The faint end of the Tully-Fisher relation

Abstract

We have studied the relation between HI linewidth and optical luminosity in two samples of dwarf galaxies, with special attention to the accuracy of the inclination correction. The first sample consists of rotationally supported galaxies, and has DDO 154 as a prototype. They have HI linewidths significantly larger than predicted by an extrapolation of the Tully-Fisher relation. The deviation from the extrapolated Tully-Fisher relation correlates with the distance-independent mass-to-luminosity ratio M_HI/L_B. The baryonic correction for these gas rich galaxies is too small to explain the deviation from the Tully-Fisher relation, unless a small mass-to-light ratio (M/L_B)_* <= 0.25 for the stellar population is assumed. The second sample contains dwarf galaxies with comparable rotational and random velocities. This sample, having Leo A as a prototype, is consistent with an extrapolation of the classical Tully-Fisher relation to lower luminosities. These dwarf galaxies are not particularly rich in gas, but their mass is dominated by baryonic matter within their HI radius. We suggest that any evolution of the deviating galaxies towards the Tully-Fisher relation will combine a decrease in linewidth by radial transport of HI with an increase in luminosity due to a larger accumulated stellar mass.