  Details of processes through which galaxies convert their gas into stars need
to be studied in order to obtain a complete picture of galaxy formation. One
way to tackle these phenomena is to relate the HI gas and the stars in
galaxies. Here, we present dynamical properties of Damped and sub-Damped
Lyman-alpha Systems identified in H-alpha emission with VLT/SINFONI at near
infra-red wavelengths. While the DLA towards Q0302-223 is found to be
dispersion-dominated, the sub-DLA towards Q1009-0026 shows clear signatures of
rotation. We use a proxy to circular velocity to estimate the mass of the halo
in which the sub-DLA resides and find M_halo=10^12.6 M_sun. We also derive
dynamical masses of these objects, and find M_dyn=10^10.3 M_sun and 10^10.9
M_sun. For one of the two systems (towards Q0302-223), we are able to derive a
stellar mass of M_*=10^9.5 M_sun from Spectral Energy Distribution fit. The gas
fraction in this object is 1/3rd, comparable to similar objects at these
redshifts. Our work illustrates that detailed studies of quasar absorbers can
offer entirely new insights into our knowledge of the interaction between stars
and the interstellar gas in galaxies.
