• Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.331-335
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• 2017

We present project updates of the next-generation infrared space mission SPICA (Space Infrared Telescope for Cosmology and Astrophysics) as of November 2015. SPICA is optimized for mid- and far-infrared astronomy with unprecedented sensitivity, which will be achieved with a cryogenically cooled (below 8 K), large (2.5 m) telescope. SPICA is expected to address a number of key questions in various fields of astrophysics, ranging from studies of the star-formation history in the universe to the formation and evolution of planetary systems. The international collaboration framework of SPICA has been revisited. SPICA under the new framework passed the Mission Definition Review by JAXA in 2015. A proposal under the new framework to ESA is being prepared. The target launch year in the new framework is 2027/28.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.69.1-69.1
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• 2010

IC 443 is famous for its interaction with nearby molecular clouds and intense H2 emission lines in infrared. Therefore, it has been studied extensively for the understanding of molecular shocks. We observed H2 mission lines toward the shock-cloud interaction regions of IC 443, known as clumps B, C, and G. The observations were performed with the InfraRed Camera (IRC) onboard a satellite AKARI over 2.5-5.0 um, where previous space observations, e.g. Infrared Space Observatory (ISO) and Spitzer, do not cover. Our AKARI observations provide spectra of sequential pure-rotational and ro-vibrational H2 emission lines. For the clumps C and G, combining with previous mid-infrared observational results, we found that the H2 level populations show a significant separation between v=0 and v=1 levels; v=1 levels are under-populated than v=0 levels, therefore, the population cannot be described by two temperature LTE model, as many people have analyzed for the shocked H2 gas. We also applied the thermal admixture model, dN(H2; T)~T^(-b) dT, with varying ortho-to-para ratios according to the temperature, to describe the level population, and obtained plausible ranges of the H2 gas density and power-law index b.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.56.2-56.2
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• 2010

The SPICA (SPace Infrared Telescope for Cosmology & Astrophysics) project is a next-generation astronomical mission optimized for mid- and far-infrared observation with a cryogenically cooled 3m-class telescope. Due to its high angular resolution and unprecedented sensitivity, SPICA will enable us to resolve many key issues in the present-day astronomy. As an international collaboration, KASI proposed the near-infrared instrument which is composed of two parts; (1) science observation with the capability of imaging and spectroscopy covering $0.7{\mu}m$ to $5{\mu}m$ (FPC-S) (2) fine guiding to stabilize and improve the attitude (FPC-G). Here, we introduce the science programs proposed for SPICA/FPC-S.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.67.1-67.1
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• 2016

We observed two star forming regions, N159 and N160, in the Large Magellanic Cloud with SIRPOL, the polarimeter of the Infrared Survey Facility (IRSF) in South Africa. The photometric and polarimetric observations are done in three near-infrared bands, J, H, and Ks. We measured Stokes parameters of point sources and calculated their degrees of polarization and polarization angles. The polarization vector map shows complex features associated with dust and gas structures. Overall features of the magnetic field in N159 and N160 regions are different from each other and appear to be related to local environments, such as interior and boundary of shell structure, existence of star-forming HII regions, and boundaries between HII regions and dense dark clouds. We discuss the relation between the structure of magnetic field and the local properties of dust and gas in N159 and N160 regions by comparing our polarization vector map with images of $H{\alpha}$, mid-infrared, and $^{12}CO$ emissions, respectively by WFI of MPG/ESO telescope, Spitzer IRAC, and NANTEN.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.69.1-69.1
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• 2019

