• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.76.1-76.1
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• 2010

With advancement of infrared space telescopes during the past decade, infrared wavelength regime has been a focal point to study various properties of galaxies, such as stellar mass, dust contents and dust-hidden star formation with respect to evolution of galaxies. Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) have emerged as one of the most important features since these features dominate mid-infrared spectra of galaxies. These PAH features provide a great handle to calibrate star formation rates and diagnose ionized states of grains. However, PAH $3.3{\mu}m$ feature has not been studied as much as other PAH features since it is weaker than others and resides outside of Spitzer's capability. Still its calibration and characterization are important since it will be the only PAH feature accessible by JWST for high-z galaxies. AKARI mJy Unbiased Survey of Extragalactic Sources in 5MUSES (AMUSES) intends to take advantage of AKARI's capability of spectroscopy on 2 to 5 ${\mu}m$ to provide an unbiased library of 44 sample galaxies selected from a parent sample of 5MUSES, one of Spitzer legacy projects. For these 3.3mm flux limited sample galaxies whose redshifts range between 0 < z <1, AMUSES will calibrate PAH $3.3{\mu}m$ as a SFR while measuring ratios between PAH features and investigating Bra's potential as a SFR indicator. We present preliminary results of AMUSES.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.45.2-46
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• 2017

3C 84 (NGC 1275) is one of the most famous radio galaxies and a lot of VLBI observations have been conducted to date because of its brightness and proximity (z = 0.0176; 1 mas = 0.36 pc). The source is entering a significantly active phase with long-term increase in radio flux at cm wavelengths since 2005, and the increased activity at very-high-energy (VHE) gamma rays. In order to study properties of sub-pc-scale structure and the circumnuclear environment in 3C 84, we have conducted multi-epoch VLBI observations with the Korean VLBI Network (KVN) at 86 and 129 GHz, and monthly monitoring by the KVN and VERA Array (KaVA) at 43 GHz from 2015 August. Following the report in the previous KAS meeting (cf. 2016 KAS Autumn Annual Meeting, [구 GC-10]), we present further results mainly on the basis of twelve-epoch observations with KaVA at 43 GHz. Through the monthly monitoring with KaVA, we found that peak intensity of the pc-scale southern lobe (C3) was increased from $2.60\;Jy\;beam^{-1}$ in 2015 October to $9.80\;Jy\;beam^{-1}$ in 2016 June, corresponding to a flux increase of 3.7 times in eight months. We also detected change in direction of motion of C3 from transversal to outward with respect to C1, concurrently with the beginning of its flux increase in 2015 October. We consider that these phenomena are due to interaction of C3 with the ambient medium, and are related to the gamma-ray flare which has been detected with VHE gamma-ray telescopes such as MAGIC and VERITAS.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.39.4-40
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• 2017

According to the Korean government's Long-term Space Development Plan 2040, "Creative space science research" is included in a statement to investigate the origin and evolution of the universe by conducting a series of Korean space telescope missions: launch of space telescopes on a small satellite and an international collaboration explorer by 2020, a mid-size domestic space telescope by 2030, and a large size Korea leading international space telescope by 2040. We studied the feasibility of the future Korean Space Telescope (KST) for a mid-size domestic satellite platform. In order to pursue the uniqueness of the science program, we consider a wide range of observing wavelength (0.2um ~ 2.0um) with a spectral resolution of R~6 in the NUV and optical bands, and R~30 for NIR, utilizing an off-axis TMS(Three Mirror System) optics with a wide field of view ($2{\times}4$ degrees) which is optimized for ultra-low surface brightness sources. The main science goals of the mission include investigations of the galaxy formation, cosmic web, and the cosmic background radiation in the NUV-NIR regions. In this paper, we present the science cases and several technical challenges to be resolved along with the future milestones for the success of the KST mission.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.41.2-41.2
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• 2018

