Kinematics of the neutral hydrogen toward the core of NGC 3894

We present results of high-resolution VLBA observations at 1.4 GHz of the nuclear region of the nearby elliptical galaxy NGC 3894. An angular resolution of 9 mas (1.4 h(-1) pc) was obtained, with a velocity resolution of 7 km s(-1) and an rms noise of 1.5 mJy beam(-1) per channel. The 21 cm atomic hydrogen line is seen in absorption slightly redshifted with respect to the systemic velocity toward the core, jet, and counterjet of this source. There are four components in the gas that are spatially and/or spectrally distinct, two of which appear to be part of a single larger structure, possibly a circumnuclear torus.