• Title/Summary/Keyword: Star Clusters

Search Result 227, Processing Time 0.036 seconds

Near-IR Polarization of the Northeastern Region of the Large Magellanic Cloud

  • Kim, Jaeyeong
    • The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
    • /
    • v.42 no.2
    • /
    • pp.42.2-42.2
    • /
    • 2017
  • The Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) is a unique target to study the detail structures of molecular clouds and star-forming regions, due to its proximity and face-on orientation from us. Most part of the astrophysical subjects for the LMC have been investigated, but the magnetic field is still veiling despite its role in the evolution of the interstellar medium (ISM) and in the main force to influence the star formation process. Measuring polarization of the background stars behind interstellar medium allows us to describe the existence of magnetic fields through the polarization vector map. In this presentation, I introduce the near-infrared polarimetric results for the $39^{\prime}{\times}69^{\prime}$ field of the northeastern region of the LMC and the N159/N160 star-forming complex therein. The polarimetric observations were conducted at IRSF/SIRPOL 1.4 m telescope. These results allow us to examine both the global geometry of the large-scale magnetic field in the northeastern region and the close structure of the magnetic field in the complex. Prominent patterns of polarization vectors mainly follow dust emission features in the mid-infrared bands, which imply that the large-scale magnetic fields are highly involved in the structure of the dust cloud in the LMC. In addition, local magnetic field structures in the N159/N160 star-forming complex are investigated with the comparison between polarization vectors and molecular cloud emissions, suggesting that the magnetic fields are resulted from the sequential formation history of this complex. I propose that ionizing radiation from massive stellar clusters and the expanding bubble of the ionized gas and dust in this complex probably affect the nascent magnetic field structure.

  • PDF

VARIABLE STARS IN THE REGION OF THE OPEN CLUSTER NGC 457 (산개성단 NGC 457 영역의 변광성)

  • Jeon, Young-Beom;Park, Yoon-Ho;Lee, Sang-Min
    • Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
    • /
    • v.32 no.3
    • /
    • pp.421-438
    • /
    • 2017
  • Through the short-period variability survey program, we obtained time-series BV CCD images for $1.5^{\circ}{\times}1.0^{\circ}$ region around the young open cluster NGC 457. As a result, we have detected 61 variable stars including 31 new ones after checking light curves of all stars by eyes. The 61 variable stars were included 14 ${\delta}$ Scuti variable stars, a ${\beta}$ Cephei variable star, 10 variable Be and slowly pulsating B stars, 13 eclipsing binary stars, 21 semi-long periodic or slow irregular variables and an RR Lyrae variable star, respectively. Many variable B-type stars were known through a well-defined zero-age main sequence to the ${\beta}$ Cepheid region of NGC 457. Most of the variable B-type stars found this paper were known variable stars. But, 11 out of 14 ${\delta}$ Scuti variable stars were newly discovered. The new variable stars except for ${\delta}$ Scuti stars were 4 variable B-type stars, 5 eclipsing binaries and 11 semi-long periodic or slow irregular variables. We have performed frequency analysis for all ${\delta}$ Scuti stars, a ${\beta}$ Cepheid star and an RR Lyrae star.

ENVIRONMENTAL DEPENDENCE OF STELLAR POPULATION PROPERTIES OF HIGH-REDSHIFT GALAXIES

  • LEE, SEONG-KOOK;IM, MYUNGSHIN;KIM, JAE-WOO
    • Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
    • /
    • v.30 no.2
    • /
    • pp.413-415
    • /
    • 2015
  • How galaxy evolution differs in different environments is one of the intriguing questions in the study of structure formation. While galaxy properties are clearly distinguished in different environments in the local universe, it is still an open issue what causes this environmental dependence of various galaxy properties. To address this question, in this work, we investigate the build-up of passive galaxies over a wide redshift range, from z ~ 2 to z ~ 0.5, focusing on its dependence on galaxy environment. In the UKIDSS/Ultra Deep Survey (UDS) field, we identify high-redshift galaxy cluster candidates within this redshift range. Then, using deep optical and near-infrared data from Subaru and UKIRT available in this field, we analyze and compare the stellar population properties of galaxies in the clusters and in the field. Our results show that the environmental effect on galaxy star-formation properties is a strong function of redshift as well as stellar mass - in the sense that (1) the effect becomes significant at small redshift, and (2) it is stronger for low-mass ($M_{\ast}<10^{10}M_{\odot}$) galaxies. We have also found that galaxy stellar mass plays a more significant role in determining their star-formation property - i.e., whether they are forming stars actively or not - than their environment throughout the redshift range.