EL CVn-type eclipsing binaries are composed of a massive A-type main-sequence primary star and a hotter B-type secondary one. These are worthy of particular attention because the secondary stars are rare objects to be extremely low-mass white dwarf precursors (ELM proto-WD) with the mass of ${\leq}0.2M_{\odot}$, evolving to higher effective temperatures and higher surface gravities. A few of them were discovered to show multi-periodic pulsations in one or both components. We monitored one of these rare and interesting objects, J0247-25 (=1SWASP J024743.37-251549.2), at two KMTNet sites of SAAO in South Africa and SSO in Australia. The observations were performed with the KMTNet 1.6m telescopes and pre-science 4K CCD cameras during the system test run from July to November 2014. Using the photometric data obtained for a total of 23 nights, we constructed well-defined eclipsing light curves in B/V-bands and derived absolute parameters (mass and radius, etc.) of each binary component. After subtracting model eclipsing curves from the data, we detected seven frequencies with 33~53 cycles per day (c/d) and identified them to be Delta Sct-type pulsations originated from the A-type primary component. Five frequencies were turned out to be excited by rotational splitting of non-radial pressure modes, enabled us to investigate rotational properties. We could not detect any frequency higher than 100 c/d, implying that pulsation amplitudes of the proto-WD secondary decrease greatly.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.52 no.6
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• pp.227-233
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• 2019

We report the performance of the 13.7-meter Taeduk Radio Astronomy Observatory (TRAO) radio telescope. The telescope has been equipped with a new receiver, SEQUOIA-TRAO, a new backend system, FFT2G, and a new VxWorks operating system. The receiver system features a 16-pixel focal plane array using high-performance MMIC preamplifiers; it shows very low system noise levels, with system noise temperatures from 150 K to 450 K at frequencies from 86 to 115 GHz. With the new backend system, we can simultaneously obtain 32 spectra, each with a velocity coverage of 163 km s^-1 and a resolution of 0.04 km s^-1 at 115 GHz. The new operating system, VxWorks, has successfully handled the LMTMC-TRAO observing software. The main observing method is the on-the-fly (OTF) mapping mode; a position-switching mode is available for small-area observations. Remote observing is provided. The antenna surface has been newly adjusted using digital photogrammetry, achieving a rms surface accuracy better than 130 ㎛. The pointing uncertainty is found to be less than 5" over the entire sky. We tested the new receiver system with multi-frequency observations in OTF mode. The aperture efficiencies are 43±1%, 42±1%, 37±1%, and 33±1%, the beam efficiencies are 45±2%, 48±2%, 46±2%, and 41±2% at 86, 98, 110, and 115 GHz, respectively.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.49 no.5
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• pp.225-232
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• 2016

We present an optical imaging survey of AKARI Deep Field South (ADF-S) using the Korea Microlensing Telescope Network (KMTNet), to find optical counterparts of dusty star-forming galaxies. The ADF-S is a deep far-infrared imaging survey region with AKARI covering around 12 deg², where the deep optical imaging data are not yet available. By utilizing the wide-field capability of the KMTNet telescopes (~4 deg²), we obtain optical images in B, R and I bands for three regions. The target depth of images in B, R and I bands is ~24 mag (AB) at 5σ, which enables us to detect most dusty star-forming galaxies discovered by AKARI in the ADF-S. Those optical datasets will be helpful to constrain optical spectral energy distributions as well as to identify rare types of dusty star-forming galaxies such as dust-obscured galaxy, sub-millimeter galaxy at high redshift.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.115-123
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• 2011

To perform imaging observations of optically red objects such as high redshift quasars and brown dwarfs, the Center for the Exploration of the Origin of the Universe (CEOU) recently developed an optical CCD camera, Camera for QUasars in EArly uNiverse (CQUEAN), which is sensitive at 0.7-1.1 ${\mu}m$. To enable observations with long exposures, we develop an auto-guiding system for CQUEAN. This system consists of an off-axis mirror, a baffle, a CCD camera, a motor and a differential decelerator. To increase the number of available guiding stars, we design a rotating mechanism for the off-axis guiding camera. The guiding field can be scanned along the 10 arcmin ring offset from the optical axis of the telescope. Combined with the auto-guiding software of the McDonald Observatory, we confirm that a stable image can be obtained with an exposure time as long as 1200 seconds.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.47.3-48
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• 2016

