• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.49 no.1
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• pp.9-18
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• 2016

Euclid, which is primarily a dark-energy/cosmology mission, may have a microlensing component, consisting of perhaps four dedicated one-month campaigns aimed at the Galactic bulge. We show that such a program would yield excellent auxilliary science, including asteroseismology detections for about 100 000 giant stars, and detection of about 1000 Kuiper Belt Objects (KBOs), down to 2-2.5 mag below the observed break in the KBO luminosity function at I ∼ 26. For the 400 KBOs below the break, Euclid will measure accurate orbits, with fractional period errors ≲ 2.5%.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.31.2-31.2
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• 2021

To estimate the contribution of quasars on keeping the IGM ionized, building a quasar luminosity function (LF) is necessary. Quasar LFs derived from multiple quasar surveys, however, are incompatible, especially for the faint regime, emphasizing the need for deep images. In this study, we construct quasar LF reaching M₁₄₅₀~-21.5 AB magnitude at z ~ 5, which is 1.5 mag deeper than previously reported LFs, using deep images from the Hyper Suprime-Cam Subaru Strategic Program (HSC-SSP). We trained an artificial neural network (ANN) by inserting the colors as inputs to classify the quasars at z ~ 5 from the late-type stars and low-redshift galaxies. The accuracy of ANN is > 99 %. We also adopted the Bayesian information criterion to elaborate on the quasar-like objects. As a result, we recovered 5/5 confirmed quasars and remarkably minimized the contamination rate of high-redshift galaxies by up to six times compared to the selection using color selection alone. The constructed quasar parametric LF shows a flatter faint-end slope α=-127^+0.16_-0.15 similar to the recent LFs. The number of faint quasars (M₁₄₅₀ < -23.5) is too few to be the main contributor to IGM ionizing photons.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.29-34
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• 2002

We have conducted UBVI CCD photometry of an intermediate-age open cluster NGC 559 to investigate the effect of dynamical evolution on the stellar distributions in NGC 559. Our photometry allows better estimates of distance and age of the cluster owing to much deeper photometry (V $\le$ 21) than previous ones. It is found that the luminosity function and mass function as well as the spatial stellar distributions are affected by the dynamical evolution. Mass segregation leads to the central concentration of the high mass stars, which results in the flattened mass function inside the half mass radius.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.17-28
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• 2007

We present wide-field $JHK_s$-band photometric observations of the three compact H II regions G48.9-0.3, G49.0-0.3, and G49.2-0.3 in the active star-forming region W51B. The star clusters inside the three compact H II regions show the excess number of stars in the $J-K_s$ histograms compared with reference fields. While the mean color excess ratio $(E_{J-H}/E_{H-K_s})$ of the three compact H II regions are similar to ${\sim}2.07$, the visual extinctions toward them are somewhat different: ${\sim}17$ mag for G48.9-0.3 and G49.0-0.3; ${\sim}23$ mag for G49.2-0.3. Based on their sizes and brightnesses, we suggest that the age of each compact H II region is ${\leq}2\;Myr$. The inferred total stellar mass, ${\sim}1.4{\times}10^4M_{\odot}$, of W51B makes it one of the most active star forming regions in the Galaxy with the star formation efficiency of ${\sim}10%$.

• 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.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.76.2-76.2
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• 2010

We present the final results of our study on the mass-loss rate of donor stars in cataclysmic variables (CVs). Observed donors are oversized in comparison with those of isolated single stars of the same mass, which is thought to be a consequence of the mass loss. Using the empirical mass-radius relation of CVs and the homologous approximation for changes in effective temperature T2, orbital period P, and luminosity of the donor with the stellar radius, we find the semi-empirical mass-loss rate M2dot of CVs as a function of P. The derived M2dot is at ~10-9.5-10-10 $M\odot$/yr and depends weakly on P when P > 90 min, while it declines very rapidly towards the minimum period when P < 90 min. The semi-empirical M2dot is significantly different from, and has a less-pronounced turnaround behavior with P than suggested by previous numerical models. The semi-empirical P-M2dot relation is consistent with the angular momentum loss due to gravitational wave emission, and strongly suggests that CV secondaries with 0.075 $M\odot$ < M2 < 0.2 $M\odot$ are less than 2 Gyrs old. When applied to selected eclipsing CVs, our semi-empirical mass-loss rates are in good agreement with the accretion rates derived from the effective temperatures T1 of white dwarfs. Based on the semi-empirical M2dot, SDSS 1501 and 1433 systems that were previously identified as post-bounce CVs have yet to reach the minimal period.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.52.1-52.1
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• 2010

The relationship between orbital periods of cataclysmic variables (CV) and mass-loss rates of their donor stars is an important subject of theoretical researches. The observed donor's radii are oversized in comparison with those of isolated unperturbed stars of the same mass, which is thought to be a consequence of the mass-loss. Using the empirical mass-radius relation of CVs and the Hayashi theory for changes in effective temperature, orbital period, and luminosity of the donor with the stellar radius, we find the mass-loss rate of CVs as a function of the orbital period P. The derived mass-loss rate is more or less constant at 10-9.6-10-10M$\odot$ yr-1 with P above 90 minutes and declines very rapidly with P below 90 minutes, reaching 10-10.3-10-11.7M$\odot$ yr-1 when P is close to the minimum period. The turnaround behavior of the mass-loss rate shape with P near the minimal period is much less pronounced than suggested by earlier numerical models, making observational detection of the turnaround highly unlikely. When applied to our new results, SDSS 1035, 1507, 1501 and 1433 systems, previously known as post-bounce CVs, are more likely to be systems that have yet to reach the minimal period.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.153-155
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• 2007

