• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.33.2-33.2
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• 2014

Halo merger trees are essential backbones of semi-analytic models for galaxy formation and evolution. Recent studies have pointed out that extracting merger trees from numerical simulations of structure formation is non-trivial; different algorithm can give differing merger histories. Thus they should be carefully understood before being used as input for models of galaxy formation. As one of the projects proposed in the SUSSING MERGER TREES Workshop, we investigate the impact of different halo merger trees on a semi-analytic model. We find that the z = 0 global galaxy properties in our model show differences between trees when using a common parameter set, but that these differences are not very significant. However, the star formation history of the Universe and the properties of satellite galaxies can show marked differences between trees with different methods for constructing a tree. Calibrating the SAM for each tree individually to the empirical data can reduce the discrepancies between the z = 0 global galaxy properties, however this is at cost of increasing the differences in evolutionary histories of galaxies. Furthermore, the underlying physics implied can vary, resulting in key quantities such as the supernova feedback efficiency differing by factors of 2. Such a change alters the regimes where star formation is primarily suppressed by supernovae. Therefore, halo merger trees extracted from a common halo catalogue using different, but reliable, algorithms can result in a difference in the semi-analytic model, however, given the enormous uncertainties in galaxy formation physics, these are not necessarily significant.

• Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.457-459
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• 2015

Observations show that the accretion flows in low-luminosity active galactic nuclei (LLAGNs) probably have a two-component structure with an inner hot, optically thin, advection dominated accretion flow (ADAF) and an outer truncated cool, optically thick accretion disk. As shown by Taam et al. (2012), within the framework of the disk evaporation model, the truncation radius as a function of mass accretion rate is strongly affected by including the magnetic field. We define the parameter ${\beta}$ as $p_m=B^2/8{\pi}=(1-{\beta})p_{tot}$, (where $p_{tot}=p_{gas}+p_m$, $p_{gas}$ is gas pressure and $p_m$ is magnetic pressure) to describe the strength of the magnetic field in accretion flows. It is found that an increase of the magnetic field (decreasing the value of ${\beta}$) results in a smaller truncation radius for the accretion disk. We calculate the emergent spectrum of an inner ADAF + an outer truncated accretion disk around a supermassive black hole by considering the effects of the magnetic field on the truncation radius of the accretion disk. By comparing with observations, we found that a weaker magnetic field (corresponding to a bigger value of ${\beta}$) is required to match the observed correlation between $L_{2-10keV}/L_{Edd}$ and the bolometric correction $k_{2-10keV}$, which is consistent with the physics of the accretion flow with a low mass accretion rate around a black hole.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.63.2-63.2
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• 2011

We present a photometric study of star clusters in three nearby barred spiral galaxies NGC 1300, NGC 1672 and NGC 6217. We use the Hubble Heritage CCD images taken with Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) of Hubble Space Telescope (HST) in several filters. We have selected hundreds of star clusters with V $\leq$ 24 mag in each galaxy, based on the morphological parameters and visual inspection. Most of the blue star clusters with B-V $\leq$ 0.5 are strongly concentrated in spiral arms. A significant fraction of these star clusters are distributed in ansae (the joint between spiral arms and bar structure). Some of the blue star clusters are also found in the nuclear starburst region, especially in NGC 1672. A small number of star clusters are found in the bar region. In contrast, the red star clusters with B-V < 0.5 are relatively uniformly located over the entire field of galaxy, and show some central concentration around the bulge. We discuss the physical properties of these star clusters with the expected results from simulations.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.33.2-33.2
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• 2018

Fossil galaxy cluster has a dominant central elliptical galaxy (${\Delta}M12$ >2 in 0.5Rvir) embedded in highly relaxed X-ray halo, which indicates dynamically stable and passively evolved system. These features are expected as a final stage of the cluster evolution in the hierarchical structure formation paradigm. It is known that Abell 2261(A2261 hereafter) is classified as a fossil cluster, but has unusual features such as a high central X-ray entropy (i.e., non-cool core system), which is not expected in normal fossil clusters. We perform a kinematic study with a spectroscopic data of 589 galaxies in the A2261 field. We define cluster member galaxies using the caustic method and discover a new second bright galaxy at ~1.5 Rvir (nearly the splash-back region). It implies the current fossil state of the cluster can break in the near future. In addition, with three independent substructure finding methods, we find that A2261 has many substructures within 3 Mpc from the center of the cluster. These findings support that A2261 is not in a dynamically stable state. We argue that A2261 is in a transitional phase of dynamical evolution of the galaxy cluster and maybe previously defined fossil cluster does not mean the final stage of the evolution of galaxy clusters.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.41.3-42
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• 2021