We present the ALMA observations of the infrared dark cloud (IRDC) core MSXDC G053.11+00.05 MM1 at the distance of 1.7 kpc. While the core was first identified at 1.2 mm with a mass of 124 Msun, recent near- and mid-infrared observations have revealed a parsec-scale molecular hydrogen (H2 1-0 S(1) at 2.12 micron) outflow and two early class young stellar objects (YSOs) at the center of the core, one of which is likely massive (M > 8 Msun). From the ALMA Band 7 observations with a resolution of 0.5", we have found a dust filament of < 0.1 pc in which five dense cores are embedded in the 870 micron continuum. The brightest core is consistent with one of the two previously-detected YSOs, but the other four are newly discovered implying their very deeply embedded status. We have also detected several molecular line emission including H13CO+ and C17O as well as 13CO outflow with complicated morphology. At the brightest core, the methanol line (CH3OH) shows velocity gradients, which may support the existence of a circumstellar disk around a high-mass protostar. Based on the derived properties of the dense cores, we discuss their association with the two YSOs and H2 outflow detected in infrared and high-mass star-formation process occurring in IRDC cores.

• Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.335-338
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• 2012

We present the $18{\mu}m$ luminosity function (LF) of galaxies at 0.006 < z < 0.8 (the average redshift is ~ 0.04) using the AKARI mid-infrared All-Sky Survey catalogue. We have selected 243 galaxies at $18{\mu}m$ from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) spectroscopic region. These galaxies then have been classified into five types; Seyfert 1 galaxies (Sy1, including quasars), Seyfert 2 galaxies (Sy2), low ionization narrow emission line galaxies (LINER), galaxies that are likely to contain both star formation and Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) activities (composites), and star forming galaxies (SF) using optical emission lines such as the line width of $H{\alpha}$ or the emission line ratios of [OIII]/$H{\beta}$ and [NII]/$H{\alpha}$. As a result of constructing the LF of Sy1 and Sy2, we found the following results; (i) the number density ratio of Sy2 to Sy1 is $1.64{\pm}0.37$, larger than the results obtained from optical LF and (ii) the fraction of Sy2 in the entire AGN population may decrease with $18{\mu}m$ luminosity. These results suggest that most of the AGNs in the local universe are obscured by dust and the torus structure probably depends on the mid-infrared luminosity.

• Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.287-291
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• 2017

We present the results of our mid-infrared (MIR) observations of distant clusters of galaxies with AKARI. The wide-field of view of IRC/AKARI ($10^{\prime}{\times}10^{\prime}$) is ideally suited for studying dust-obscured star-formation (SF) activity of galaxies along the cosmic web in the distant universe. We performed a deep and wide-field $15{\mu}m$ (rest-frame ${\approx}8{\mu}m$) imaging observation of the RXJ1716+6708 cluster (z = 0.81) with IRC. We find that $15{\mu}m$-detected cluster member galaxies (with total infrared luminosities of $L_{IR}{\geq}10^{11}L_{\odot}$) are most preferentially located in the cluster outskirt regions, whilst such IR-luminous galaxies avoid the cluster centre. Our $H{\alpha}$ follow-up study of this field confirmed that a significant fraction of $15{\mu}m$-detected cluster galaxies are heavily obscured by dust (with $AH{\alpha}$>3 mag in extreme cases). The environment of such dusty star-burst galaxies coincides with the place where we see a sharp "break" of the colour-density relation, suggesting an important link between dust-obscured SF activity and environmental quenching. We also report the discovery of a new cluster candidate around a radio galaxy at z = 1.52 (4C 65.22), where we obtained one of the deepest IRC imaging datasets with all the nine filters at $2-24{\mu}m$. This field will provide us with the final, excellent laboratory for studying the dust-enshrouded SF activity in galaxies along the cosmic web at the critical epoch of cluster galaxy evolution with AKARI.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.159-169
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• 2004

