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We present results of a blind 21cm HI-line imaging survey of a galaxy overdensity located behind the Milky Way at ℓ, b≈ 160°, 0.5°. The overdensity corresponds to a zone-of-avoidance crossing of the Perseus-Pisces Supercluster filament. Although it is known that this filament contains an X-ray galaxy cluster (3C 129) hosting two strong radio galaxies, little is known about galaxies associated with this potentially rich cluster because of the high Galactic dust extinction. We mapped a sky area of ∼9.6 deg2 using the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope in a hexagonal mosaic of 35 pointings observed for 12 h each, in the radial velocity range cz = 2400-16 600 km s-1. The survey has a sensitivity of 0.36 mJy beam-1 rms at a velocity resolution of 16.5 km s-1.We detected 211 galaxies, 62 per cent of which have a near-infrared counterpart in the UKIDSS Galactic Plane Survey. We present a catalogue of the HI properties and an HI atlas containing total intensity maps, position-velocity diagrams, global HI profiles and UKIDSS counterpart images. For the resolved galaxies we also present HI velocity fields and radial HI surface density profiles. A brief analysis of the structures outlined by these galaxies finds that 87 of them lie at the distance of the Perseus-Pisces Supercluster (cz ∼ 4000-8000 km s-1) and seem to form part of the 3C 129 cluster. Further 72 detections trace an overdensity at a velocity of cz ≈ 10 000 km s-1 and seem to coincide with a structure predicted from mass density reconstructions in the first 2MASS Redshift Survey. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Local galaxies with specific star-formation rates (star-formation rate per unit mass; sSFR ∼ 0.2–10 Gyr−1) that are as high as distant galaxies (z ≈ 1–3), are very rich in Hi. Those with low stellar masses, M⋆ = 108−9 M⊙ for example, have MHI/M⋆ ≈ 5–30. Using continuity arguments, whereby the specific merger rate is hypothesized to be proportional to the specific star-formation rate, along with Hi gas mass measurements for local galaxies with high sSFR, we estimate that moderate-mass galaxies, M⋆ = 109−10.5 M⊙ can acquire enough gas through minor mergers (stellar mass ratios ∼4–100) to sustain their star formation rates at z ∼ 2. The relative fraction of the gas accreted through minor mergers declines with increasing stellar mass, and for the most massive galaxies considered, M⋆ = 1010.5−11 M⊙ this accretion rate is insufficient to sustain their star formation. We checked our minor merger hypothesis at z = 0 using the same methodology, but now with relations for local normal galaxies, and find that minor mergers cannot account for their specific growth rates, in agreement with observations of Hi-rich satellites around nearby spirals. We discuss a number of attractive features, such as a natural downsizing effect, in using minor mergers with extended Hi disks to support star formation at high redshift. The answer to the question posed by the title, “Can galaxy growth be sustained through Hi-rich minor mergers?”, is “maybe”, but only for relatively low-mass galaxies and at high redshift. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present 21 cm H i line observations of 5 × 1 deg2 centred on the local Abell cluster 1367 obtained as part of the Arecibo Galaxy Environment Survey. One hundred sources are detected (79 new H i measurements and 50 new redshifts), more than half belonging to the cluster core and its infalling region. Combining the H i data with Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) optical imaging, we show that our H i selected sample follows scaling relations similar to the ones usually observed in optically selected samples. Interestingly, all galaxies in our sample appear to have nearly the same baryon fraction independently of their size, surface brightness and luminosity. The most striking difference between H i and optically selected samples resides in their large-scale distribution: whereas optical and X-ray observations trace the cluster core very well, in H i there is almost no evidence of the presence of the cluster. Some implications on the determination of the cluster luminosity function and H i distribution for samples selected at different wavelength are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]