Mass-to-Light Ratio and the Tully-Fisher Relation

Details Mass-to-Light Ratio and the Tully-Fisher Relation Mass-to-Light Ratio and the Tully-Fisher Relation

Sep 2004

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2004jkas...37...91r&link_type=abstract

Journal of the Korean Astronomical Society, vol. 37, no. 3, pp. 91-117

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomy

1

Galaxies: Distances And Redshifts, Galaxies: Fundamental Parameters, Galaxies: Kinematics And Dynamics, Galaxies: Spiral, Distance Scale.

Scientific paper

We analyze the dependence of the mass-to-light ratio of spiral galaxies on the present star formation rate (SFR), and find that galaxies with high present star formation rates have low mass-to-light ratios, presumably as a result of the enhanced luminosity. On this basis we argue that variations in the stellar content of galaxies result in a major source of intrinsic scatter in the Tully-Fisher relation (TF relation). Ideally one should use a `population-corrected' luminosity. We have also analyzed the relation between the (maximum) luminous mass and rotational velocity, and find it to have a small scatter. We therefore propose that the physical basis of the Tully-Fisher relation lies in a relationship between the luminous mass and rotational velocity, in combination with a `well-behaved' relation between luminous and dark matter. This implies that the Tully-Fisher relation is a combination of two independent relations: (i) a relation between luminosity and (luminous) mass, based mainly on the star formation history in galaxies, and (ii) a relation between mass and rotation velocity, which is the outcome of the process of galaxy formation. In addition to a `population-corrected' Tully-Fisher relation, one may also use the relation between mass and luminosity, and the relation between luminous mass and rotation velocity as distance estimators.

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