• Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.103-105
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• 2015

The 22 m diameter Mopra telescope in Australia is being used to undertake an improved survey of the CO J = 1-0 line at 3mm along the 4th quadrant of the Galaxy, achieving an order of magnitude better spatial and spectral resolution (i.e. 0.6 and 0.1 km/s) than the Dame et al. (2001) survey that is publically available for the Southern Galactic plane. Furthermore, the Mopra CO survey includes the four principal isotopologues of the CO molecule (i.e. $^{12}CO$, $^{13}CO$, $C^{18}O$ and $C^{17}O$). The survey makes use of an 8 GHz-wide spectrometer and a fast mode of on-the-fly mapping developed for the Mopra telescope, where the cycle time has been reduced to just 1/4 of a second. 38 square degrees of the Galaxy, from $l=306-344^{\circ}$, $b=0{\pm}5^{\circ}$ have currently been surveyed, together with additional 9 sq. deg. regions around the Carina complex and the Central Molecular Zone. We present new results from the survey (see also Burton et al., 2013, 2014). The Mopra CO data are being made publically available as they are published; for the latest release see the project website at www.phys.unsw.edu.au/mopraco.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.173-181
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• 2013

We trace the dynamical evolution of dark matter (DM) content in NGC 6397, one of the native Galactic globular clusters (GCs). The relatively strong tidal field (Galactocentric radius of ~ 6 kpc) and short relaxation timescale (~0.3 Gyr) of the cluster can cause a significant amount of DM particles to evaporate from the cluster in the Hubble time. Thus, the cluster can initially contain a non-negligible amount of DM. Using the most advanced Fokker-Planck (FP) method, we calculate the dynamical evolution of GCs for numerous initial conditions to determine the maximum initial DM content in NGC 6397 that matches the present-day brightness and velocity dispersion profiles of the cluster. We find that the maximum allowed initial DM mass is slightly less than the initial stellar mass in the cluster. Our findings imply that NGC 6397 did not initially contain a significant amount of DM, and is similar to that of NGC 2419, the remotest and the most massive Galactic GC.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.53 no.5
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• pp.103-115
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• 2020

We analyze the spatially resolved kinematics of gas and stars for a sample of ten hidden type 1 AGNs in order to investigate the nature of their central sources and the scaling relation with host galaxy stellar velocity dispersion. We select our sample from a large number of hidden type 1 AGNs, which are identified based on the presence of a broad (full width at half maximum ≳1000 km s^-1) component in the Hα line profile and which are frequently mis-classified as type 2 AGNs because AGN continuum and broad emission lines are weak or obscured in the optical spectral range. We used the Blue Channel Spectrograph at the 6.5-m Multiple Mirror Telescope to obtain long-slit data with a spatial scale of 0.3 arcsec pixel^-1. We detected broad Hβ lines for only two targets; however, the presence of strong broad Hα lines indicates that the AGNs we selected are all low-luminosity type 1 AGNs. We measured the velocity, velocity dispersion, and flux of stellar continuum and gas emission lines (i.e., Hβ and [O III]) as a function of distance from the center. The spatially resolved gas kinematics traced by Hβ or [O III] are generally similar to the stellar kinematics except for the inner center, where signatures of gas outflows are detected. We compare the luminosity-weighted effective stellar velocity dispersions with the black hole masses and find that our hidden type 1 AGNs, which have relatively low back hole masses, follow the same scaling relation as reverberation-mapped type 1 AGN and more massive inactive galaxies.

• Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.133-137
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• 2015

The Galactic center uniquely provides opportunities to resolve how star clusters form in neutral gas overdensities engulfed in a large-scale accretion flow. We have performed sensitive Green Bank 100m Telescope (GBT), Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (JVLA), and Submillimeter Array (SMA) mapping observations of molecular gas and thermal dust emission surrounding the Galaxy's supermassive black hole (SMBH) Sgr $A^{\ast}$. We resolved several molecular gas streams orbiting the center on ${\gtrsim}10$ pc scales. Some of these gas streams appear connected to the well-known 2-4 pc scale molecular circumnuclear disk (CND). The CND may be the tidally trapped inner part of the large-scale accretion flow, which incorporates inflow via exterior gas filaments/arms, and ultimately feeds gas toward Sgr $A^{\ast}$. Our high resolution GBT+JVLA $NH_3$ images and SMA+JCMT 0.86 mm dust continuum image consistently reveal abundant dense molecular clumps in this region. These gas clumps are characterized by ${\gtrsim}100$ times higher virial masses than the derived molecular gas masses based on 0.86 mm dust continuum emission. In addition, Class I $CH_3OH$ masers and some $H_2O$ masers are observed to be well associated with the dense clumps. We propose that the resolved gas clumps may be pressurized gas reservoirs for feeding the formation of 1-10 solar-mass stars. These sources may be the most promising candidates for ALMA to probe the process of high-mass star-formation in the Galactic center.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.42 no.5
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• pp.125-134
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• 2009

We investigated the circumnuclear region of the Seyfert 2 galaxy NGC 5728, using the CFHT 3.6 m OASIS $[S_{II}]$, $[O_{III}]$ & $H\beta$ spectral images complemented with the IUE spectra. The physical condition of the circumnuclear zone has been derived: the gas density (indicated by $[S_{II}]$6716/31 ratio) around the C core is generally similar to that around the NW core, i.e., $\sim500cm^{-3}$. However, there appears to be evidence of a higher density shell in front of the NW core, $\sim10^4cm^{-3}$ at -250 km $s^-1$. The IUE $Si_{III}$]1892/$C_{III}$]1909 ratio implies a possible presence of a broad emission region of gas densities of $\sim10^{10}cm^{-3}$. The SE cone and surrounding area show several prominent features, while the NW cone does not show any particular structure: we identified three prominent blobs in the SE cone and one possible candidate in the NW cone. The outflow activities exist within the relatively large conic opening angle. We discussed the possibility of inflow or outflow activities of blobs found in the circumnuclear region of NGC 5728. The gas around two cores, two cones, and several blobs, is likely to be excited by the AGN hot source(s).

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.41-47
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• 2013

I present a simple scheme for the treatment of gravitational interactions on galactic scales. In anal- ogy with known mechanisms of quantum field theory, I assume ad hoc that gravitation is mediated by virtual exchange particles-gravitons-with very small but non-zero masses. The resulting den- sity and mass profiles are proportional to the mass of the gravitating body. The mass profile scales with the centripetal acceleration experienced by a test particle orbiting the central mass, but this comes at the cost of postulating a universal characteristic acceleration $a_0{\approx}4.3{\times}10^{-12}msec^{-2}$ (or $8{\pi}a_0{\approx}1.1{\times}10^{-10}msec^{-2}$). The scheme predicts the asymptotic flattening of galactic rotation curves, the Tully-Fisher/Faber-Jackson relations, the mass discrepancy-acceleration relation of galaxies, the surface brightness-acceleration relation of galaxies, the kinematics of galaxy clusters, and "Renzo's rule" correctly; additional (dark) mass components are not required. Given that it is based on various ad-hoc assumptions and given further limitations, the scheme I present is not yet a consistent theory of gravitation; rather, it is a "toy model" providing a convenient scaling law that simplifies the description of gravity on galactic scales.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.171-177
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• 2007

