The H I content of E+A galaxies

We present deep single-dish H I observations of a sample of six nearby E+A galaxies (0.05 < z < 0.1). A non-negligible fraction of a local sample of E+As are detected in H I. In four galaxies, we have detected up to a few times 10⁹ M_⊙ of neutral gas. These E+A galaxies are almost as gas-rich as spiral galaxies with comparable luminosities. There appears to exist no direct correlation between the amount of H I present in an E+A galaxy and its star formation rate as traced by radio continuum emission. Moreover, the end of the starburst does not necessarily require the complete exhaustion of the neutral gas reservoir. Most likely, an intense burst of star formation consumed the dense molecular clouds, which are the sites of massive star formation. This effectively stops star formation, even though copious amounts of diffuse neutral gas remain. The remaining H I reservoir may eventually lead to further episodes of star formation. This may indicate that some E+As are observed in the inactive phase of the star formation duty cycle.