PANORAMIC MID-INFRARED VIEWS OF DISTANT CLUSTERS OF GALAXIES WITH AKARI

  • Koyama, Yusei
    • Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
    • /
    • v.32 no.1
    • /
    • pp.287-291
    • /
    • 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.

SPECTRA OF HII REGIONS IN SPIRAL GALAXIES AND GALACTIC GLOBULAR CLUSTERS (나선은하 HII 영역과 우리은하 구상성단의 중$\cdot$저분산 스펙트럼)

  • CHUN MUN-SUK;SOHN YOUNG-JONG
    • Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
    • /
    • v.15 no.spc1
    • /
    • pp.1-13
    • /
    • 2000
  • We review the early historical developement of astronomical spectrographs, properties of emission line spectra of HII regions in spiral galaxies, and absorption line features of galactic globular clusters. Emission line spectra of HII regions within three spiral galaxies NGC 300, NGC 1365, and NGC 7793, which were observed from AAT/IPCS, had been analysed, and we discuss the abundances of elements in HII regions and the radial abundace gradients through the galaxies. The radial UBV color variations of two globular clusters, NGC 1851 and NGC 2808, were examined for correlations with radial variations of several absorption lines in the integrated spectra, which were obtained from SAAO 74 inch telescope and image tube spectrograph. Nine giant star's spectra in NGC 3201 were also obtained and analysed for the radial abundance gradients in the globular cluster. The results show that the presence of a radial color gradient in a globular cluster is correlated with the presence of abundance gradients. Finally, we suggest some scientific programs for the new high dispersion spectrograph, which will be installed to the BOAO 1.8m telescope.

  • PDF

WASHINGTON PHOTOMETRY OF THE GLOBULAR CLUSTERS IN THE VIRGO GIANT ELLIPTICAL GALAXY M86

  • Park, Hong-Soo
    • Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
    • /
    • v.45 no.3
    • /
    • pp.71-84
    • /
    • 2012
  • We present a photometric study of the globular clusters (GCs) in the Virgo giant elliptical galaxy M86 based on Washington $CT_1$ images. The colors of the GCs in M86 show a bimodal distribution with a blue peak at ($C-T_1$) = 1.30 and a red peak at ($C-T_1$) = 1.72. The spatial distribution of the red GCs is elongated similar to that of the stellar halo, while that of the blue GCs is roughly circular. The radial number density profile of the blue GCs is more extended than that of the red GCs. The radial number density profile of the red GCs is consistent with the surface brightness profile of the M86 stellar halo. The GC system has a negative radial color gradient, which is mainly due to the number ratio of the blue GCs to the red GCs increasing as galactocentric radius increases. The bright blue GCs in the outer region of M86 show a blue tilt: the brighter they are, the redder their mean colors get. These results are discussed in comparison with other Virgo giant elliptical galaxies.

IS CALCIUM II TRIPLET A GOOD METALLICITY INDICATOR OF GLOBULAR CLUSTERS IN EARLY-TYPE GALAXIES?

