HI in Early-Type Galaxies

Abstract

We summarize the HI properties of early-type galaxies, in particular the differences in HI morphologies observed in early-type galaxies of different luminosities. We find that in low-luminosity early-type galaxies the HI is almost always in a disk-like structure, with central surface densities high enough for star formation to occur. In a few luminous early-type galaxies the HI is also in a disk or in a ring-like structure, but in most luminous early-type galaxies the HI has a relatively irregular morphology. The surface densities in the HI disks in luminous early-type galaxies are lower than in the HI disks in low-luminosity early-type galaxies and no large-scale star formation should occur in these disks. We discuss these different HI characteristics in the context of other properties of early-type galaxies that correlate with luminosity.