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.

14 pages, 4 figures, ApJ, in press