2006AJ....132..478R

We present a Very Large Array H I 21 cm map and optical observations of the region around one of the nearest damped Lyα absorbers beyond the Local Group, SBS 1543+593. Two previously uncataloged galaxies have been discovered, and a redshift has been determined for a third. All three of these galaxies are at the redshift of SBS 1543+593 and are ≲185 kpc from the damped Lyα absorber. We discuss the H I and optical properties of SBS 1543+593 and its newly identified neighbors. Both SBS 1543+593 and RBTB 154542.8+591132 have baryonic components that are dominated by neutral gas–unusual for damped Lyα absorbers, for which only ∼5% of the H I cross section originates in such strongly gas-dominated systems. What remains unknown is whether low-mass gas-rich groups are common surrounding gas-rich galaxies in the local universe and whether the low star formation rate in these systems is indicative of a young system or a stable, slowly evolving system. We discuss these evolutionary scenarios and future prospects for answering these questions.