The zodiacal light (ZL), combination of the sunlight scattered by and the infrared light emitted by the interplanetary dust (IPD) particles, changes with time due to the asymmetric distribution of the particles with respect to the Earth's orbit. Especially, the variation of the ZL brightness toward the ecliptic poles are useful to probe the properties of the global distribution of the IPD because we can evade the effect of the small scale structures, such as the asteroidal dust bands. The ecliptic poles are frequently visited by the infrared (IR) space telescopes owing to their sun-synchronous orbits or for specific purposes. We collect and analyze the observations toward the ecliptic poles by COBE/DIRBE, AKARI, and MIRIS, covering the wavelengths from about 1 to $25{\mu}m$. The observed seasonal variations of the ZL are modeled with a simple IPD cloud model to derive cloud parameters. The parameters are compared with those of the empirical cloud models by Kelsall et al. (1998) and Kondo et al. (2016), and the discrepancies are discussed.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.31.4-32
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• 2016

Observing the solar atmosphere with ground-based telescopes in the near-infrared has a number of advantages when compared to classical measurements in visible wavelengths. One of them comes from the magnetic sensitivity of spectral lines, which varies as ${\lambda}_g$, where g is the effective $Land{\acute{e}}$ factor of the transition. This wavelength dependence makes the near-infrared range adequate to study subtle spatial or temporal variations of the magnetic field. Spectral lines, such as the photospheric Fe I $1.5648{\mu}m$ spectral line, with a $Land{\acute{e}}$ factor g=3, have often been used in the past for this type of studies. To study the chromosphere, the Ca II IR triplet and the He I $1.0830{\mu}m$ triplet are the most often observed lines. The latter has the additional advantage that the photospheric Si I $1.0827{\mu}m$ is close enough so that photosphere and chromosphere can be simultaneously recorded with a single detector in a spectrograph. The instrument TIP (Tenerife Infrared Polarimeter) has been continuously operating since 1999 at the 70-cm German VTT of the Observatorio del Teide and has been recently moved to the 1.5-m German GREGOR. During all this time, results have been obtained concerning the nature of the weak photospheric magnetic field of the quiet sun, magneto-acoustic wave propagation, evolution with the cycle of sunspot magnetic fields, photospheric and chromospheric magnetic field in emerging regions, magnetic field in chromospheric structures such as filaments, prominences, flares, and spicules, etc. In this talk, I will review the main results obtained after all these observations and mention the main challenges for the future. With its novel polarization-free design and a complete suite of instruments aimed at simultaneous (imaging and spectroscopic) observations of the solar photosphere and chromosphere, the EST (European Solar Telescope) will represent a major world-wide infrastructure to understand the physical nature of all these phenomena.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.65.1-65.1
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• 2016

We present results of long-term multi-wavelength polarization observations of the powerful blazar 3C 279 after its ${\gamma}$-ray flare on 2013 December 20. We followed up this flare by means of single-dish polarization observations with two 21-m telescopes of the Korean VLBI Network, carried out weekly from 2013 December 25 to January 11, and at 22, 43, and 86 GHz, simultaneously. These observations were part of the Monitoring Of GAmma-ray Bright AGNs (MOGABA) program. We Measured 3C 279 total flux densities at 22, 43, and 86 GHz, showing a mild variability of a factor of ${\leq}50%$ over the period of our observations. The spectral index ranged from -0.13 to -0.36 at between 22 and 86 GHz. The degree of linear polarization was in the range of 6 ~ 12 %, and slightly decreased with time at all frequencies. We found Faraday rotation measures (RM) of -300 to $-1200rad\;m^{-2}$ between 22 and 43 GHz, and -800 to $-5100rad\;m^{-2}$ between 43 and 86 GHz. The RM values follow a power law ${\mid}RM{\mid}{\propto}{\nu}^{\alpha}$, with a mean ${\alpha}$ of 2.2, implying that the polarized emission at these frequencies travels through a Faraday screen in or near the jet. We conclude that the regions emitting polarized radio emission may be different from the region responsible for the 2013 December ${\gamma}$-ray flare, and that these regions are maintained by the dominant magnetic field perpendicular to the direction of the radio jet at milliarcsecond scales.