This is a proposal to probe local part of the interplanetary dust (IPD) cloud complex and retrieve mean volume emissivity of the local IPDs at mid-infrared wavelengths. This will be done by monitoring, with Infrared Camera (IRC) aboard the ASTRO-F, the annual modulation of the zodiacal emission. In pointing mode of the ASTRO-F mission the spacecraft can make attitude maneuvering over approximately ${\pm}1^{\circ}$ range centered at solar elongation $90^{\circ}$ in the ecliptic plane. The attitude maneuvering combined with high sensitivity of the IRC will provide us with a unique opportunity observationally to take derivatives of the zodiacal emission brightness with respect to the solar elongation. From the resulting differential of the brightness over the ${\pm}1^{\circ}$ range, one can directly determine the mean volume emissivity of the local IPDs with a sufficient accuracy to de-modulate the annual emissivity variations due to the Earth's elliptical motion and the dis-alignment of the maximum IPD density plane with respect to the ecliptic. The non-zero eccentricity ($e_{\oplus}$= 0.0167) of the Earth's orbit combined with the sensitive temperature dependence of the Planck function would bring modulations of amplitude at least $3.34\%$ to the zodiacal emission brightness at mid-infrared wavelengths, with which one may determine the IPD temperature T(r) and mean number density n(r) as functions of heliocentric distance r. This will in turn fix the power-law exponent $\delta$ in the relation $T(r) = T_o(r/r_o)^{-\delta}$ for the dust temperature and v in $n(r) = n_o(r/r_o)^-v$ for the density. We discuss how one may de-couple the notorious degeneracy of cross-section, density, reference temperature $T_o$ and exponent $\delta$.

• Current Optics and Photonics
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• v.7 no.6
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• pp.738-744
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• 2023

Graphene-based saturable absorbers (SAs) are widely used as laser mode-lockers at various laser oscillators. In particular, transmission-type graphene-SAs with ultrabroad spectral coverage are typically manufactured on transparent substrates with low nonlinearity to minimize the effects on the oscillators. Here, we developed two types of transmitting graphene SAs based on CaF₂ and ZnSe. Using the graphene-SA based on CaF₂, a passively mode-locked mid-infrared Cr:ZnS laser delivers relatively long 540 fs pulses with a maximum output power of up to 760 mW. In the negative net cavity dispersion regime, the pulse width was not reduced further by inhomogeneous group delay dispersion (GDD) compensation. In the same laser cavity, we replaced only the graphene-SA based on CaF₂ with the SA based on ZnSe. Due to the additional self-phase modulation effect induced by the ZnSe substrate with high nonlinearity, the stably mode-locked Cr:ZnS laser produced Fourier transform-limited ~130 fs near 2,340 nm. In the stable single-pulse operation regime, average output powers up to 635 mW at 234 MHz repetition rates were achieved. To our knowledge, this is the first attempt to achieve shorter pulse widths from a polycrystalline Cr:ZnS laser by utilizing the graphene deposited on the substrate with high nonlinearity.

• Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.347-352
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• 2012

Understanding infrared (IR) luminosity is fundamental to understanding the cosmic star formation history and AGN evolution, since their most intense stages are often obscured by dust. Japanese infrared satellite, AKARI, provided unique data sets to probe this both at low and high redshifts. The AKARI performed an all sky survey in 6 IR bands (9, 18, 65, 90, 140, and $160{\mu}m$) with 3-10 times better sensitivity than IRAS, covering the crucial far-IR wavelengths across the peak of the dust emission. Combined with a better spatial resolution, AKARI can measure the total infrared luminosity ($L_{TIR}$) of individual galaxies much more precisely, and thus, the total infrared luminosity density of the local Universe. In the AKARI NEP deep field, we construct restframe $8{\mu}m$, $12{\mu}m$, and total infrared (TIR) luminosity functions (LFs) at 0.15 < z < 2.2 using 4,128 infrared sources. A continuous filter coverage in the mid-IR wavelength (2.4, 3.2, 4.1, 7, 9, 11, 15, 18, and $24{\mu}m$) by the AKARI satellite allows us to estimate restframe $8{\mu}m$ and $12{\mu}m$ luminosities without using a large extrapolation based on a SED fit, which was the largest uncertainty in previous work. By combining these two results, we reveal dust-hidden cosmic star formation history and AGN evolution from z = 0 to z = 2.2, all probed by the AKARI satellite.