| Abstract | The authors conducted a survey of neutral-hydrogen 21 cm emission from a sample of starburst galaxies in order to derive their global properties. Of the 72 galaxies surveyed, they detected H I in 47. The authors find average mass-to-light ratios log (MH/Lpg) = -0.7±0.4 and log (MT/Lpg) = 0.5±0.4. The masses and luminosities span the range 1010- 1012M_sun; and 109- 1011L_sun;, typical of normal late spirals. The starburst activity, as measured by the luminosity of the Hα line, correlates roughly with the mass of atomic hydrogen, the total mass, and the total photographic luminosity of the host galaxy. The authors suggest that the occurrence of a nuclear starburst and the strength of such an event probably do not depend strongly on the large-scale properties of the galaxy. |
