Star formation associated with neutral hydrogen in the outskirts of early-type galaxies

About 20 per cent of all nearby early-type galaxies (M_⋆ ≳ 6 × 10⁹ M_⊙) outside the Virgo cluster are surrounded by a disc or ring of low-column-density neutral hydrogen (H I) gas with typical radii of tens of kpc, much larger than the stellar body. In order to understand the impact of these gas reservoirs on the host galaxies, we analyse the distribution of star formation out to large radii as a function of H I properties using GALEX UV and SDSS optical images. Our sample consists of 18 H I-rich galaxies as well as 55 control galaxies where no H I has been detected. In half of the H I-rich galaxies, the radial UV profile changes slope at the position of the H I radial profile peak. To study the stellar populations, we calculate the FUV-NUV and UV-optical colours in two apertures, 1-3 and 3-10 R_eff. We find that H I-rich galaxies are on average 0.5 and 0.8 mag bluer than the H I-poor ones, respectively. This indicates that a significant fraction of the UV emission traces recent star formation and is associated with the H I gas. Using FUV emission as a proxy for star formation, we estimate the integrated star formation rate in the outer regions (R > 1R_eff) to be on average ∼6 × 10^-3 M_⊙ yr^-1 for the H I-rich galaxies. This rate is too low to build a substantial stellar disc and, therefore, change the morphology of the host. We find that the star formation efficiency and the gas depletion time are similar to those at the outskirts of spirals.