• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.55 no.5
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• pp.149-172
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• 2022

We present a new method which constructs an Hɪ super-profile of a galaxy which is based on profile decomposition analysis. The decomposed velocity profiles of an Hɪ data cube with an optimal number of Gaussian components are co-added after being aligned in velocity with respect to their centroid velocities. This is compared to the previous approach where no prior profile decomposition is made for the velocity profiles being stacked. The S/N improved super-profile is useful for deriving the galaxy's global Hɪ properties like velocity dispersion and mass from observations which do not provide sufficient surface brightness sensitivity for the galaxy. As a practical test, we apply our new method to 64 high-resolution Hɪ data cubes of nearby galaxies in the local Universe which are taken from THINGS and LITTLE THINGS. In addition, we also construct two additional Hɪ super-profiles of the sample galaxies using symmetric and all velocity profiles of the cubes whose centroid velocities are determined from Hermite h3 polynomial fitting, respectively. We find that the Hɪ super-profiles constructed using the new method have narrower cores and broader wings in shape than the other two super-profiles. This is mainly due to the effect of either asymmetric velocity profiles' central velocity bias or the removal of asymmetric velocity profiles in the previous methods on the resulting Hɪ super-profiles. We discuss how the shapes (𝜎_n/𝜎_b, A_n/A_b, and A_n/A_tot) of the new Hɪ super-profiles which are measured from a double Gaussian fit are correlated with star formation rates of the sample galaxies and are compared with those of the other two super-profiles.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.133-140
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• 2013

The empirical mass discrepancy-acceleration (MDA) relation of disk galaxies provides a key test for models of galactic dynamics. In terms of modified laws of gravity and/or inertia, the MDA relation quantifies the transition from Newtonian to modified dynamics at low centripetal accelerations $a_c{\lesssim}10^{-10}ms^{-2}$. As yet, neither dynamical models based on dark matter nor proposed modifications of the laws of gravity/inertia have predicted the functional form of the MDA relation. In this work, I revisit the MDA data and compare them to four different theoretical scaling laws. Three of these scaling laws are entirely empirical; the fourth one - the "simple ${\mu}$" function of Modified Newtonian Dynamics - derives from a toy model of gravity based on massive gravitons (the "graviton picture"). All theoretical MDA relations comprise one free parameter of the dimension of an acceleration, Milgrom's constant aM. I find that the "simple ${\mu}$" function provides a good fit to the data free of notable systematic residuals and provides the best fit among the four scaling laws tested. The best-fit value of Milgrom's constant is $a_M=(1.06{\pm}0.05){\times}10^{-10}ms^{-2}$. Given the successful prediction of the functional form of the MDA relation, plus an overall agreement with the observed kinematics of stellar systems spanning eight orders of magnitude in size and 14 orders of magnitude in mass, I conclude that the "graviton picture" is sufficient (albeit probably not a necessary nor unique approach) to describe galactic dynamics on all scales well beyond the scale of the solar system. This suggests that, at least on galactic scales, gravity behaves as if it was mediated by massive particles.

• Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.513-515
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• 2015

We investigate $H\small{I}$ data for a pair of blue compact dwarf galaxies (BCDs), ESO 435-IG20 and ESO 435-IG16, obtained with the Australia Telescope Compact Array. The outer $H\small{I}$ disk is highly disturbed and asymmetric in both galaxies showing a gas tail and/or a broad/extended gas disk on only one side. Based on their low-density surroundings and small projected distance (<80 kpc) at a similar redshift, we conclude that tidal interaction between these two BCDs is responsible for the morphological and kinematical peculiarities in $H\small{I}$. We also investigate their star formation rates using $H{\alpha}$ and UV imaging data to probe their interaction history.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.243-248
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• 2004

Disk galaxies abound with intermediate-scale structures such as OB star complexes, giant clouds, and dust spurs in a close geometrical association with spiral arms. Various mechanisms have been proposed as candidates for their origin, but a comprehensive theory should encompass fundamental physical agents such as self-gravity, magnetic fields, galactic differential rotation, and spiral arms, all of which are known to exist in disk galaxies. Recent numerical simulations incorporating all these physical processes show that magneto-Jeans instability (MJI), in which magnetic tension resists the stabilizing Coriolis force of galaxy rotation, is much more powerful than swing-amplification or the Parker instability in forming self-gravitating intermediate-scale structures. The MJI occurring in shearing and expanding flows off spiral arms rapidly forms structures elongated along the direction perpendicular to the arms, remarkably similar to dust spurs seen in HST images of spiral galaxies. In highly nonlinear stages, these spurs fragment to form bound clumps, possibly evolving into bright arm and interarm H II regions, suggesting that all these intermediate-scale structures in spiral galaxies probably share a common dynamical origin.

• Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.495-497
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• 2015

Galaxies can be "pre-processed" in the low-density outskirts by ambient medium in the filaments or tidal interactions with other galaxies while falling into the cluster. In order to probe how early on and by which mechanisms galaxies can be affected before they enter high-density cluster environments, we are carrying out an atomic hydrogen ($H\small{I}$) imaging study of a sample of galaxies selected from three filamentary structures around the Virgo cluster. Our sample consists of 14 late-type galaxies, which are potentially interacting with their surroundings. The $H\small{I}$ observations have been done using the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope, the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope, and the Jansky Very Large Array with column density sensitivity of ${\approx}3-5{\times}10^{19}cm^{-2}$ in $3{\sigma}$ per channel, which is low enough to detect faint $H\small{I}$ features in the outer disks of galaxies. In this work, we present the Hi data of two galaxies that were observed with GMRT. We examine the $H\small{I}$ morphology and kinematics to find the evidence for gas-gas and/or tidal interactions, and discuss which mechanism(s) could be responsible for pre-processing in these cases.

• 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.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.205-210
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• 2004

The interaction of disk galaxies with intergalactic winds has been invoked as a possible mechanism of the generation of galactic warps. Here we discuss conditions under which intergalactic flows can be relevant for warping field galaxies. Constraints include the heating of the outer disk, the level of asymmetry in the vertical distribution of the volume gas density, the angular frequency of the warp, the symmetry of galactic warps amplitude between the approaching and receding sides of the galaxy, and the speed of the intergalactic flow whether subsonic or supersonic. These constraints are discussed in this paper in reference to the proposal of Lopez-Corredoira et al. that warps can be a natural consequence of accretion flows onto the disk.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.49 no.5
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• pp.193-198
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• 2016

Early-type galaxies (ETGs) are supposed to follow the virial relation $M=k_e{\sigma}^2R_e/G$, with M being the mass, σ_* being the stellar velocity dispersion, R_e being the effective radius, G being Newton's constant, and k_e being the virial factor, a geometry factor of order unity. Applying this relation to (a) the ATLAS^3D sample of Cappellari et al. (2013) and (b) the sample of Saglia et al. (2016) gives ensemble-averaged factors 〈k_e〉 = 5.15 ± 0.09 and 〈k_e〉 = 4.01 ± 0.18, respectively, with the difference arising from different definitions of effective velocity dispersions. The two datasets reveal a statistically significant tilt of the empirical relation relative to the theoretical virial relation such that $M{\propto}({\sigma}^2_*R_e)^{0.92}$. This tilt disappears when replacing R_e with the semi-major axis of the projected half-light ellipse, a. All best-fit scaling relations show zero intrinsic scatter, implying that the mass plane of ETGs is fully determined by the virial relation. Whenever a comparison is possible, my results are consistent with, and confirm, the results by Cappellari et al. (2013). The difference between the relations using either a or R_e arises from a known lack of highly elliptical high-mass galaxies; this leads to a scaling (1 - ϵ ) ∝ M^0.12, with ϵ being the ellipticity and $R_e=a\sqrt[]{1-{\epsilon}}$. Accordingly, a, not R_e, is the correct proxy for the scale radius of ETGs. By geometry, this implies that early-type galaxies are axisymmetric and oblate in general, in agreement with published results from modeling based on kinematics and light distributions.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.91-117
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• 2004

We analyze the dependence of the mass-to-light ratio of spiral galaxies on the present star formation rate (SFR), and find that galaxies with high present star formation rates have low mass-to-light ratios, presumably as a result of the enhanced luminosity. On this basis we argue that variations in the stellar content of galaxies result in a major source of intrinsic scatter in the Tully-Fisher relation (TF relation). Ideally one should use a 'population-corrected' luminosity. We have also analyzed the relation between the (maximum) luminous mass and rotational velocity, and find it to have a small scatter. We therefore propose that the physical basis of the Tully-Fisher relation lies in a relationship between the luminous mass and rotational velocity, in combination with a 'well-behaved' relation between luminous and dark matter. This implies that the Tully-Fisher relation is a combination of two independent relations: (i) a relation between luminosity and (luminous) mass, based mainly on the star formation history in galaxies, and (ii) a relation between mass and rotation velocity, which is the outcome of the process of galaxy formation. In addition to a 'population-corrected' Tully-Fisher relation, one may also use the relation between mass and luminosity, and the relation between luminous mass and rotation velocity as distance estimators.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.41-47
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• 2013

I present a simple scheme for the treatment of gravitational interactions on galactic scales. In anal- ogy 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 resulting den- sity and mass profiles are proportional to the mass of the gravitating body. The mass profile scales with the centripetal acceleration experienced by a test particle orbiting the central mass, but this comes at the cost of postulating a universal characteristic acceleration $a_0{\approx}4.3{\times}10^{-12}msec^{-2}$ (or $8{\pi}a_0{\approx}1.1{\times}10^{-10}msec^{-2}$). The scheme predicts the asymptotic flattening of galactic rotation curves, the Tully-Fisher/Faber-Jackson relations, the mass discrepancy-acceleration relation of galaxies, the surface brightness-acceleration relation of galaxies, the kinematics of galaxy clusters, and "Renzo's rule" correctly; additional (dark) mass components are not required. Given that it is based on various ad-hoc assumptions and given further limitations, the scheme I present is not yet 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.