• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.27-70
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• 1997

The brightest stars in galaxies have been used as distance indicators since Hubble. However, the accuracy of the brightest stars for distance estimates has been controversial. Recently, Rozanski & Rowan-Robinson [1994 : MNRAS, 271, 530] argued large errors of this method for the distance determination : 0.58 mag and 0.90 mag, respectively, for the brightest red stars and the brightest blue stars, while Karachentsev & Tikhonov [1994 : A&A, 286, 718] suggested much smaller errors in the distance determination than the former: 0.37 mag for the brightest red stars and 0.46 mag for the brightest blue stars. The reasons for these conflicting results are not yet known. In this study we have investigated the accuracy of this method using a sample of 17 galaxies for which Cepheid distances are known and reliable photometry of the brightest stars are available. We have obtained the calibrations of the relations between the mean luminosities of the three blue and red brightest supergiants (BSGs and RSGs, respectively) and the total luminosities of the parent galaxies: $= 0.21M_B^T- 3.84, \sigma(M_v) = 0.37 mag,\;and\;\delta_{\mu0}=0.47$ mag for the brightest red supergiants, and $= 0.30M_B^T -3.02, \sigma(M_B)\;=\;0.55 mag,\;and\; \delta_{\mu0}=0.79mag$ for the brightest blue supergiants. Also it is found that the errors in the distance determination are reduced by a factor of two, as the observing wavelengths increase from B-band to K-band. In conclusion, the brightest red supergiants are considered to be useful for determining the distances to resolved late-type galaxies.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.91-117
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• 2004

We analyze the dependence of the mass-to-light ratio of spiral galaxies on the present star formation rate (SFR), and find that galaxies with high present star formation rates have low mass-to-light ratios, presumably as a result of the enhanced luminosity. On this basis we argue that variations in the stellar content of galaxies result in a major source of intrinsic scatter in the Tully-Fisher relation (TF relation). Ideally one should use a 'population-corrected' luminosity. We have also analyzed the relation between the (maximum) luminous mass and rotational velocity, and find it to have a small scatter. We therefore propose that the physical basis of the Tully-Fisher relation lies in a relationship between the luminous mass and rotational velocity, in combination with a 'well-behaved' relation between luminous and dark matter. This implies that the Tully-Fisher relation is a combination of two independent relations: (i) a relation between luminosity and (luminous) mass, based mainly on the star formation history in galaxies, and (ii) a relation between mass and rotation velocity, which is the outcome of the process of galaxy formation. In addition to a 'population-corrected' Tully-Fisher relation, one may also use the relation between mass and luminosity, and the relation between luminous mass and rotation velocity as distance estimators.