HiDetection of Two Dwarf S0 Galaxies in Nearby Groups: ESO 384-016 and NGC 59

An hi survey of 10 dE/dS0 galaxies in the nearby Sculptor and Centaurus A groups was made using the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA). The observed galaxies have accurate distances derived by Jerjen et al (1998; 2000b) using the surface brightness fluctuation technique. Their absolute magnitudes are in the range $-9.5 > M_B > -15.3$. Only two of the ten galaxies were detected at our detection limit ($sim 1.0 imes 10^6$ msol for the Centaurus group and $sim 5.3 imes 10^5$ msol for the Sculptor group), the two dS0 galaxies ESO384-016 in the Centaurus A Group and NGC 59 in the Sculptor Group, with hi masses of $6.0 pm 0.5 imes 10^6$ msol and $1.4 pm 0.1 imes 10^7$ msol respectively. Those two detections were confirmed using the Green Bank Telescope. These small hi reservoirs could fuel future generations of low level star formation and could explain the bluer colors seen at the center of the detected galaxies. Similarly to what is seen with the Virgo dEs, the two objects with hi appear to be on the outskirt of the groups.Comment: 25 pages (11 figures), accepted by A