• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
• /
• v.39 no.2
• /
• pp.49-49
• /
• 2014

Blue Compact Dwarf galaxies (BCDs) are low-mass galaxies with recently enhanced star formation activity. Since the discovery of old stellar population in the BCDs, a number of hypotheses have been suggested as the origin of the current active star formation. One theory is tidal interactions such as fly-by and merger. In this study we test this hypothesis using a pair of BCDs, ESO 435-IG20 and ESO 435-IG16 that are separate by only ~80 kpc in projection at a similar redshift (at a ~9 Mpc distance). In the HIPASS survey, intergalactic atomic hydrogen envelope has been found to be covering both galaxies, making the pair a good candidate for the case where the star formation has been triggered by tidal interaction. We probe the gas morphology and kinematics of the BCD pair using ATCA HI data in order to find the evidence of tidal interaction. We also estimate star formation rates in the pair based on Ha emission and UV continuum, and compare with other dwarf galaxies to investigate how responsible the tidal interaction is for the enhanced star formation in this case.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
• /
• v.41 no.2
• /
• pp.30.2-30.2
• /
• 2016

M104 (NGC 4594, the Sombrero) is an intriguing disk galaxy classified as an elliptical galaxy nowadays. It hosts a luminous bulge and a massive disk, but it is still mysterious how M104 acquired such peculiar structures. Globular clusters are an useful tracer to investigate the formation history of early-type galaxies. In this study we present a wide field imaging study of the globular clusters in M104. Using wide ($1^{\circ}{\times}1^{\circ}$) and deep ugi images of M104 obtained with the CFHT/MegaCam observations, we detect a large number of globular clusters. The color distribution of these globular clusters shows that there are two subpopulations: a metal-poor system and a metal-rich system. The radial number density of the metal-poor globular clusters shows a long tail reaching R ~ 30' (~ 80 kpc), indicating clearly the existence of a giant metal-poor halo in M104. This result is consistent with the previous studies on the dual halos of massive early-type galaxies. We will discuss implications of these results in relation with the formation history of M104.

• Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
• /
• v.7 no.1
• /
• pp.231-253
• /
• 1992

A model for the distribution of stars in the disk and the spheroid of our Galaxy is reexamined from an edge-on view of the Galaxy obtained by selecting infrared sources from the IRAS Point Source Catalog. The sources are counted as a function of galactic latitude. longitude and $12{\mu}m$ apparent magnitude. The source counts are reasonably separated into the disk component and the spheroid component contributions and each of the contributions is further interpreted as a convolution of a spatial density distribution and a luminosity function based on the least-square fit method. The spatial density of the disk component has an exponential radial scale length of $h_R{\sim}2.6\;kpc$ and the vertical distribution follows a canonical $sech^2$ law with a scale height $h_z{\sim}240\;pc$. The distribution of the spheroid component can be represented by an oblate spheriod with an axis ratio $k{\sim}0.61$ and a de Vaucouleurs' $r^{1/4}$ law with an effective radius of $R_e{\sim}120\;pc$. The steep density gradient of the spheroid component is consistent with that of late M giants in the central bulge. The luminosity functions of the disk and the spheroid component stars resemble respectively those of the K luminosity function of disk M giants (Garwood and Jones 1986) and the bolometric luminosity function of M giants in bulge fields (Frogel et al, 1990).

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
• /
• v.42 no.6
• /
• pp.135-144
• /
• 2009

We present JHK near-infrared photometric study for the old open cluster (OC) Trumpler 5 (Tr 5), based on the 2MASS data. From the color-magnitude diagrams of Tr 5, we have located the position of the red giant clump (RGC) stars, and used the mean magnitude of the RGC stars in K-band to estimate the distance to Tr 5, d = $3.1{\pm}0.1$ kpc ($(m-M)_0$ = $12.46{\pm}0.04$). From fitting the theoretical isochrones of Padova group, we have estimated the reddening, metallicity, and age : E(B-V) = $0.64{\pm}0:05$, [Fe/H] = $-0.4{\pm}0.1$ dex, and t = $2.8{\pm}0.2$ Gyr (log t = $9.45{\pm}0.04$), respectively. These parameters generally agree well with those obtained from the previous studies on Tr 5 and confirms that this cluster is an old OC with metallicity being metal-poorer than solar abundance, located in the anti-Galactic center region.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
• /
• v.37 no.1
• /
• pp.72.2-72.2
• /
• 2012

We present the results of HI 21 cm line observations to explore the nature of the high-velocity (HV) HI gas at - 173${\circ}$, which appears as faint, wing-like, Hi emission that extends to velocities beyond those allowed by Galactic rotation in the low-resolution surveys. We designate this feature as Forbidden Velocity Wing (FVW) 172.8+1.5. Our high-resolution Arecibo HI observations show that FVW 172.8+1.5 is composed of knots, filaments, and ring-like structures distributed over an area of a few degrees in extent. These HV HI emission features are well correlated with the HII complex G173+1.5, which is composed of five Sharpless HII regions distributed along a radio continuum loop of size 4.4${\times}$3.4, or -138 pc ${\times}$ 107 pc, at a distance of 1.8 kpc. G173+1.5 is one of the largest star-forming regions in the outer Galaxy. The HV HI gas and the radio continuum loop seem to trace an expanding shell. Its derived HI parameters including large expansion velocity (55 km/s) imply the SNR interpretation. Hot xray emission is detected within the HII complex, which also supports its SNR origin. The FVW172.8+1.5 is most likely the products of a supernova explosion(s) within the HII complex, possibly in a cluster that triggered the formation of these HII regions.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
• /
• v.42 no.2
• /
• pp.75.1-75.1
• /
• 2017

