A SAMPLE OF LOBE-DOMINATED QUASARS WITH MG-II ABSORPTION-LINES

We present a sample of quasars which are lobe-dominated in their radio emission and contain Mg II absorption line systems. This sample will be useful in a search for redshifted H I 21 cm absorbers which are alo ng lines of sight different from the optical. These systems will allow the measurement of the linear size and related physical parameters of the absorption line clouds. Since quasars appropriate for this study are rare, building this sample requires a substantial database of radi o and optical observations. We have defined a set of criteria for sele cting these objects and obtained the necessary data, from the literatu re and from new optical and Very Large Array (VLA) observations, to as semble a sample based on these criteria. Out of 4234 Quasi Stellar Obj ects (QSOs), we find 31 lobe-dominated quasars which are appropriate f or optical and radio absorption line study in the Northern hemisphere. We have obtained or located optical spectra for 29 of these 31 quasar s. In the optical spectra we find 17 Mg II absorption systems, with re dshifts between 0.3 and 1.4 and Mg II lambda2796 rest equivalent width s between 0.3 and 2.0 angstrom. Based on statistics of 21 cm absorptio n in Mg II selected QSOs we expect this sample of 17 systems to yield one or two new H I absorbers. In this paper we give an analysis of our criteria, discuss the sample, and present new VLA observations of 16 quasars.