Cosmicflows-4: The Calibration of Optical and Infrared Tully–Fisher Relations

This study is a part of the Cosmicflows-4 project with the aim of measuring the distances of more than ~10,000 spiral galaxies in the local universe up to ~15,000 km sâ»Â¹. New H i line width information has come primarily from the Arecibo Legacy Fast ALFA Survey. Photometry of our sample galaxies has been carried out in optical (SDSS u, g, r, i, and z) and infrared (WISE W1 and W2) bands. Inclinations have been determined using an online graphical interface accessible to a collaboration of citizen scientists. Galaxy distances are measured based on the correlation between the rotation rate of spirals and their absolute luminosity, known as the Tully–Fisher relation (TFR). In this study, we present the calibration of the TFR using a subsample of ~600 spirals located in 20 galaxy clusters. Correlations among such observables as color, surface brightness, and relative H i content are explored in an attempt to reduce the scatter about the TFR with the goal of obtaining more accurate distances. A preliminary determination of the Hubble constant from the distances and velocities of the calibrator clusters is H 0 = 76.0 ± 1.1(stat.) ± 2.3(sys.) km sâ»Â¹ Mpcâ»Â¹. ; © 2020. The American Astronomical Society. Received 2020 February 4; revised 2020 April 9; accepted 2020 April 29; published 2020 June 8. We are pleased to acknowledge the citizen participation in scientific research of undergraduate students at the University of Hawaii; members of amateur astronomy clubs in France at the Planétarium de Vaulx-en-Velin, Association Clair d'étoiles et Brin d'jardin, Société astronomique de Lyon, Club d'astronomie Lyon Ampère, Club d'astronomie des monts du lyonnais, and Club d'astronomie de Dijon; and friends who helped us with measuring inclinations of spiral galaxies in our sample. Support for E.K. and R.B.T. was provided by NASA through grant No. 88NSSC18K0424 and for G.A. and R.B.T. through grants from the Space Telescope Science Institute. H.C. acknowledges support from Institut Universitaire de France. This ...