HI observations of nearby southern Seyfert galaxies with the ATNF/Mopra radiotelescope

We present single-dish observations of a sample of 27 nearby (z<0.018) Seyfert galaxies obtained with the ATNF/Mopra radiotelescope. The total neutral gas content for the sample is derived. We find that Seyfert galaxies are gas-rich objects with a median HI mass to blue luminosity ratio M_HI/L_B∼ 0.38 M_⊙/L_⊙, which tends to increase with decreasing optical and far-infrared luminosities. We have also found a correlation among the neutral hydrogen content of Seyfert 2 galaxies and the IRAS luminosities, similar to those found for normal spiral and starburst galaxies. Our results suggest a scenario where the star formation of Seyfert galaxies is similar to that found in starbursts, and that they are dependent of the initial neutral mass content of progenitors of galaxy disks in the blue compact-HII galaxy-Seyfert sequence. Within this sequence, the far-infrared luminosity and the total hydrogen mass correlate as L_fir/L_⊙∝ (M_HI/M_⊙)^{1.5± 0.4}.