LITTLE THINGS in 3D: robust determination of the circular velocity of dwarf irregular galaxies

Dwarf irregular galaxies (dIrrs) are the smallest stellar systems with extended H I discs. The study of the kinematics of such discs is a powerful tool to estimate the total matter distribution at these very small scales. In this work, we study the H I kinematics of 17 galaxies extracted from the 'Local Irregulars That Trace Luminosity Extremes, The H I Nearby Galaxy Survey' (LITTLE THINGS). Our approach differs significantly from previous studies in that we directly fit 3D models (two spatial dimensions plus one spectral dimension) using the software ^3Dbarolo, fully exploiting the information in the H I data cubes. For each galaxy, we derive the geometric parameters of the H I disc (inclination and position angle), the radial distribution of the surface density, the velocity-dispersion (σ_v) profile and the rotation curve. The circular velocity (V_c), which traces directly the galactic potential, is then obtained by correcting the rotation curve for the asymmetric drift. As an initial application, we show that these dIrrs lie on a baryonic Tully-Fisher relation in excellent agreement with that seen on larger scales. The final products of this work are high-quality, ready-to-use kinematic data (V_c and σ_v) that we make publicly available. These can be used to perform dynamical studies and improve our understanding of these low-mass galaxies.