Ram pressure due to the intracluster medium (ICM) is known to play a crucial role in removing the cool gas content of a galaxy on a short timescale, potentially driving a star forming galaxy to evolve into a red passive population. Although many HI imaging studies find clear evidence of diffuse atomic gas stripping from cluster galaxies, it is still debatable whether the ram pressure can also strip dense molecular gas. NGC 4522, a Virgo spiral, undergoing strong ram pressure stripping, is one of the few cases where extraplanar CO emission together with stripped HI gas and $H{\alpha}$ knots has been identified, providing an ideal laboratory to study the molecular gas stripping event and the extraplanar star formation activity. The aim of this work is to investigate the origin of extraplanar molecular clouds near NGC 4522 (e.g. stripped or forming in situ), and to probe a relation between the molecular gas surface density and the star formation rate (i.e. the Kennicutt-Schmidt law) at sub-kpc scale, especially in the extraplanar space, using ALMA Cycle 3 CO data and $H{\alpha}$ data of NGC 4522. We present the results from our ALMA observations, and discuss possible scenarios for the origin of extraplanar molecular clouds and to characterize the star formation activity associated with stripped gas outside the galactic disk.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
• /
• v.42 no.2
• /
• pp.55.5-56
• /
• 2017

Galaxy dynamics probes weak gravity at accelerations below the de Sitter scale of acceleration adS = cH, where c is the velocity of light and H is the Hubble parameter. Low and high redshift galaxies hereby offer a novel probe of weak gravity in an evolving cosmology, satisfying H(z) = H0(1 + A(6z + 12z^2 +12z^3+ 6z^4+ (6/5)z^5)/(1 + z) with baryonic matter content A sans tension to H0 in surveys of the Local Universe. Galaxy rotation curves show anomalous galaxy dynamics in weak gravity aN < adS across a transition radius r beyond about 5 kpc for galaxy mass of 1e11 solar mass. where aN is the Newtonian acceleration based on baryonic matter content. We identify this behavior with a holographic origin of inertia from entanglement entropy, that introduces a C0 onset across aN=adS with asymptotic behavior described by a Milgrom parameter satisfying a0=omega/(2pi), where omega=sqrt(1-q)H is a fundamental eigenfrequency of the cosmological horizon. Extending an earlier confrontation with data covering 0.003 < aN/adS < 1 at redshift z about zero in Lellie et al. (2016), the modest anomalous behavior in the Genzel et al. sample at redshifts 0.854 < z <2.282 is found to be mostly due to clustering 0.36 < aN/adS < 1 close to the C0 onset to weak gravity and an increase of up to 65% in a0.

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

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
• /
• v.42 no.1
• /
• pp.51.3-51.3
• /
• 2017

To investigate the connection between radio activity and AGN outflows, we present a study of ionized gas kinematics by using [O III] ${\lambda}5007$ emission line along the radio jet for six radio AGNs. These AGNs are selected based on the radioactivity (L1.4GHz ${\geq}$ 1039.8 erg s-1) as well as optical properties as type 2 AGNs. By using the high spatial resolution of the Red Channel Cross Dispersed Echellette Spectrograph at the Multiple Mirror Telescope, we investigate in detail the [O III] and stellar kinematics. We spatially resolve and probe the central AGN-photoionization sizes, which is important in understanding the structures and evolutions of galaxies. We find that the typical central AGN-photoionization sizes of our targets are in range of 1.8-3.8 kpc. We study the [O III] kinematics along the radio jets to test whether there is a link between gas outflows in the narrow-line region and radio jet emissions. Contrary to our expectation, we find no evidence that the gas outflows are directly connected to radio jet emission.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
• /
• v.43 no.1
• /
• pp.31.1-31.1
• /
• 2018

While astronomers are working hard to detect the earliest galaxies and to follow their evolution to redshift z~0, they remain baffled by the present-day dichotomy between disky, star forming (aka late-type) galaxies and quiescent, spheroidal (aka early-type) galaxies. The key is to find galaxies in transition from one class to the other, whose spectra indicate intense recent star formation that has now ended. We have identified thousands of such "post-starburst galaxies" and discovered that they are often the products of late-type galaxy-galaxy mergers. Their current kinematics, stellar populations, and morphologies are consistent with late- to early-type galaxy evolution. I will discuss recent work that suggests new connections between this violent history and the central supermassive black hole. In particular, the molecular gas reservoir of a post-starburst galaxy declines rapidly after the starburst ends and in a manner consistent with feedback from an active nucleus. Furthermore, a star is ~300x more likely to be tidally disrupted by the nucleus of a post-starburst galaxy than in other galaxies. Like the well-known black hole-bulge mass correlation, these surprising links between the properties of a galaxy on kpc scales and its supermassive black hole on pc scales require explanation.