• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.239.1-239.1
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• 2012

This paper presents the results of one of early sciences with Korean VLBI Network (KVN): a large fringe survey of compact radio sources at 43GHz. We established the catalog of correlated flux densities in three ranges of baseline projection lengths of 637 sources from a 43 GHz (Q-band) survey observed with the Korean VLBI Network. Of them, 623 sources have not been observed before at Q-band with VLBI. The goal of this work in the early science phase of the new VLBI array is twofold: to evaluate the performance of the new instrument that operates in a frequency range of 22--129 GHz and to build a list of objects that can be used as targets and as calibrators. We have observed the list of 799 target sources with declinations down to $-40{\circ}$. Among them, 724 were observed before with VLBI at 22 GHz and had correlated flux densities greater than 200 mJy. The overall detection rate is 78%. The detection limit, defined as the minimum flux density for a source to be detected with 90% probability in a single observation, was in a range of 115--180 mJy depending on declination. However, some sources as weak as 70 mJy have been detected. Of 623 detected sources, 33 objects are detected for the first time in VLBI mode. We determined their coordinates with the median formal uncertainty 20 mas. The results of this work set the basis for future efforts to build the complete flux-limited sample of extragalactic sources at frequencies 22 GHz and higher at 3/4 of the celestial sphere.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.51 no.5
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• pp.143-153
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• 2018

We present the first results of the invariant point (IVP) coordinates of the KVN Ulsan and Tamna radio telescopes. To determine the IVP coordinates in the geocentric frame (ITRF2014), a coordinate transformation method from the local frame, in which it is possible to survey using the optical instrument, to the geocentric frame was adopted. The least-square circles are fitted in three dimensions using the Gauss-Newton method to determine the azimuth and elevation axes in the local frame. The IVP in the local frame is defined as the mean value of the intersection points of the azimuth axis and the orthogonal vector between the azimuth and elevation axes. The geocentric coordinates of the IVP are determined by obtaining the seven transformation parameters between the local frame and the east-north-up (ENU) geodetic frame. The axis-offset between the azimuth and elevation axes is also estimated. To validate the results, the variation of coordinates of the GNSS station installed at KVN Ulsan was compared to the movement of the IVP coordinates over 9 months, showing good agreement in both magnitude and direction. This result will provide an important basis for geodetic and astrometric applications.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.35.4-35.4
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• 2019

We have conducted a 22 GHz very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) survey of 281 local (z < 0.05) active galactic nuclei (AGNs) selected from the Swift Burst Alert Telescope (BAT) 70-month ultra hard X-ray (14-195 keV) catalog. The main goal is to investigate the relation between the strengths of black hole accretion and the parsec-scale nuclear jet, which is expected to tightly correlate but has not been observationally confirmed yet. The BAT AGN Spectroscopic Survey (BASS) provides the least biased AGN sample against obscuration including both Seyfert types, hence it makes an ideal parent sample for studying the nuclear jet properties of an overall AGN population. Using the Korean VLBI Network (KVN), the KVN and VERA Array (KaVA), and the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA), we observed 281 objects with a 22 GHz flux > 30 mJy, detecting 11 targets (~4% of VLBI detection rate). This implies that the fraction of X-ray AGNs which are currently ejecting a strong nuclear jet is very small. Although our 11 sources span a wide range of pc-scale morphological types, from compact to complex, they lie on a tight linear relation between accretion luminosity and nuclear jet luminosity. Our finding may indicate that the power of nuclear jet is directly responsible for the amount of black hole accretion. We also have probed the fundamental plane of black hole activity in VLBI scale (e.g., few milli-arcsecond). The results from our high-frequency VLBI radio study support that the change of jet luminosity and size follows what is predicted by the AGN evolution scenario based on the Eddington ratio (ƛ$_{Edd}$) - column density ($N_H$) plane, proposed by a previous study.

• The Journal of the Korea institute of electronic communication sciences
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.1175-1182
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• 2021

The receiver of each radio telescope of KVN, has a sampler that converts astronomical radio signal to digital data. The ability of this sampler (the bandwidth, sampling frequency, and sampling bits) is improved by sqrt(n), if the bandwidth is increased by n times, and the number of observable objects increases exponentially in the case of continum spectrum radio sources. As the bandwidth increases, there are the more spectrum lines that can be simultaneously monitored in the radio source. This will greatly expand the research area in astronomical radio observation. For this reason, we are trying to independently develop the technology of the fast digital sampler. Therefore, based on the research experience and technology accumulated so far, An ability of sampling up to 3.5 GHz, that can vary the sampling frequency and can observe in a wider band, was designed and made for proto-type. In this study, we introduce the development details and test results for new sampling system.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.52.1-52.1
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• 2021

We present the results of multi-epoch, multi-frequency monitoring of a blazar 4C +29.45, which was regularly monitored as part of the Interferometric Monitoring of GAmma-ray Bright AGNs program - a key science program of the Korean Very long baseline interferometry Network (KVN). Observations were conducted simultaneously at 22, 43, 86 and 129 GHz during the 4 years from December 2012 to December 2016. We also used additional data from the 15 GHz Owens Valley Radio Observatory (OVRO) monitoring program. From the 15 GHz light curve, we estimated the variability time scales of the source during several radio flux enhancements. We found that the source experiencesd 6 radio flux enhancements with variability time scales of 9-187 days during the observing period, yielding corresponding variability Doppler factors of 9-27. From the multi-frequency simultaneous KVN observations, we were able to obtain accurate radio spectra of the source and hence to more precisely measure the turnover frequencies 𝜈_r of synchrotron self-absorbed (SSA) emission with a mean value of ${\bar{\nu}_r}=28.9GHz$. Using jet geometry assumptions, we estimated the size of the emitting region at the turnover frequency. Taking into account these results, we found that the equipartition magnetic field strength is up to two orders of magnitudes higher than the SSA magnetic field strength (0.6-99 mG). This is consistent with the source being particle dominated.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.50.2-50.2
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• 2015

