• 천문학회보
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• 제46권2호
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• pp.49.2-49.2
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• 2021

We present the results of long-term simultaneous monitoring observations (~ 12 years) of H²O (22 GHz) maser and several vibrationally excited lines of SiO J = 1-0, 2-1, 3-2 masers (43, 86, 129 GHz) carried out with the 21-m antennas of the Korean VLBI Network (KVN) toward a sample of three AGB stars (RT Vir, RR Aql, IRC-10151) that are believed to be semiregular variable star, Mira variable star, and OH/IR star, respectively, according to a sequential evolutionary phase of AGB star. A total 10 transitions were observed, of which we detected H²O, SiO 𝝊 = 1 and 2, J = 1-0, SiO 𝝊 = 1, J = 2-1 and J = 3-2 maser lines in all three target objects, depending on the observational epochs. In this study, we scrutinize the evolutionary traits of each target object based on the maser line profiles, flux/velocity variations, and phase lags with the optical light curves. The IRAS two color diagram and the infrared spectral energy distributions (SEDs) in the wavelength range from 1.2 to 240 ㎛ of three observed sources were also analyzed.

• 천문학회보
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• 제38권2호
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• pp.76-76
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• 2013

The current hierarchical model of galaxy formation predicts that galaxy halos contain merger relics in the form of long stellar streams. In order to find stellar substructures in galaxy, we focused our investigation on the stellar spatial density around globular clusters and on the quantitative properties of the evolved sequences in the color-magnitude diagrams (CMDs). First, we investigated the spatial configuration of stars around five metal-poor globular clusters in halo region (M15, M30, M53, NGC 5053, and NGC 5466) and one metal-poor globular cluster in bulge region (NGC 6626). Our findings indicate that all of these globular clusters show strong evidence of extratidal features in the form of extended tidal tails around the clusters. The orientations of the extratidal features show the signatures of tidal tails tracing the clusters' orbits and the effects of dynamical interactions with the galaxy. These features were also confirmed by the radial surface density profiles and azimuthal number density profiles. Our results suggest that these six globular clusters are potentially associated with the satellite galaxies merged into the Milky Way. Second, we derived the morphological parameters of the red giant branch (RGB) from the near-infrared CMDs of 12 metal-poor globular clusters in the Galactic bulge. The photometric RGB shape indices such as colors at fixed magnitudes, magnitudes at fixed colors, and the RGB slope were measured for each cluster. The magnitudes of the RGB bump and tip were also estimated. The derived RGB parameters were used to examine the overall behavior of the RGB morphology as a function of cluster metallicity. The behavior of the RGB shape parameters was also compared with the previous observational calibration relation and theoretical predictions of the Yonsei-Yale isochrones. Our results of studies for stellar spatial distribution around globular clusters and the morphological properties of RGB stars in globular clusters could add further observational evidence of merging scenario of galaxy formation.

• 천문학회지
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• 제46권6호
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• pp.203-224
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• 2013

Wide-field $JHK_s$ images obtained with the SIRIUS near-infrared camera of the IRSF 1.4m telescope are used to examine the tidal structures of the spatial stellar configuration around six metal-poor ([Fe/H]< -1.0) globular clusters located within 3 kpc from the Galactic center. The radial surface density profiles are obtained from the surface photometry of the cluster images and the star counting for the photometric data. For the star counting, candidates of cluster member stars are selected with an filtering algorithm in color-magnitude diagrams. We find that the six target clusters show tidal overdensity features in the radial surface density profiles. There is a break inside the tidal radius for each cluster, and the profile in the outer overdensity region is characterized by a power law. Two-dimensional density maps of all the clusters show distorted asymmetric stellar configurations in the outer region. In five out of the six target clusters, the overdensity features are likely to be associated with the effects of the Galaxy dynamical interaction and the cluster space motions. The observed tidal configurations of stars suggest that several metal-poor clusters in the Galactic bulge are possibly surviving remnants of mergers to build the old stellar system of the Galactic bulge.

