The SBF Survey of Galaxy Distances. II. Local and Large-Scale Flows

Abstract

We present analysis of local large scale flows using the Surface Brightness Fluctuation (SBF) Survey for the distances to 300 early-type galaxies. Our models of the distribution function of mean velocity and velocity dispersion at each point in space include a uniform thermal velocity dispersion and spherical attractors whose position, amplitude, and radial shape are free to vary. Our fitting procedure performs a maximum likelihood fit of the model to the observations. We obtain a Hubble constant of Ho = 77 +/- 4 +/- 7 km/s/Mpc, but a uniform Hubble flow is not acceptable fit to the data. Inclusion of two attractors, one of whose fit location coincides with the Virgo cluster and the other whose fit location is slightly beyond the Centaurus clusters nearly explain the peculiar velocities, but the quality of the fit can be further improved by the addition of a quadrupole correction to the Hubble flow. Although the dipole and quadrupole may be genuine manifestations of more distant density fluctuations, we find evidence that they are more likely due to non-spherical attractors. We find no evidence for bulk flows which include our entire survey volume (R < 3000 km/s); our volume is at rest with respect to the CMB. The fits to the attractors both have isothermal radial profiles (v ~ 1/r) over a range of overdensity between about 10 and 1, but fall off more steeply at larger radius. The best fit value for the small scale, cosmic thermal velocity is 180 +/- 14 km/s.