2001/05/06 by Shiyin Shen, H. J. Mo, Chenggang Shu · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomy and Astrophysical Research #Fundamental plane (elliptical galaxies) #Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena #Galaxy #Galaxy rotation curve #Halo #Luminosity #Plane (geometry) #RADIUS #Rotation (mathematics) #Scientific Research and Discoveries #Spiral (railway) #Spiral galaxy #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1046/j.1365-8711.2002.05187.x
published as Mon.Not.Roy.Astron.Soc. 331 (2002) 259 · 25 pages, 11 figures, 4 tables; submitted to MNRAS
arxiv created 2001/05/06 · openalex publication_date 2002/03/01 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
Current theory of disc galaxy formation is used to study fundamental-plane (FP) type of relations for disc galaxies. We examine how the changes in model parameters affect these relations and explore the possibility of using such relations to constrain theoretical models. The distribution of galaxy discs in the space of their fundamental properties are predicted to be concentrated in a plane, with the Tully-Fisher (TF) relation (a relation between luminosity L and maximum rotation velocity Vm) being an almost edge-on view. Using rotation velocities at larger radii generally leads to larger TF scatter. In searching for a third parameter, we find that both the disc scalelength Rd (or surface brightness) and the rotation-curve shape are correlated with the TF scatter. The FP relation in the (log L, log Vm, log Rd)-space obtained from the theory is , with α′∼0.50 and β′∼2.60, consistent with the preliminary result we obtain from observational data. Using the isophotal radius instead of Rd leads to higher α′, lower β′ and smaller scatter. Among the model parameters we probe, variation in any of them can generate significant scatter in the TF relation, but the effects of the spin parameter and halo concentration can be reduced significantly by introducing Rd while the scatter caused by varying md (the ratio between disc mass and halo mass) is most effectively reduced by introducing the parameters which describe the rotation-curve shape. The TF and FP relations combined should therefore provide useful constraints on models of galaxy formation.