• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.105-110
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• 2003

Recent observations of galaxy clusters in radio and X-ray indicate that cosmic rays and magnetic fields may be energetically important in the intracluster medium. According to the estimates based on theses observational studies, the combined pressure of these two components of the intracluster medium may range between $10\%{\~}100\%$ of gas pressure, although their total energy is probably time dependent. Hence, these non-thermal components may have influenced the formation and evolution of cosmic structures, and may provide unique and vital diagnostic information through various radiations emitted via their interactions with surrounding matter and cosmic background photons. We suggest that shock waves associated with cosmic structures, along with individual sources such as active galactic nuclei and radio galaxies, supply the cosmic rays and magnetic fields to the intracluster medium and to surrounding large scale structures. In order to study 1) the properties of cosmic shock waves emerging during the large scale structure formation of the universe, and 2) the dynamical influence of cosmic rays, which were ejected by AGN-like sources into the intracluster medium, on structure formation, we have performed two sets of N-body /hydrodynamic simulations of cosmic structure formation. In this contribution, we report the preliminary results of these simulations.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.76.2-76.2
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• 2011

It is widely accepted that the SED of a galaxy relates to its morphology. In addition, the SED of the galaxy is closely connected to its star formation history, and its morphological properties are affected by the merger history, interactions with its environment, and the gravitational instability of its dynamical system. Thus, it is likely that star formation history correlates to the elements that determine morphological properties. Among the elements, this study investigates how much the merger histories of galaxies influence their star formation histories. By using simple merger trees and semi-analytic models, which disregard feedback processes to exclusively identify merger effects on star formation histories, we examine the relation between various merger histories and SEDs of galaxies. From the results, we discuss whether the SED of a galaxy can represent and constrain its merger history.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.36.1-36.1
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• 2013

I present a simple scheme for the treatment of gravitational interactions on galactic scales. In analogy with known mechanisms of quantum field theory, I assume ad hoc that gravitation is mediated by virtual exchange particles - gravitons - with very small but non-zero masses. The scheme predicts the asymptotic flattening of galactic rotation curves, the Tully-Fisher/Faber-Jackson relations, the mass discrepancy-acceleration relation of galaxies, and the surface brightness-acceleration relation of galaxies correctly; additional (dark) mass components are not required. The well-established empirical scaling laws of Modified Newtonian Dynamics follow naturally from the model. The scheme I present is not a consistent theory of gravitation; rather, it is a toy model providing a convenient scaling law that simplifies the description of gravity on galactic scales.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.41.1-41.1
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• 2012

Interactions between the galactic interstellar medium (ISM) and the intra cluster medium (ICM) are believed to be one of the main processes affecting galaxy evolution in cluster environments. The aim of our research is to study the molecular gas properties of a galaxy under the ICM pressure in the cluster environment. It has been well known that cluster galaxies are deficient in atomic hydrogen gas (HI gas) compared to their field counterparts and now there is much evidence that low density ISM is being removed by ram pressure due to ICM wind. Meanwhile, no significant molecular gas deficiency of the cluster galaxy population has been found yet they show overall lower star formation rate than galaxies in the field, and it is still puzzling how the star formation could decrease without stripping of dense molecular gas. To address this issue, we probe the detailed molecular gas properties of NGC 4402, located near the cluster center, as part of a study of four spiral galaxies in the Virgo Cluster. NGC 4402 is well known undergoing ram pressure stripping with a truncated HI disk($D_{HI}/D_{opt}$ - 0.75 and only 36% of HI gas compare to field galaxies of a similar size) and a disturbed gas morphology. Comparing the high resolution 12CO and 13CO data of NGC 4402 from the Sub Millimeter Array (SMA) with existing other wavelength data, we probe the spatial distribution and a physical condition of molecular gas under strong ICM pressure. We discuss the star formation activity might have been altered and hence how the global color of NGC4402 would change in the future.

• Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.517-519
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• 2015

A large-scale neutral hydrogen ($H\small{I}$) ring serendipitously found in the Leo I galaxy group is 200 kpc in diameter with $M_{H\small{I}}{\sim}1.67{\times}10^9M_{\odot}$, unique in size in the Local Universe. It is still under debate where this $H\small{I}$ ring originated - whether it has formed out of the gas remaining after the formation of a galaxy group (primordial origin) or been stripped during galaxy-galaxy interactions (tidal origin). We are investigating the optical and $H\small{I}$ gas properties of the dwarf galaxies located within the gas ring in order to probe its formation mechanism. In this work, we present the photometric properties of the dwarfs inside the ring using the CFHT MegaCam $u^{\ast}$, $g^{\prime}$, $r^{\prime}$ and $i^{\prime}$-band data. We discuss the origin of the gas ring based on the stellar age and metal abundance of dwarf galaxies contained within it.

• Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
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• v.491 no.2
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• pp.2268-2279
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• 2020

It is known observationally that the major axes of galaxy clusters and their brightest cluster galaxies are roughly aligned with each other. To understand the origin of the alignment, we identify 40 cluster-sized dark matter (DM) haloes with masses higher than 5 × 10¹³ M_⊙ and their central galaxies (CGs) at z ≈ 0 in the Horizon-AGN cosmological hydrodynamical simulation. We trace the progenitors at 50 different epochs between 0 < z < 5. We then fit their shapes and orientations with a triaxial ellipsoid model. While the orientations of both DM haloes and CGs change significantly due to repeated mergers and mass accretions, their relative orientations are well aligned at each epoch even at high redshifts, z > 1. The alignment becomes tighter with cosmic time; the major axes of the CGs and their host DM haloes at present are aligned on average within ~30° in the 3D space and ~20° in the projected plane. The orientations of the major axes of DM haloes on average follow one of the eigenvectors of the surrounding tidal field that corresponds to the slowest collapsing (or even stretching) mode, and the alignment with the tidal field also becomes tighter. This implies that the orientations of CGs and DM haloes at the present epoch are largely imprinted in the primordial density field of the universe, whereas strong dynamical interactions such as mergers are important to explain their mutual alignment at each epoch.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.39.1-39.1
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• 2019

Not all stars in the Universe are gravitationally bounded to galaxies. Since first discovered in 1951, observations have revealed that a significant fraction of stars fills the space between galaxies in local (low-redshift) galaxy clusters, observed as diffuse intracluster light (ICL). Theoretical models provide mechanisms for the production of intracluster stars as tidally stripped material or debris generated through numerous galaxy interactions during the hierarchical growth of the galaxy cluster. These mechanisms predict that most intracluster stars in local galaxy clusters are long-accumulated material since z~1. However, there is no observational evidence to verify this prediction. Here we report observations of abundant ICL for a massive (above $10^{14}$ solar masses) galaxy cluster at a redshift of z=1.24, when the Universe was 5 billion years old. We found that more than 10 per cent of the total light of the cluster is contributed by the diffuse ICL out to 110 kpc from the center of the cluster, comparable to 5-20 per cent in local, massive galaxy cluster. Furthermore, we found that the colour of the brightest cluster galaxy located in the core of the cluster is consistent with that of the ICL out to 200 kpc. Our results demonstrate that the majority of the intracluster stars present in the local Universe, contrary to most previous theoretical and observational studies, were built up during a short period and early (z>1) in the history of the Virgo-like massive galaxy cluster formation, and might be concurrent with the formation of the brightest cluster galaxy.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.28.3-29
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• 2021

Galaxies are not just randomly distributed in space; instead, a variety of galaxy alignments have been found over a wide range of scales. Such alignments are the outcome of the combined effect of interacting neighbors and the surrounding large-scale structure. Here, we focus on the spin-orbit alignment (SOA) of galaxy pairs, the dynamical coherence between the spin of a target galaxy and the orbital angular momentum of its neighbor. Based on a recent cosmological hydrodynamic simulation, the IllustrisTNG project, we identify paired galaxies with mass ratios from 1/10 to 10 at z = 0 and statistically analyze their spin-orbit angle distribution. We find a clear preference for prograde orientations (i.e., SOA), which is more prominent for closer pairs. The SOA is stronger for less massive targets in lower-density regions. The SOA witnessed at z = 0 has been developed progressively since z = 2. There is a clear positive correlation between the alignment strength and the interaction duration with its current neighbor. Our results suggest the scenario in which the SOA is developed mainly by interactions with a neighbor for an extended period of time, rather than by the primordial torque exerted by the large-scale structure.

• Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.463-464
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• 2015

It has been suggested that only the most luminous AGNs ($L{\gtrsim}10^{45}erg/s$) are triggered by galaxy mergers, while less luminous AGNs ($L{\sim}10^{43}erg/s$) are driven by other internal processes. The lack of merging features in low luminosity AGN host galaxies has been a primary argument against the idea of merger triggering of low luminosity AGNs. But a merger, especially a rather minor one, might still have played an important role in low luminosity AGNs, as minor merging features at low luminosities are more difficult to identify than major merging features. Using SNUCAM on the 1.5 m telescope at Maidanak observatory, we obtained deep optical images of NGC 7743, a barred spiral galaxy classified as a Seyfert 2 AGN with a low bolometric luminosity of $5{\times}10^{42}erg/s$. Surprisingly, we discovered a merging feature around the galaxy, which indicates past merging activity in the galaxy. This example indicates that the merging fraction of low luminosity AGNs may be much higher than previously thought, hinting at the importance of galaxy mergers even in low luminosity AGNs.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.44.2-44.2
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• 2012

Cosmological shock waves result from supersonic flow motions induced by hierarchical clustering during the large-scale structure formation in the Universe. Suprathermal particles are known to be produced via plasma interactions at collisionless shocks in tenuous plasmas and they can be further accelerated to become cosmic rays (CRs) via diffusive shock acceleration (DSA). The presence of CR electrons has been inferred from observations of diffuse radio halos and relics in some merging galaxy clusters. We have calculated the emissions from CR electrons accelerated at weak planar shocks, using time-dependent DSA simulations that include energy losses via synchrotron emission and Inverse Compton scattering. The simulated nonthermal emission are used to model the synchrotron emission from several observed radio relics.