  • CHUNG, CHUL;YOON, SUK-JIN;LEE, SANG-YOON;LEE, YOUNG-WOOK
    • Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
    • /
    • v.30 no.2
    • /
    • pp.489-490
    • /
    • 2015
  • We present population synthesis models for the calcium II triplet (CaT), currently the most popular metallicity indicator, based on high-resolution empirical spectral energy distributions (SEDs). Our new CaT models, based on empirical SEDs, show a linear correlation below [Fe/H] ~ -0.5, but the linear relation breaks down in the metal-rich regime by converging to the same equivalent width. This relation shows good agreement with the observed CaT of globular clusters (GCs) in NGC 1407 and the Milky Way. However, a model based on theoretical SEDs does not show this feature of the CaT and fails to reproduce observed GCs in the metal-rich regime. This linear relation may cause inaccurate metallicity determination for metal-rich stellar populations. We have also confirmed that the effect of horizontal-branch stars on the CaT is almost negligible in models based on both empirical and theoretical SEDs. Our new empirical model may explain the difference between the color distributions and CaT distributions of GCs in various early-type galaxies. Based on our model, we claim that the CaT is not a good metallicity indicator for simple stellar populations in the metal-rich regime.

NO EXCESS OF STAR FORMATION IN THE z = 1.4 STRUCTURE: Hα OBSERVATIONS OF THE RADIO-LOUD AGN 6CE1100+3505 FIELD

  • Shim, Hyunjin;Lee, Jong Chul;Hwang, Narae;Park, Byeong-Gon
    • Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
    • /
    • v.52 no.6
    • /
    • pp.235-244
    • /
    • 2019
  • We present the results of near-infrared imaging observations of the galaxy overdensity around the z = 1.44 radio-loud active galactic nucleus (AGN) 6CE1100+3505, which was carried out with the purpose of sampling the redshifted Hα emission from the actively star-forming galaxies that could constitute the overdensity. The existence of the structure around this AGN was spectroscopically confirmed by previous grism observations which are however limited to the central region. Using the CH4Off narrow/medium-band and H broad band filters in the Wide Infrared Camera (WIRCam) on the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT), we constructed a sample of objects that show a flux excess in the CH4Off band due to line emission. The emission line flux is ~ 4.9 × 10-16 erg s-1 cm-2, corresponding to a star formation rate (SFR) of ~ 50 M yr-1 for galaxies at redshifts z ~ 1.4. None of the galaxies with medium-band flux excess is located within 1 Mpc from the central AGN, and there is no evidence that the selected galaxies are associated with the proposed cluster. Along with the star formation quenching near the center that was found from the previous grism observations, the lack of extreme starbursts in the structure suggests that at z ~ 1.4, overdense regions are no longer favorable locations for vigorous star formation.

SEJONG OPEN CLUSTER SURVEY (SOS). 0. TARGET SELECTION AND DATA ANALYSIS

  • Sung, Hwankyung;Lim, Beomdu;Bessell, Michael S.;Kim, Jinyoung S.;Hur, Hyeonoh;Chun, Moo-Young;Park, Byeong-Gon
    • Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
    • /
    • v.46 no.3
    • /
    • pp.103-123
    • /
    • 2013
  • Star clusters are superb astrophysical laboratories containing cospatial and coeval samples of stars with similar chemical composition. We initiate the Sejong Open cluster Survey (SOS) - a project dedicated to providing homogeneous photometry of a large number of open clusters in the SAAO Johnson-Cousins' UBV I system. To achieve our main goal, we pay much attention to the observation of standard stars in order to reproduce the SAAO standard system. Many of our targets are relatively small sparse clusters that escaped previous observations. As clusters are considered building blocks of the Galactic disk, their physical properties such as the initial mass function, the pattern of mass segregation, etc. give valuable information on the formation and evolution of the Galactic disk. The spatial distribution of young open clusters will be used to revise the local spiral arm structure of the Galaxy. In addition, the homogeneous data can also be used to test stellar evolutionary theory, especially concerning rare massive stars. In this paper we present the target selection criteria, the observational strategy for accurate photometry, and the adopted calibrations for data analysis such as color-color relations, zero-age main sequence relations, Sp - MV relations, Sp - $T_{eff}$ relations, Sp - color relations, and $T_{eff}$ - BC relations. Finally we provide some data analysis such as the determination of the reddening law, the membership selection criteria, and distance determination.