• 천문학회보
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• 제36권2호
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• pp.65-65
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• 2011

Early-type galaxies represent the end point of galaxy evolution and, despite pervasive residual star formation, are generally considered "red and dead", that is composed exclusively of old stars with no star formation. Here, their molecular gas content is constrained and discussed in relation to their evolution, supporting the continuing importance of minor mergers and/or cold gas accretion. First, as part of the Atlas3D survey, the first complete, large, volume-limited survey of CO in normal early-type galaxies is presented. At least of 23% of local early-types possess a substantial amount of molecular gas, the necessary ingredient for star formation, independent of mass and environment but dependent on the specific stellar angular momentum. Second, using CO synthesis imaging, the extent of the molecular gas is constrained and a variety of morphologies is revealed. The kinematics of the molecular gas and stars are often misaligned, implying an external gas origin in over a third of all systems, more than half in the field, while external gas accretion must be shot down in clusters. Third, many objects appear to be in the process of forming regular kpc-size decoupled disks, and a star formation sequence can be sketched by piecing together multi-wavelength information on the molecular gas, current star formation, and young stars. Fourth, early-type galaxies do not seem to systematically obey all our usual prejudices regarding star formation (e.g. Schmidt-Kennicutt law, far infrared-radio continuum correlation), suggesting a greater diversity in star formation processes than observed in disk galaxies and the possibility of "morphological quenching". Lastly, a first step toward constraining the physical properties of the molecular gas is taken, by modeling the line ratios of density- and opacity-sensitive molecules in a few objects. Taken together, these observations argue for the continuing importance of (minor) mergers and cold gas accretion in local early-types, and they provide a much greater understanding of the gas cycle in the galaxies harbouring most of the stellar mass. In the future, better dust masses and dust-to-gas mass ratios from Herschel should allow to place entirely independent constraints on the gas supply, while spatially-resolved high-density molecular gas tracers observed with ALMA will probe the interstellar medium and star formation laws locally in a regime entirely different from that normally probed in spiral galaxies.

• 천문학회보
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• 제40권1호
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• pp.71.3-71.3
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• 2015

Deep UBVI and $H{\alpha}$ photometry of the ${\eta}$ Carina nebula, one of the brightest nebulae on the sky, was obtained with the CTIO 4m telescope and MOSAIC II CCD Camera to determine the initial mass function down to low-mass (~1 M¤) stars. We modified the spatial variation coefficients in transformation relations of the MOSAIC II CCD. From the cross-identification of optical sources with previous surveys in X-ray, near-infrared, and mid-infrared, a clear PMS sequence is revealed in the optical color-magnitude diagrams down to V=23 mag. Our previous SSO 1m UBVI data for Trumpler 14 (Tr 14) and Trumpler 16 (Tr 16) region, and additional SSO 1m UBVI data for Trumpler 15 (Tr 15) region were combined with the CTIO 4m data to re-examine the reddening law and distance of the young open clusters in the ${\eta}$ Carina nebula. From the new photometric data for Tr 15 region, we report that RV[=AV/E(B-V)], the total-to-selective extinction ratio, decreases from southern part of the nebula (Tr 14 and Tr 16) to northern part (Tr 15) in our field of view.

• 천문학논총
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• 제32권1호
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• pp.151-153
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• 2017

Early-type galaxies (ETGs) are generally dominated by old low-mass stars, which are not very productive of dust, and hot interstellar plasmas, which are very destructive of dust. Thus ETGs provide harsh environments for survival of dust. It has been found that some ETGs contain a large amount of dust, and yet its supply mechanism is not understood well. We present the result of a systematic study of dust in ETGs with the AKARI mid- and far-infrared all-sky surveys. From the AKARI result and the Ks band data obtained by ground-based telescopes, we find that there is a global correlation between the dust mass and stellar luminosity. We also compare the AKARI all-sky survey result with the CO data to discuss origins of dust in ETGs.

• Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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• 제26권4호
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• pp.417-420
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• 2009

We have used the near-infrared $JHK_S$ photometric data of resolved stars in a nearby dwarf elliptical galaxy NGC 205 to determine the magnitudes of the red giant branch tip (TRGB). By applying Savitzky-Golay filter to the observed luminosity functions (LFs) in each band, we derived the second derivatives of the LFs so as to determine the magnitudes of the TRGB. Absolute magnitudes of the TRGB in $JHK_S$ bands were measured from the Yonsei-Yale isochrones. By comparing the determined apparent magnitudes and the theoretical absolute magnitudes of the TRGB, we estimated the distance moduli of NGC 205 to be (m - M) = $24.10{\pm}0.08$, $24.08{\pm}0.12$ and $24.14{\pm}0.14$ in J, H, and $K_S$ bands, respectively.

• 천문학회보
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• 제39권2호
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• pp.92.2-92.2
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• 2014

NGC 6822 is a dwarf irregular galaxy in the Local Group. Unlike clouds in the Large Magellanic Cloud and the Small Magellanic Cloud, molecular clouds in NGC 6822 are not influenced by the Galactic tidal force. Therefore the star forming processes are only dictated by local conditions. Hubble V is the brightest of the several bright H II region complexes in NGC 6822. The core of Hubble V, surrounded by a molecular cloud complex, contains compact clusters of bright blue stars. During the commissioning runs of the new high-resolution near-infrared spectrometer, IGRINS (Immersion GRating near-INfrared Spectrometer), we observed Hubble V and detected many emission lines from the H II regions and from the photodissociation region at the interface between the ionized gas and the molecular cloud. In this presentation, we report preliminary results of the IGRINS observations. We discuss the implications of the observed lines ratios and kinematics for our understanding of the evolution of star forming molecular clouds.

• 천문학회보
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• 제42권2호
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• pp.42.2-42.2
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• 2017

The Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) is a unique target to study the detail structures of molecular clouds and star-forming regions, due to its proximity and face-on orientation from us. Most part of the astrophysical subjects for the LMC have been investigated, but the magnetic field is still veiling despite its role in the evolution of the interstellar medium (ISM) and in the main force to influence the star formation process. Measuring polarization of the background stars behind interstellar medium allows us to describe the existence of magnetic fields through the polarization vector map. In this presentation, I introduce the near-infrared polarimetric results for the $39^{\prime}{\times}69^{\prime}$ field of the northeastern region of the LMC and the N159/N160 star-forming complex therein. The polarimetric observations were conducted at IRSF/SIRPOL 1.4 m telescope. These results allow us to examine both the global geometry of the large-scale magnetic field in the northeastern region and the close structure of the magnetic field in the complex. Prominent patterns of polarization vectors mainly follow dust emission features in the mid-infrared bands, which imply that the large-scale magnetic fields are highly involved in the structure of the dust cloud in the LMC. In addition, local magnetic field structures in the N159/N160 star-forming complex are investigated with the comparison between polarization vectors and molecular cloud emissions, suggesting that the magnetic fields are resulted from the sequential formation history of this complex. I propose that ionizing radiation from massive stellar clusters and the expanding bubble of the ionized gas and dust in this complex probably affect the nascent magnetic field structure.

• 천문학회보
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• 제37권2호
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• pp.91-91
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• 2012

We present high-resolution near-infrared host galaxy spectra of low-z quasars, PG0844+349 (z=0.064), PG1226+023 (z=0.158), and PG1426+015 (z=0.086). The observation was done by using the near-IR high resolution echelle spectrometer, IRCS, at the SUBARU 8.2 m telescope. The full width at half maximum of the point spread function was about 0.3 arcsec by using an Adaptive Optics system, which can effectively resolve the quasar spectra from the host galaxy spectra. The signal-to-noise ratios are increased by the total exposure time up to several hours per targets and the development of data reduction method. We compare our results to the stellar spectra library and sample spectra from Dasyra et al. (2007) and Watson et al. (2008). The identified spectral lines will be used to study the physical mechanism of quasars, and the velocity dispersions of the stars in the bulge of the host galaxy.