Distances to Galaxies from the Correlation between Luminosities and Line Widths. III. Cluster Template and Global Measurement of H0

The correlation between the luminosities and rotation velocities of galaxies can be used to estimate distances to late-type galaxies. It is an appropriate moment to reevaluate this method given the great deal of new information available. The major improvements described here include: (1) the template relations can now be defined by large, complete samples, (2) the samples are drawn from a wide range of environments, (3) the relations are defined by photometric information at the B, R, I, and K' bands, (4) the multiband information clarifies problems associated with internal reddening, (5) the template zero points are defined by 24 galaxies with accurately known distances, and (6) the relations are applied to 12 clusters scattered across the sky and out to velocities of 8000 km s^-1. The biggest change from earlier calibrations are associated with point 5. Roughly a 15% increase in the distance scale has come about with the fivefold increase in the number of zero-point calibrators. The overall increase in the distance scale from the luminosity-line width methodology is about 10% after consideration of all factors. Modulo an assumed distance to the Large Magellanic Cloud of 50 kpc and no metallicity corrections to the Cepheid calibration, the resulting value of the Hubble constant is H₀=77+/-8 km s^-1 Mpc^-1, where the error is the 95% probable statistical error. Cumulative systematic errors internal to this analysis should not exceed 10%. Uncertainties in the distance scale ladder external to this analysis are estimated at ~10%. If the Cepheid calibration is shifted from the LMC to NGC 4258 with a distance established by observations of circumnuclear masers, then H₀ is larger by 12%.