arXiv · 1402.2280
Galaxy luminosity function and Tully-Fisher relation: reconciled through rotation-curve studies
Abstract
The relation between galaxy luminosity L and halo virial velocity v_vir required to fit the galaxy luminosity function differs from the observed Tully-Fisher relation between L and disc speed v_rot. Hence the problem of reproducing the galaxy luminosity function and the Tully-Fisher relation simultaneously has plagued semianalytic models since their inception. Here we study the relation between v_rot and v_vir by fitting observational average rotation curves of disc galaxies binned in luminosity. We show that the v_rot - v_vir relation that we obtain in this way can fully account for this seeming inconsistency. Therefore, the reconciliation of the luminosity function with the Tully-Fisher relation rests on the complex dependence of v_rot on v_vir, which arises because the ratio of stellar mass to dark matter mass is a strong function of halo mass.
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Andrea Cattaneo, Paolo Salucci, Emmanouil Papastergis. 2014-02-10. Galaxy luminosity function and Tully-Fisher relation: reconciled through rotation-curve studies. https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637x/783/2/66
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