedex, France

Send offprint request to: Trinh X. Thuan

Received: 11 August 1998
Accepted: 24 November 1998

Abstract

We present the results of a neutral hydrogen survey of 79 galaxies from a statistical sample of 88 Blue Compact Galaxies (BCGs) selected from the First and Second Byurakan objective prism surveys to have a HII region-like spectrum, an equivalent width of the [O III] line larger than , and a velocity  km s^-1. The detection rate for the statistical sample is 74%. HI masses range between and with the HI mass distribution peaking at . The full width at half-maximum of the HI profile varies between  km s^-1 and 160 km s^-1, with a mean of ~ 92 km s^-1. These small widths are characteristic of dwarf galaxies. For comparison, we have also observed an additional 92 BCGs with weaker star formation and/or larger distances, and/or interesting astrophysical properties. These in general have larger widths and HI masses.