From light to baryonic mass: the effect of the stellar mass-to-light ratio on the Baryonic Tully-Fisher relation

In this paper we investigate the statistical properties of the Baryonic Tully-Fisher relation (BTFr) for a sample of 32 galaxies with accurate distances based on Cepheids and/or TRGB stars. We make use of homogeneously analysed photometry in 18 bands ranging from the FUV to 160 $\mu$m, allowing us to investigate the effect of the inferred stellar mass-to-light ratio ${\mathrm{{\rm Y}}}_{\ast }$ on the statistical properties of the BTFr. Stellar masses of our sample galaxies are derived with four different methods based on full SED-fitting, studies of stellar dynamics, near-infrared colours, and the assumption of the same ${\mathrm{{\rm Y}}}_{\ast }^{[3.6]}$ for all galaxies. In addition, we use high-quality, resolved HI kinematics to study the BTFr based on three kinematic measures: $W_{50}^i$ from the global HI profile, and $V_{max}$ and $V_{flat}$ from the rotation curve. We find the intrinsic perpendicular scatter, or tightness, of our BTFr to be ${\sigma }_{\perp }=0.026\pm 0.013$ dex, consistent with the intrinsic tightness of the 3.6 $\mu$m luminosity-based TFr. However, we find the slope of the BTFr to be $2.99\pm 0.2$ instead of $3.7\pm 0.1$ for the luminosity-based TFr at 3.6 $\mu$m. We use our BTFr to place important observational constraints on theoretical models of galaxy formation and evolution by making comparisons with theoretical predictions based on either the $\mathrm{\Lambda }$CDM framework or modified Newtonian dynamics.