In external galaxies, the velocity dispersion of the atomic hydrogen gas shows a remarkably flat distribution with the galactocentric radius. This has been a long-standing puzzle because if the gas velocity dispersion is due to turbulence caused by supernova explosions, it should decline with radius. After a discussion on the role of spiral arms and ram pressure in driving interstellar turbulence in the outer parts of galactic disks, we argue that the constant bombardment by tiny high-velocity halo clouds can be a significant source of random motions in the outer disk gas. Recent observations of the flaring of H I in the Galaxy are difficult to explain if the dark halo is nearly spherical as the survival of the streams of tidal debris of Sagittarius dwarf spheroidal galaxy suggests. The radial enhancement of the gas velocity dispersion (at R > 25 kpc) due to accretion of cloudy gas might naturally explain the observed flaring in the Milky Way. Other motivations and implications of this scenario have been highlighted.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.243-248
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• 2004

Disk galaxies abound with intermediate-scale structures such as OB star complexes, giant clouds, and dust spurs in a close geometrical association with spiral arms. Various mechanisms have been proposed as candidates for their origin, but a comprehensive theory should encompass fundamental physical agents such as self-gravity, magnetic fields, galactic differential rotation, and spiral arms, all of which are known to exist in disk galaxies. Recent numerical simulations incorporating all these physical processes show that magneto-Jeans instability (MJI), in which magnetic tension resists the stabilizing Coriolis force of galaxy rotation, is much more powerful than swing-amplification or the Parker instability in forming self-gravitating intermediate-scale structures. The MJI occurring in shearing and expanding flows off spiral arms rapidly forms structures elongated along the direction perpendicular to the arms, remarkably similar to dust spurs seen in HST images of spiral galaxies. In highly nonlinear stages, these spurs fragment to form bound clumps, possibly evolving into bright arm and interarm H II regions, suggesting that all these intermediate-scale structures in spiral galaxies probably share a common dynamical origin.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.205-210
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• 2004

The interaction of disk galaxies with intergalactic winds has been invoked as a possible mechanism of the generation of galactic warps. Here we discuss conditions under which intergalactic flows can be relevant for warping field galaxies. Constraints include the heating of the outer disk, the level of asymmetry in the vertical distribution of the volume gas density, the angular frequency of the warp, the symmetry of galactic warps amplitude between the approaching and receding sides of the galaxy, and the speed of the intergalactic flow whether subsonic or supersonic. These constraints are discussed in this paper in reference to the proposal of Lopez-Corredoira et al. that warps can be a natural consequence of accretion flows onto the disk.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.199-203
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• 2004

The gas response to a proposed spiral stellar pattern for our Galaxy is presented here as calculated via 2D hydrodynamic calculations utilizing the ZEUS code in the disk plane. The locus is that found by Drimmel (2000) from emission profiles in the K band and at 240 ${\mu}m$. The self-consistency of the stellar spiral pattern was studied in previous work (see Martos et al. 2004). It is a sensitive function of the pattern rotation speed, $\Omega$p, among other parameters which include the mass in the spiral and its pitch angle. Here we further discuss the complex gaseous response found there for plausible values of $\Omega$p in our Galaxy, and argue that its value must be close to $20 km s^{-l}\;kpc^{-1}$ from the strong self-consistency criterion and other recent, independent studies which depend on such parameter. However, other values of $\Omega$p that have been used in the literature are explored to study the gas response to the stellar (K band) 2-armed pattern. For our best fit values, the gaseous response to the 2-armed pattern displayed in the K band is a four-armed pattern with complex features in the interarm regions. This response resembles the optical arms observed in the Milky Way and other galaxies with the smooth underlying two-armed pattern of the old stellar disk populations in our interpretation. The complex gaseous response appears to be related to resonances in stellar orbits. Among them, the 4:1 resonance is paramount for the axisymmetric Galactic model employed, and the set of parameters explored. In the regime seemingly proper to our Galaxy, the spiral forcing appears to be marginally strong in the sense that the 4:1 resonance terminates the stellar pattern, despite its relatively low amplitude. In current work underway, the response for low values of $\Omega$p tends to remove most of the rich structure found for the optimal self-consistent model and the gaseous pattern is ring-like. For higher values than the optimal, more features and a multi-arm structure appears.