전파천문학의 불모지였던 우리나라에 전파천문학이 잉태된 것은 1980년으로 국립천문대가 발족한지 불과 6년이 지난 시점으로, 소백산 61cm 광학망원경의 광전측광관측이 궤도에 진입하던 시기였다. 우리나라에서 현대천문학이 겨우 걸음마를 할 시기에 mm파 전파망원경의 도입은 용감한 도전으로, 5년여 간 많은 우여곡절을 겪으며 1985년에 전파망원경이 설치되었다. 1985년 대덕에 14m 전파망원경을 건설하며 시작된 우리나라의 전파천문학은 지난 30년간 발전을 거듭하며 전파간섭계인 한국우주전파관측망(KVN) 건설과 태양전파망원경 설치로 이어져 AGN, 원시성 및 만기형성의 미세구조 연구, 태양폭발현상 연구 등 연구 영역을 확장하고 있다. 2015년은 14m 전파망원경 건설 30주년을 맞는 해이다. 본 발표에서는 대덕전파천문대가 지난 30년간 걸어온 발자취를 살펴보고, 이를 기반으로 한 발전방향을 논의하고자 한다.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.57.1-57.1
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• 2015

VLBI에서 관측 대역폭이 n배 증가될 경우 관측감도는 sqrt(n)만큼 향상되고, 이는 관측 연구 측면에서 기존에는 불가능하던 천체에 대한 연구 수행이 가능함을 의미한다. 관측 대역폭의 확대는 관측 데이터의 용량 증가를 의미하며 여기서 해당 데이터의 처리를 위한 초고속 데이터 기록시스템은 핵심적 역할을 한다. 이에 따라 현재 KVN에서는 미국 MIT Haystack 천문대에서 개발된 초고속 기록시스템인 Mark5B/B+와 Mark6를 운용 중에 있다. 하지만 이들 시스템의 경우 사실상 VLBI연구를 위한 목표로 특수 개발되었기에 유지 및 운영 측면에서 여러 불편이 있고, 성능에 있어서도 단일 스트림 기준으로 8Gbps를 넘지 못하는 한계를 안고 있다. 본 발표에서는 기존 시스템을 대체할 수 있는 기술로서 PCI 익스프레스 기반의 데이터 처리를 소개하고자 한다. 나아가 실제 관측 데이터에 대한 입출력 및 기존 시스템과의 성능 비교를 통해 광대역 관측 연구에 최적화된 기록 시스템을 제안하고자 한다.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.56.3-56.3
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• 2015

한국우주전파관측망은 22GHz, 43GHz, 86GHz, 129GHz의 4주파수 동시관측 시스템을 운용하고 있다. 이 시스템으로부터 수신된 전파신호를 실시간으로 디지털 신호로 바꾸어 주는 장치인 샘플러의 국산화를 위하여, 우리는 3년간의 연구개발로 1GHz 샘플링을 할 수 있는 샘플링 장치를 설계/제작하였다. 그리고, 이를 연구 관측에 실제 적용할 수 있음을 보여 주었다. 본 연구에서는 한 단계 더 나아가 광대역 관측과 e-VLBI 구현을 위하여 전파관측 자료를 직접 첨단 연구망으로 보낼 수 있는 4GHz 샘플러를 개발 중에 있다. 이번 발표에서는 4GHz 샘플러에 대한 개발 현황 및 향후 계획을 소개한다.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.84.2-84.2
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• 2013

KVN 샘플러의 국산화를 위하여, 우리는 지난 3년간의 연구로 1GHz 샘플러 Proto-Type을 설계하고 제작하였다. 첨단망인 KREONET을 이용하여 각 전파천문대를 연결하고, 바로 대전 센터로 관측 데이터를 전송하는 e-VLBI를 구현할 수 있다면, 연구의 가치와 효율을 극대화 할 수 있다. 이를 위하여 샘플러에서 직접 첨단망으로 VDIF(VLBI Data Interchange Format, VLBI 자료전송 규격)의 자료를 보낼 수 있게 새로운 샘플러를 설계하고 제작하고자 한다.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.67.1-67.1
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• 2013

It has been known that HCN is one of ubiquitous high-density gas tracer, and the abundance ratio between HCN and its Isomer, HNC sensitively depends on kinetic temperature in star-forming regions. Here we investigate the molecular abundance ratio toward three different evolutionary phases of massive star formation: Infrared Dark Clouds, High-mass Protostellar Objects and Ultracompact HII Regions. We obtained the abundances of HCN and HNC using optically thin H13CN and HN13C lines observed with the KVN single-dish telescopes and MAMBO 1.2mm and SCUBA $850{\mu}m$ continuum data. According to our results, the ratio of [HCN]/[HNC] increases statistically with the evolutionary stage, indicative of the effect of temperature. We also found a strong anti-correlation between the column density of molecular hydrogen and the HNC abundance.