• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.63.3-63.3
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• 2016

We present the two-dimensional distribution of stellar populations in five E+A galaxies from GMOS-N/IFU spectroscopy (GN-2015B-Q-15). Numerical simulations demonstrated that E+A galaxies formed by major mergers contain young stellar populations (e.g. A-type stars) that are centrally-concentrated within scales of 1 kpc. However, several IFU studies reported that A-type stars are widely distributed on ${\gg}$ 1kpc scales. In contrast, Pracy et al. (2013) found a central concentration of A-stars and strong negative Balmer absorption line gradients within 1 kpc scales for local (z < 0.03) E+A galaxies. They claimed that previous studies failed to detect the central concentration because the E+A galaxy samples in previous studies are too far (z ~ 0.1) to resolve the central kpc scales. To verify Pracy et al.'s argument and the expectation from simulations, we selected five E+A galaxies at 0.03 < z < 0.05. Furthermore, we selected the targets in the mid-infrared green valley (Lee et al. 2015). Thanks to good seeing (${\sim}0.4^{{\prime}{\prime}}{\simeq}0.33kpc$) of our observation, we are able to resolve the central 1 kpc region of our targets. We found that all five galaxies have negative Balmer line gradients, but that three galaxies have flatter gradients than those reported in Pracy et al. We discuss the results in relation with galaxy merger history.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.41.4-42
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• 2015

The Immersion Grating Infrared Spectrograph (IGRINS) is the first of a new generation of infrared instruments with high sensitivity, high spectral resolution, and broad spectral grasp. IGRINS, a joint project of the University of Texas and the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute, designed and constructed by a team at UT, KASI, and Kyung Hee University, has been available to the Korean and Texas communities on the McDonald Observatory 2.7m telescope since 2014 September. On this modest-sized telescope, the instrument has 30 times the spectral grasp of CRIRES at the 8m VLT and is only slightly less sensitive. Already, Korean and UT astronomers have produced a raft of new results in star formation studies, investigations of the interstellar medium, and the nature of cool stars. Several programs are under way to detect and study the atmospheres of exoplanets. We will present highlights from the first 6 months of IGRINS operations and look at the future of IR spectroscopy both with IGRINS and with GMTNIRS, a UT/KASI/KHU instrument for the Giant Magellan Telescope.

• Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.225-230
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• 2012

Supernovae (SN) and supernova remnants (SNRs) play a major role in the life-cycle of interstellar dusts. Fast shock waves generated by SN explosions sweep out the interstellar space destroying dust grains and modifying their physical and chemical properties. The dense, cooling SN ejecta, on the other hand, provide an environment for dusts to condense. Recent space-infrared telescopes have revealed the hidden universe related to these fascinating microscopic processes. In this paper, I introduce the results on stardusts in young core-collapse supernova remnants obtained by AKARI. The AKARI results show diverse infrared characteristics of stardusts associated with SNRs, implying diverse physical/chemical stellar structures and circumstellar environments at the time of explosion.

• Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.113-116
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• 2017

A significant number of the parameters of a gamma-ray burst (GRB) and its host galaxy are calculated from the afterglow. There are various methods obtaining extinction values for the necessary correction for galactic foreground. These are: galaxy counts, from HI 21 cm surveys, from spectroscopic measurements and colors of nearby Galactic stars, or using extinction maps calculated from infrared surveys towards the GRB. We demonstrate that AKARI Far-Infrared Surveyor sky surface brightness maps are useful uncovering the fine structure of the galactic foreground of GRBs. Galactic cirrus structures of a number of GRBs are calculated with a 2 arcminute resolution, and the results are compared to that of other methods.

• Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.123-125
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• 2017

We present our AKARI study of massive star forming regions where a large-scale cloud-cloud collision possibly contributes to massive star formation. Our targets are Spitzer bubbles, which consist of two types of bubbles, closed and broken ones; the latter is a candidate of the objects created by cloud-cloud collisions. We performed mid- and far-infrared surface photometry toward Spitzer bubbles to obtain the relationship between the total infrared luminosity, $L_{IR}$, and the bubble radius, R. As a result, we find that $L_{IR}$ is roughly proportional to $R^{\beta}$ where ${\beta}=2.1{\pm}0.4$. Broken bubbles tend to have larger radii than closed bubbles for the same $L_{IR}$.

• Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.91-96
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• 2006

We use near-infrared observations of eight selected Galactic globular clusters to estimate their distances by comparing the observed and theoretically predicted K magnitudes of the red giant branch bumps and tips. The K magnitude levels of the RGB bump and tip have been measured from the luminosity function of the selected RGB stars in the clusters. Theoretical absolute $M_k$ magnitudes of the RGB bump and tip are taken from the Yonsei-Yale isochrones. Comparing the observed apparent K magnitude with the derived absolute $M_k$ magnitude, we calculate the distance moduli of the clusters. We discuss the dependency of the derived distance modulus on the cluster age and the uncertainty of the distance measurement from the near-infrared photometry of the RGB bump and tip.

• 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.

• Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.101-103
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• 2017

We have carried out the near-infrared spectroscopic observations of recent classical novae (e.g., V2468Cyg, V1280Sco) within a few years from the outburst with AKARI as a part of AKARI Open Time Observing Program for Phase 3-II "Spectral Evolution of Novae in the Near-Infrared based on AKARI Observations (Proposal ID: SENNA)". The homogeneous datasets of near-infrared spectra from $2.5{\mu}m$ to $5{\mu}m$ with AKARI/IRC collected in this program are useful to infer the physical conditions of the shell formed by the ejected materials, to examine the chemical properties of the ejecta gas, and to examine the properties of dust formed in the nova ejecta.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.95-95
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• 2014

The mass measurement of neutron stars or black holes is of fundamental importance in our understanding of the evolution of massive stars and core-collapse supernova explosions as well as some exotic physics of the extreme conditions. Despite the importance, however, it's very difficult to measure mass of these objects directly. One way to do this, if they are in binary systems, to measure their binary motions (i.e., Doppler shifts) which can give us direct information on their mass. Recently many new highly-obscured massive X-ray binaries have been discovered by new hard X-ray satellites such as INTEGRAL and NuSTAR. The new highly-obscured massive X-ray binaries are faint in the optical, but bright in the infrared with many emission lines. Based on the near-infrared spectroscopy, one can first understand the nature of stellar companions to the compact objects, determining its spectral types and luminosity classes as well as mass losses and conditions of (potential) circumstellar material. Next, spectroscopic monitoring of these objects can be used to estimate the mass of compact objects via measuring the Doppler shifts of the lines. For the former, broad-band spectroscopy is essential; for the latter, high-resolution spectroscopy is critical. Therefore, IGRINS appears to be an ideal instrument to study them. An IGRINS survey of these new highly-obscured massive X-ray binaries can give us a rare opportunity to carry out population analyses for understanding the evolution of massive binary systems and formation of compact objects and their mass ranges. In this talk, we will present a sample near-infrared high resolution spectra of HMXB, IGR J19140+0951 and discuss about its spectral feature. These spectra are obtained on 13th July, 2014 from IGRINS commissioning run at McDonald 2.7m telescope. And at final, we will introduce the upgrade plan of IGRINS Operation Software (IGOS), to gather the input from IGRINS observer.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.241-244
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• 2005

We have analysed near-infrared JHKL observations of the members of the $\approx$9 Myr-old $\eta$ Chamaeleontis cluster. Using (J - H)/(K - L) and (H - K)/(K - L) IR colour-colour diagrams for the brightest 15 members of the cluster, we find the fraction of stellar systems with near-IR excess emission was 0.60 $\pm$ 0.13 (2$\sigma$). For the CTT and WTT star population, we also find a strong correlation between the IR excess and Ha emission which is also known as an accretion indicator. The (K - L) excess of these stars appears to indicate a wide range of star-disk activity; from a CTT star with high levels of accretion, to CTT - WTT transitional objects with evidence for some on-going accretion, and WTT stars with weak or absent IR excesses. Among the brightest 15 members, four stars (RECX 5, 9, 11 and ECHA J0843.3-7905) with IR excesses ${\Delta}$(K - L) > 0.4 mag and strong or variable optical emission were identified as likely experiencing on-going mass accretion from their circumstellar disks which we confirmed their accretion disks from the optical high-resolution echelle spectroscopic study. The result-ing accretion fraction of 0.27 $\pm$ 0.13 (2$\sigma$) suggests that the accretion phase, in addition to the disks themselves, can endure for at least ${\~}$10 Myr.