We have analyzed H and $K_s$-band images of the Arches cluster obtained using the NIRC2 instrument on Keck with the laser guide star adaptive optics (LGS AO) system. With the help of the LGS AO system, we were able to obtain the deepest ever photometry for this cluster and its neighborhood, and derive the background-subtracted present-day mass function (PDMF) down to $1.3M_{\bigodot}$ for the 5"-9" annulus of the cluster. We find that the previously reported turnover at $6M_{\bigodot}$ is simply due to a local bump in the mass function (MF), and that the MF continues to increase down to our 50 % completeness limit ($1.3M_{\bigodot}$) with a power-law exponent of ${\Gamma}$ = -0.91 for the mass range of 1.3 < M/$M_{\bigodot}$ < 50. Our numerical calculations for the evolution of the Arches cluster show that the ${\Gamma}$ values for our annulus increase by 0.1-0.2 during the lifetime of the cluster, and thus suggest that the Arches cluster initially had ${\Gamma}$ of $-1.0{\sim}-1.1$, which is only slightly shallower than the Salpeter value.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.44.1-44.1
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• 2016

The Sagittarius-Carina spiral arm in the Galaxy contains several massive young open clusters. We present a deep optical photometric study on the massive young open clusters in the Sagittarius-Carina arm, Westerlund 2 and the young open clusters in the ${\eta}$ Carina nebula. Westerlund 2 is a less studied starburst-type cluster in the Galaxy. An abnormal reddening law for the intracluster medium of the young starburst-type cluster Westerlund 2 is determined to be $R_{V,cl}=4.14{\pm}0.08$. The distance modulus is determined from zero-age main-sequence fitting to the reddening-corrected color-magnitude diagrams of the early-type members to be $V_0-M_V=13.9{\pm}0.14mag$. The pre-main sequence (PMS) members of Westerlund 2 are selected by identifying the optical counterparts of X-ray emission sources from the Chandra X-ray observation and mid-infrared emission sources from the Spitzer/IRAC (the Infrared Array Camera) observation. The initial mass function (IMF) shows a slightly flat slope of ${\Gamma}=-1.1{\pm}0.1$ down to $5M_{\odot}$. The age of Westerlund 2 is estimated to be. 1.5 Myr from the main-sequence turn-on luminosity and the age distribution of PMS stars. The ${\eta}$ Carina nebula is the best laboratory for the investigation of the Galactic massive stars and low-mass star formation under the influence of numerous massive stars. We have performed deep wide-field CCD photometry of stars in the ${\eta}$ Carina nebula to determine the reddening law, distance, and the IMF of the clusters in the nebula. We present VRI and $H{\alpha}$ photometry of 130,571 stars from the images obtained with the 4m telescope at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO). RV,cl in the η Carina nebula gradually decreases from the southern part (~4.5, around Trumpler 14 and Trumpler 16) to the northern part around Trumpler 15 (~3.5). Distance to the young open clusters in the ${\eta}$ Carina nebula is partly revised based on the zero-age main-sequence fitting to the reddening-corrected color-magnitude diagrams (CMDs) and the (semi-) reddening-independent CMDs. We select the PMS members and candidates by identifying the optical counterparts of X-ray sources from the Chandra Carina Complex Survey and mid-infrared excess emission stars from the Spitzer Vela-Carina survey. From the evolutionary stage of massive stars and PMS stars, we obtain that the northern young open cluster Trumpler 15 is distinctively older than the southern young open clusters, Trumpler 14 (${\leq}2.5 Myr$) and Trumpler 16 (2.5-3.5 Myr). The slopes of the IMF of Trumpler 14, Trumpler 15, and Trumpler 16 are determined to be $-1.2{\pm}0.1$, $-1.5{\pm}0.3$, and $-1.1{\pm}0.1$, respectively. Based on the RV,cl of several young open clusters determined in this work and the previous studies of our group, We suggest that higher RV,cl values are commonly found for very young open clusters with the age of < 4 Myr. We also confirm the correlation between the slope of the IMF and the surface mass density of massive stars.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.48 no.6
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• pp.343-355
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• 2015

There is much observational evidence that active star formation is taking place in the Hii regions Sh 2-255 – 257. We present a photometric study of this star forming region (SFR) using imaging data obtained in passbands from the optical to the mid-infrared, in order to study the star formation process. A total of 218 members were identified using various selection criteria based on their observational properties. The SFR is reddened by at least E(B −V ) = 0.8 mag, and the reddening law toward the region is normal (R_V = 3.1). From the zero-age main sequence fitting method it is confirmed that the SFR is 2.1 ± 0.3 kpc from the Sun. The median age of the identified members is estimated to be about 1.3 Myr from a comparison of the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram (HRD) with stellar evolutionary models. The initial mass function (IMF) is derived from the HRD and the near-infrared (J, J −H) color-magnitude diagram. The slope of the IMF is about Γ = −1.6 ± 0.1, which is slightly steeper than that of the Salpeter/Kroupa IMF. It implies that low-mass star formation is dominant in the SFR. The sum of the masses of all the identified members provides the lower limit of the cluster mass (169M_⊙). We also analyzed the spectral energy distribution (SED) of pre-main sequence stars using the SED fitting tool of Robitaille et al., and confirm that there is a significant discrepancy between stellar mass and age obtained from two different methods based on the SED fitting tool and the HRD.