Coma cluster (Abell 1656) is one of the most massive local galaxy clusters such as Virgo, Fornax, and Perseus, which holds a large collection of globular clusters. Globular cluster systems (GCSs) in a galaxy cluster tell us a history of hierarchical cluster assembly and intracluster GCs (ICGCs) are known to trace the gravitational potential of the galaxy cluster. Previous studies of GCSs in Coma mainly utilized data obtained using Hubble Space Telescope (HST) with high spatial resolution. However, most of the data were based on narrow-field pointing observations. In this study we present the widest survey of GCSs in the Coma cluster using the archival Subaru/Hyper Suprime-Cam (HSC) g and r images, supplemented with the archival HST images. The Coma GCSs are largely extended in E-W and SW direction, along the general direction of Coma-Abell 1367 filament. This global structure of the GCSs is consistent with the spatial distribution of the intracluster light (ICL). ICGC spatial distribution is largely extended to almost ~50% of the virial radius. Most of these ICGCs are blue and metal-poor, which supports the scenario that ICGCs are mainly originated from dwarf galaxies and some proportion from brighter galaxies. Implications of the results will be discussed.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.40.2-40.2
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• 2017

At local, majority of galaxies in the dense environment, such as galaxy cluster, are red and quiescent with little star-formation (SF) activity. However, a different picture emerges as we go to high redshift: (1) there exist non-negligible fraction of galaxies still forming stars actively even in dense environment, and (2) there is a significant cluster-by-cluster variation in the SF properties, such as quiescent galaxy fraction. In this presentation, we show the results of our study about the variation of quiescent galaxy fraction among high-redshift (z~1) galaxy clusters, based on the multi-object spectroscopic (MOS) observation with IMACS on the Magellan telescope. Our main result is that galaxy clusters which are connected with significant large-scale structure (LSS), well beyond the cluster scale, are more active in their SF activity, i.e., the quiescent galaxy fraction for these clusters is lower compared to the clusters which are detached from LSS.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.37 no.5
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• pp.329-335
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• 2004

Observations of magnetic fields on scales up to several Mpc are important for understanding cluster and large-scale structure evolution. Our current census of such structures is heavily biased - towards fields of several $\mu$G, towards fields in deep potential wells, and towards high inferred field strengths m cooling flow and other clusters from improper analysis of rotation measure data. After reviewing these biases, I show some recent results on two relics that are powered in very different ways. I describe new investigations that are now uncovering weak diffuse fields in the outskirts of clusters and other low density environments, and the good prospects for further progress.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.58.1-58.1
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• 2013

The main idea of the Alcock-Paczynski (AP) test is that, if we use a wrong distance-redshift relation to infer the shape of a spherical object in the Universe, this object may look non-spherical. To probe the cosmic expansion history through the AP test, the key point is to find something which is known as spherical in the Universe. We propose two possible ways applying the AP test to the large scale structure (LSS): 1) Based on the observed galaxies or quasars, one built up the beta-skeleton tracing the LSS, and investigating the inhomogeneity of the connections; 2) One reconstructs the smoothed density-contrast gradient field based on LSS observations, and investigating the inhomogeneity of the gradient vectors. Compared with some existed methods probing AP effect through 2-point correlation function, galaxy pairs, or voids, our methods have various advantages: 1) The information of both the high and low dense regions of the LSS are taken into account. 2) The redshift space distortion as the main contamination to the AP effect can be easily removed.

• Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.147-149
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• 2017

Since the launch of the Herschel Space Observatory, our understanding about the photo-dissociation regions (PDR) has taken a step forward. In the bandwidth of the Fourier Transform Spectrometer (FTS) of the Spectral and Photometric Imaging REceiver (SPIRE) on board Herschel, ten CO rotational transitions, including J = 4 - 3 to J = 13 - 12, and three fine structure lines, including [$C{\small{I}}$] 609, [$C{\small{I}}$] 370, and [$N{\small{II}}$] $205{\mu}m$, are covered. I present our findings from the FTS observations at the nuclear region of M83, based on the spatially resolved physical parameters derived from the CO spectral line energy distribution (SLED) map and the comparisons with the dust properties and star-formation tracers. This article discusses (1) the potential of using [$N{\small{II}$] 205 and [$C{\small{I}}$] $370{\mu}m$ as star-formation tracers; (2) the excitation mechanisms of warm CO in the nuclear region of M83.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.41.1-41.1
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• 2014

Clusters of galaxies provide unique laboratories to study astrophysical processes on large scales, and are also important probes for cosmology. X-ray observations are still the best way to find and characterise clusters. The extended ROSAT-ESO flux-limited X-ray (REFLEX II) galaxy clusters form currently the largest well-defined and tested X-ray galaxy cluster sample, providing a census of the large-scale structure of the Universe out to redshifts of z-0.4. I will describe the properties of the survey and the X-ray luminosity function, which led to our recent cosmological constraints on omegaM-sigma8. They tighten the previous constraints from other X-ray experiments, showing good agreements with those from the Planck clusters, but some tension exists with the Planck CMB constraints. The second part of my talk will concern the structure of the local Universe, and the study of the first X-ray superclusters. The density of the clusters reveals an under-dense region in the nearby Universe, which has an interesting implication for the cosmological parameters. Using the X-ray superclusters, that are constructed with a physically motivated procedure, I will show environmental aspects that X-ray superclusters provide, and compare to cosmological N-body simulations.