• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.29 no.spc1
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• pp.229-230
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• 1996

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.20
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• pp.11.2-12
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• 1995

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.32.1-32.1
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• 2010

From my personal perspective, I will review the current status of observational studies on the fundamental properties of AGN and the role of supermassive black holes in galaxy evolution.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.37.2-37.2
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• 2016

There exist scaling relations that link the mass of supermassive black holes with both the velocity dispersion and the mass of the central stellar cusp of their host galaxies. This implies that galaxies co-evolve with their central black holes, potentially through the feedback from actively accreting supermassive black holes (AGN). We use integral field spectroscopy data from the 8.2m Gemini-North telescope to investigate ionized gas outflows in luminous local (z<0.1) Type 2 AGN. Our sample of 6 galaxies was selected based on their [OIII] dust-corrected luminosity (>$10^{42}erg/s$) and signatures of outflows in the [OIII] line profile of their SDSS spectra. These are arguably the best candidates to explore AGN feedback in action since they are < 1% of a large local type 2 AGN SDSS sample selected based on their [OIII] kinematics. Expanding on previously reported results concerning the kinematic decomposition and size determination of these outflows, here we report their photoionization properties and energetics. We find strong evidence that connect the extreme kinematics of the ionized gas with AGN photoionization. The kinematic component related to the AGN-driven outflow is clearly separated from other kinematic components, such as gravitation- or stellar-driven motions, on the velocity and velocity dispersion diagram. Our spatially resolved kinematic analysis reveals that up to 90% of the mass and kinetic energy of the outflow is contained within the central kiloparcec of the galaxy. The total mass and kinetic energy of the outflow correlate well with the AGN bolometric luminosity, resulting in energy conversion efficiencies between 0.01% and 1%. Intriguingly, we detect ubiquitous signs of ongoing circumnuclear star formation. Their small size, the centrally contained mass and energy, and the universally detected circumnuclear star formation cast doubts on the potency of these AGN-driven outflows as agents of negative feedback.

• Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.345-347
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• 2015

We present evolutionary models of rotating self-gravitating systems (e.g. globular clusters, galaxy cores). These models are characterized by the presence of an initial axi-symmetry due to rotation. Central black hole seeds are included in our models, and black hole growth due to the consumption of stellar matter is simulated until the central potential dominates the kinematics of the core. Our goal is to study the long-term evolution (Gyr) of relaxed dense stellar systems which deviate from spherical symmetry, and their morphology and final kinematics. With this purpose in mind, we developed a 2D Fokker-Planck analytical code, and confirmed its results using detailed N-Body simulations, applying a high performance code developed for GPU machines. We conclude that the initial rotation significantly modifies the shape and lifetime of these systems, and cannot be neglected in the study of the evolution of globular clusters, and the galaxy itself. Our models give a constraint for the final intermediate black hole masses expected to be present in globular clusters.

• Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.89-96
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• 1992

Recent spectroscopic observations indicate concentration of dark masses in the nuclei of nearby galaxies. This has been usually interpreted as the presence of massive black holes in these nuclei. Alternative explanations such as the dark cluster composed of low mass stars (brown dwarfs) or dark stellar remnants are possible provided that these systems can be stably maintained for the age of galaxies. For the case of low mass star cluster, mass of individual stars can grow to that of conventional stars in collision time scale. The requirement of collision time scale being shorter than the Hubble time gives the minimum cluster size. For typical conditions of M31 or M32, the half-mass radii of dark clusters can be as small as 0.1 arcsecond. For the case of clusters composed of stellar remnants, core-collapse and post-collapse expansion are required to take place in longer than Hubble time. Simple estimates reveal that the size of these clusters also can be small enough that no contradiction with observational data exists for the clusters made of white dwarfs or neutron stars. We then considered the possible outcomes of interactions between the black hole and the surrounding stellar system. Under typical conditions of M31 or M32, tidal disruption will occur every $10^3$ to $10^4$ years. We present a simple scenario for the evolution of stellar debris based on basic principles. While the accretion of stellar material could produce large amount of radiation so that the mass-to-light ratio can become too small compared to observational values it is too early to rule out the black hole model because the black hole can consume most of the stellar debris in time scale much shorter than mean time between two successive tidal disruptions. Finally we outline recent effort to simulate the process of tidal disruption and subsequent evolution of the stellar debris numerically using Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics technique.

• Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.265-272
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• 1993

Recent X-ray observations of the accretion disks in stellar black hole candidates have revealed rather complex behavior, which cannot be fully described by the simple picture of the standard disk model. In this paper, therefore, we discuss the effects of e+e- pair creation on the structure and the stability of hot accretion disks, aiming at the thorough understanding of emission properties of X-ray binaries containing black holes.

• Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.57-60
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• 1999

We derive the Grad-Shafranov equation in the Macdonald-Thorne magnetosphere of the super-massive black hole in an active galactic nucleus. Our major assumption is that the plasma velocity is not only toroidal but also poloidal. As a result, we get the correction terms which are related to the poloidal motion of plasma like electrodynamic jets.

• Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.179-183
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• 2017

AKARI and the subsequent Herschel Space Observatory have yielded tremendous advancement in our knowledge of the infrared-submillimeter properties of active galaxies and active galactic nuclei, AGN. This short review describes some highlights. Active galaxies are found to do what they are supposed to do: build up their stellar bodies while building up their central black holes.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.35-35
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• 2002