• Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.453-455
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• 2015

In this paper we introduce the Plasma Physics of Active Galactic Nuclei project, which is an ongoing experiment with Korean VLBI Network (KVN) and KVN and VERA Array (KaVA) to study multi-frequency polarimetric properties on parsec scales of active galaxies. The goal of the project is to improve our understanding of fundamental jet physics, especially evolution of the relativistic outflow coupled with the large-scale magnetic field. We selected six radio-loud AGN as our targets. So far we (i) detected resolved emissions regions at 86 and 129 GHz on VLBI scales, (ii) constructed 2D spectral index maps of the outflows, and (iii) found polarizations at 22 and 43 GHz for a few targets. Here we present spectral index distributions of 3C 120 between 22 and 43 GHz and a linear polarization map of BL Lac at 43 GHz obtained with KVN.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.39.2-39.2
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• 2021

To investigate the acceleration of ultra-high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) in relativistic jets of FR-II galaxies, we simulate high-power jets with jet powers of Q~10^46erg/s in a stratified galaxy cluster halo using a state-of-art relativistic hydrodynamic (RHD) code we have recently developed. With the simulated jet-induced flow profiles, we then perform Monte-Carlo simulations, where the transport of high-energy particles is followed assuming large-angle scatterings in the flow-rest frame. We estimate the energy gains and acceleration times in the acceleration processes by shocks, shear, and turbulence. We present the results and discuss implications on the acceleration of UHECRs in FR II radio jets.

• Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.201-203
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• 2017

There exists strong evidence supporting the co-evolution of central supermassive black holes and their host galaxies; however it is still under debate how such a relation comes about and whether it is relevant for all or only a subset of galaxies. An important mechanism connecting AGN to their host galaxies is AGN feedback, potentially heating up or even expelling gas from galaxies. AGN feedback may hence be responsible for the eventual quenching of star formation and halting of galaxy growth. A rich multi-wavelength dataset ranging from the X-ray regime (Chandra), to far-IR (Herschel), and radio (WSRT) is available for the North Ecliptic Pole field, most notably surveyed by the AKARI infrared space telescope, covering a total area on the sky of 5.4 sq. degrees. We investigate the star formation properties and possible signatures of radio feedback mechanisms in the host galaxies of 237 radio sources below redshift z = 2 and at a radio 1.4 GHz flux density limit of 0.1 mJy. Using broadband SED modelling, the nuclear and host galaxy components of these sources are studied simultaneously as a function of their radio luminosity. Here we present results concerning the AGN content of the radio sources in this field, while also offering evidence showcasing a link between AGN activity and host galaxy star formation. In particular, we show results supporting a maintenance type of feedback from powerful radio-jets.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.48 no.5
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• pp.299-311
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• 2015

We report first results from KVN and VERA Array (KaVA) VLBI observations obtained in the frame of our Plasma-physics of Active Galactic Nuclei (PAGaN) project. We observed eight selected AGN at 22 and 43 GHz in single polarization (LCP) between March 2014 and April 2015. Each source was observed for 6 to 8 hours per observing run to maximize the uv coverage. We obtained a total of 15 deep high-resolution images permitting the identification of individual circular Gaussian jet components and three spectral index maps of BL Lac, 3C 111 and 3C 345 from simultaneous dual-frequency observations. The spectral index maps show trends in agreement with general expectations – flat core and steep jets – while the actual value of the spectral index for jets shows indications for a dependence on AGN type. We analyzed the kinematics of jet components of BL Lac and 3C 111, detecting superluminal proper motions with maximum apparent speeds of about 5c. This constrains the lower limits of the intrinsic component velocities to ~ 0.98c and the upper limits of the angle between jet and line of sight to ~20°. In agreement with global jet expansion, jet components show systematically larger diameters d at larger core distances r, following the global relation d ≈ 0.2r, albeit within substantial scatter.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.48 no.5
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• pp.285-298
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• 2015

Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) with bright radio jets offer the opportunity to study the structure of and physical conditions in relativistic outflows. For such studies, multi-frequency polarimetric very long baseline interferometric (VLBI) observations are important as they directly probe particle densities, magnetic field geometries, and several other parameters. We present results from first-epoch data obtained by the Korean VLBI Network (KVN) within the frame of the Plasma Physics of Active Galactic Nuclei (PAGaN) project. We observed seven radio-bright nearby AGN at frequencies of 22, 43, 86, and 129 GHz in dual polarization mode. Our observations constrain apparent brightness temperatures of jet components and radio cores in our sample to > 10^8.01 K and > 10^9.86 K, respectively. Degrees of linear polarization m_L are relatively low overall: less than 10%. This indicates suppression of polarization by strong turbulence in the jets. We found an exceptionally high degree of polarization in a jet component of BL Lac at 43 GHz, with m_L ~ 40%. Assuming a transverse shock front propagating downstream along the jet, the shock front being almost parallel to the line of sight can explain the high degree of polarization.

• Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.499-502
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• 2015

Starburst galaxies have strong star formation activity and generate large scale outflows which eject a huge amount of gas mass. This process affects galaxy activity, and therefore, the detailed study of nearby starburst galaxies could provide valuable information for the study of distant ones. So far there have been only a few studies of galactic-scale molecular outflows due to the sensitivity limitation of telescopes. Our study provides two nearby examples, NGC 2146 and NGC 3628. We used Nobeyama Millimeter Array (NMA) CO(1-0) data, Chandra soft X-ray data, and NMA 3 mm data to study the kinematics of molecular outflows, their interaction with ionized outflows, and the star forming activity in the starburst region. We found that the gas ejected through molecular outflows is much more significant than that used to form stars.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.37 no.5
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• pp.517-525
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• 2004

We present an update on our proposal that during the 'quasar era' (1.5 $\le$ z $\le$ 3), powerful radio galaxies could have played a major role in the enhanced global star-formation, and in the widespread magnetization and metal pollution of the universe. A key ingredient of this proposal is our estimate that the true cosmological evolution of the radio galaxy population is likely to be even steeper than what has been inferred from flux-limited samples of radio sources with redshift data, when an allowance is made for the inverse Compton losses on the cosmic microwave background which were much greater at higher redshifts. We thus estimate that a large fraction of the clumps of proto-galactic material within the cosmic web of filaments was probably impacted by the expanding lobes of radio galaxies during the quasar era. Some recently published observational evidence and simulations which provide support for this picture are pointed out. We also show that the inverse Compton x-ray emission from the population of radio galaxies during the quasar era, which we inferred to be largely missing from the derived radio luminosity function, is still only a small fraction of the observed soft x-ray background (XRB) and hence the limit imposed on this scenario by the XRB is not violated.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.37 no.5
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• pp.605-609
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• 2004

We present a set of high-resolution 3D MHD simulations exploring the evolution of light, supersonic jets in cluster environments. We model sets of high- and low-Mach jets entering both uniform surroundings and King-type atmospheres and propagating distances more than 100 times the initial jet radius. Through complimentary analyses of synthetic observations and energy flow, we explore the detailed interactions between these jets and their environments. We find that jet cocoon morphology is strongly influenced by the structure of the ambient medium. Jets moving into uniform atmospheres have more pronounced backflow than their non-uniform counterparts, and this difference is clearly reflected by morphological differences in the synthetic observations. Additionally, synthetic observations illustrate differences in the appearances of terminal hotspots and the x-ray and radio correlations between the high- and low-Mach runs. Exploration of energy flow in these systems illustrates the general conversion of kinetic to thermal and magnetic energy in all of our simulations. Specifically, we examine conversion of energy type and the spatial transport of energy to the ambient medium. Determination of the evolution of the energy distribution in these objects will enhance our understanding of the role of AGN feedback in cluster environments.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.65.2-65.2
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• 2020

We present NIR spectroscopic data of young radio quasars obtained from Flamingos-2 (F2) at Gemini-South. The targets are originally selected from Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer survey in combination with radio survey data, such as FIRST and NVSS. Our goal is to find observational evidence of jet-driven outflows, which is expected to be present in young luminous quasars from the theoretical studies. While 16 targets were observed with F2, narrow emission lines ([O III] or Hα) were detected in 7 targets. FWHM of the emission lines (up to 2500 km/s) were remarkably broad compared to ordinary quasars, revealing the presence of strong outflows. The black hole mass estimated from Eddington limit ranges from ~108 to 109 solar mass, indicating that the target quasars are likely to be progenitors of massive galaxies. Finally, we present the comparisons between the outflow velocity and the physical properties of radio jets derived from the VLA radio imaging data, in order to investigate the physical connection between the ionized outflows and radio jets.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.36.3-36.3
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• 2021

We study ultra-relativistic jets on several tens kpc scales through three-dimensional relativistic hydrodynamic (RHD) simulations using a new RHD code based on the weighted essentially non-oscillatory (WENO) scheme. Utilizing the high-resolution and high-accuracy capabilities of the new code, we especially explore the structures and energetics of nonlinear flows, such as shocks, turbulence, velocity shear in different parts of jets. We find that the mildly relativistic shocks which form in the jet backflow are most effective for the shock dissipation of the jet energy, while the turbulent dissipation is largest either in the backflow or in the shocked ICM, depending on the jet parameter. The velocity shear is strongest across the jet flow to the cocoon boundary. Our results should have important implications for the studies of high-energy cosmic-ray production in radio galaxies.