• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.65.1-65.1
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• 2014

We present Palomar/SWIFT integral field spectroscopy of z~0.2 strong $H{\alpha}$ emitters identified in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. The large Halpha equivalent widths as well as the huge specific star formation rates of these galaxies are comparable with that of z>4 Lyman break galaxies, thus understanding the gas kinematics and the distribution of massive stars in these systems will help to obtain a better understanding of high-redshift star forming environments and the growth of massive galaxies. We measure the velocity dispersion across the entire galaxy, estimate the number density and the spatial distribution of massive stars from the emission line morphologies. The role of minor mergers in powering star formation is investigated as an alternative to cold flow driven star formation.

• Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.355-358
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• 2015

We have conducted a near-infrared monitoring campaign at the UK InfraRed Telescope (UKIRT), of the Local Group galaxy M33. The main aim was to identify stars in the very final stage of their evolution, and for which the luminosity is more directly related to the birth mass than the more numerous less-evolved giant stars that continue to increase in luminosity. The pulsating giant stars (AGB and red supergiants) are identified and their distributions are used to derive the star formation rate as a function of age. These stars are also important dust factories; we measure their dust production rates from a combination of our data with Spitzer Space Telescope mid-IR photometry. The mass-loss rates are seen to increase with increasing strength of pulsation and with increasing bolometric luminosity. Low-mass stars lose most of their mass through stellar winds, but even super-AGB stars and red superginats lose ~40% of their mass via a dusty stellar wind. We construct a 2-D map of the mass-return rate, showing a radial decline but also local enhancements due to agglomerations of massive stars. By comparing the current star formation rate with total mass input to the ISM, we conclude that the star formation in the central regions of M33 can only be sustained if gas is accreted from further out in the disc or from circum-galactic regions.

• Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.21-30
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• 2018

Formation processes of high-mass stars have been long-standing issues in astronomy and astrophysics. This is mainly because of major difficulties in observational studies such as a smaller number of high-mass young stellar objects (YSOs), larger distances, and more complex structures in young high-mass clusters compared with nearby low-mass isolated star-forming regions (SFRs), and extremely large opacity of interstellar dust except for centimeter to submillimeter wavelengths. High resolution and high sensitivity observations with Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array (ALMA) at millimeter/submillimeter wavelengths will overcome these observational difficulties even for statistical studies with increasing number of high-mass YSO samples. This review will summarize recent progresses in high-mass star-formation studies with ALMA such as clumps and filaments in giant molecular cloud complexes and infrared dark clouds (IRDCs), protostellar disks and outflows in dense cores, chemistry, masers, and accretion bursts in high-mass SFRs.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.58.2-58.2
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• 2014

The Arches cluster is a young (2-4 Myr), compact (~1 pc), and massive (${\sim}2{\times}10^4M_{\odot}$) star cluster located ~30 pc away from the Galactic center (GC) in projection. Being exposed to the extreme environment of the GC such as elevated temperature and turbulent velocities in the molecular clouds, strong magnetic fields, and larger tidal forces, the Arches cluster is an excellent target for understanding the effects of star-forming environment on the initial mass function (IMF) of the star cluster. However, resolving stars fainter than ~1 $M_{\odot}$ in the Arches cluster partially will have to wait until an extremely large telescope with adaptive optics in the infrared is available. Here we devise a new method to estimate the shape of the low-end mass function where the individual stars are not resolved, and apply it to the Arches cluster. This method involves histograms of pixel intensities in the observed images. We find that the initial mass function of the Arches cluster should not be too different from that for the Galactic disk such as the Kroupa IMF.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.68.2-68.2
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• 2013

The Giant Magellan Telescope Integral-Field Spectrograph (GMTIFS) is a near-infrared imager and integral-field spectrograph, which will be the workhorse adaptive-optics (AO) instrument on the GMT when AO operations begin. We will describe the current design and proposed capabilities of the GMTIFS. We will also present a brief overview of GMTIFS science cases that include first-light objects, galaxy feedback and assembly, the nature of compact massive objects as well as the formation and evolution of stars and planets.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.68.3-68.3
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• 2019

We present the preliminary results on the formation of star clusters by cloud-cloud collision. For this purpose, we perform sub-parsec scale, radiation-hydrodynamic simulations of giant molecular clouds using a sink particle algorithm. The simulations include photo-ionization, direct radiation pressure, and non-thermal radiation pressure from infrared and Lyman alpha photons. We confirm that radiation feedback from massive stars suppresses accretion onto sink particles. We examine the collision-induced star formation and discuss the possibility on the formation of a globular cluster.

• Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.145-148
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• 2015

Young Galactic supernova remnants (SNRs) are where we can observe closely supernova (SN) ejecta and their interaction with the circumstellar/interstellar medium. They also provide an opportunity to explore the explosion and the final stage of the evolution of massive stars. Near-infrared (NIR) emission lines in SNRs mostly originate from shocked dense material. In shocked SN ejecta, forbidden lines from heavy ions are prominent, while in shocked circumstellar/interstellar medium, [Fe II] and $H_2$ lines are prominent. [Fe II] lines are strong in both media, and therefore [Fe II] line images provide a good starting point for the NIR study of SNRs. There are about twenty SNRs detected in [Fe II] lines, some of which have been studied in NIR spectroscopy. We will review the NIR [Fe II] observations of SNRs and introduce our recent NIR spectroscopic study of the young core-collapse SNR Cas A where we detected strong [P II] lines.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.59.1-59.1
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• 2014

Phosphorus ($^{31}P$), which is essential for life, is thought to be synthesized in massive stars and dispersed into interstellar space when these stars explode as supernovae (SNe). Here we report on near-infrared spectroscopic observations of the young SN remnant Cassiopeia A, which show that the abundance ratio of phosphorus to the major nucleosynthetic product iron ($^{56}Fe$) in SN material is up to 100 times the average ratio of the Milky Way, confirming that phosphorus is produced in SNe. The observed range is compatible with predictions from SN nucleosynthetic models but not with the scenario in which the chemical elements in the inner SN layers are completely mixed by hydrodynamic instabilities during the explosion.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.51.2-51.2
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• 2020

Luminous blue variables (LBVs) are massive evolved stars that show unpredictable photometric and spectral variation. It is generally assumed that they undergo one or more of large eruptions. We have obtained high dispersion NIR spectra of several LBVs with Immersion GRating INfrared Spectrometer (IGRINS). One notable feature in their IGRINS spectra is the existence of broad lines (~ a few hundred km/s) with unusual boxy profile. They are fluorescent lines of Fe II by Lyman α photons in the stellar wind. However, modeling of these lines with radiative transfer code CMFGEN predicts much weaker line strength. We propose that incorporating broadening of Lyman α line by scattering processes in dense wind can enhance the Fe II fluorescent lines. We further discuss how these Fe II fluorescent lines can be used to characterize massive LBV wind.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.47 no.6
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• pp.259-277
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• 2014

G192.8-1.1 has been known as one of the faintest supernova remnants (SNRs) in the Galax until the radio continuum of G192.8-1.1 is proved to be thermal by Gao et al. (2011). Yet, the nature of G192.8-1.1 has not been fully investigated. Here, we report the possible discovery of faint non-thermal radio continuum components with a spectral index ${\alpha}{\sim}0.56(S_{\nu}{\propto}{\nu}^{-{\alpha}})$ around G192.8-1.1, while of the radio continuum emission is thermal. Also, our Arecibo $H_I$ data reveal an $H_I$ shell, expanding with an expansion velocity of $20-60km\;s^{-1}$, that has an excellent morphological correlation with the radio continuum emission. The estimated physical parameters of the $H_I$ shell and the possible association of non-thermal radio continuum emission with it suggest G192.8-1.1 to be an~0.3 Myr-old SNR. However, the presence of thermal radio continuum implies the presence of early-type stars in the same region. One possibility is that a massive star is ionizing the interior of an old SNR. If it is the case, the electron distribution assumed by the centrally-peaked surface brightness of thermal emission implies that G192.8-1.1 is a "thermal-composite" SNR, rather than a typical shell-type SNR, where the central hot gas that used to be bright in X-rays has cooled down. Therefore, we propose that G192.8-1.1 is an old evolved thermal-composite SNR showing recurring emission in the radio continuum due to a nearby massive star. The infrared image supports that the $H_I$ shell of G192.8-1.1 is currently encountering a nearby star forming region that possibly contains an early type star(s).