1999ApJ...516...47W

The first results from a Tully-Fisher (TF) survey of cluster galaxies are presented. The galaxies are drawn from 15 Abell clusters that lie in the redshift range ∼9000-12,000 km.s^–1 and are distributed uniformly around the celestial sky. The data set consists of R-band CCD photometry and long-slit Hα spectroscopy. The rotation curves (RCs) are characterized by two parameters, a turnover radius r_t and an asymptotic velocity v_a, while the surface brightness profiles are characterized in terms of an effective exponential surface brightness I_e and scale length r_e. The TF scatter is minimized when the rotation velocity is measured at r=(2.0±0.2)r_e; a significantly larger scatter results when the rotation velocity is evaluated at ≳3 or ≲1.5 scale lengths. This effect demonstrates that RCs do not have a universal form, specified only by luminosity, as suggested by Persic, Salucci, & Stel. The scatter minimum at r=2r_e is interpreted in terms of a thin stellar disk plus spherical dark halo mass model. Variations in halo mass and size at fixed disk mass and size can produce extra TF scatter at arbitrary radii, but no additional scatter at the special radius r=2r_e provided ρ_h∝M^–0.7_h. In contrast to previous studies, a modest but statistically significant surface brightness dependence of the TF relation is found, v∝L^0.28I^0.14_e. This indicates a stronger parallel between the TF relation and the corresponding fundamental plane relations of elliptical galaxies than has previously been recognized. The scatter of the optimized TF relation decreases with increasing luminosity and surface brightness (SB), from ∼ 0.75 mag for low-luminosity, low-SB objects to ≲0.35 mag for high-luminosity, high-SB objects. This effect is well described by a model in which the intrinsic TF scatter is ∼0.30 mag and most of the remaining scatter is caused by rotation velocity measurement errors of ∼15 km.s^–1 independent of rotation amplitude. Future papers in this series will consider the implications of this cluster sample for deviations from uniform Hubble flow on ≳100 h^–1 Mpc scales.