• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
• /
• v.43 no.2
• /
• pp.35.1-35.1
• /
• 2018

Bars are commonly found in disk galaxies. However, how bars form is yet unclear. There are two common pictures for the bar formation mechanism. Bars form through a physical process inherent in galaxies, or through and external process like galaxy-galaxy interaction. In this paper, we present the observational evidence that bars can form from another channel, namely a cluster-cluster interaction. We examined 105 galaxy clusters at 0.015

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
• /
• v.44 no.2
• /
• pp.73.1-73.1
• /
• 2019

We investigate the evolution of the galactic spin of spiral galaxies in various dynamical situations using the N-body/SPH simulations. To do this we first construct a Milky Way-like galaxy model. Then we perform both prograde and retrograde encounters between the spiral galaxy pair. We also conduct a simulation with our galaxy model in isolation for comparison. We find that the circular motion of the disk stars in the inner region of the galaxy decrease clearly when the galaxy experiences strong prograde interactions. Such decrease has not found when the galaxy experiences weak or no interactions. We compare our simulation results with recent observational studies on the galactic spins.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
• /
• v.37 no.2
• /
• pp.71.2-71.2
• /
• 2012

Fly-by interactions of galaxies are hidden drivers of galaxy evolution: The impulsive encounters are by far more frequent than and thus as important as direct mergers, yet hard to identify observationally. Here we present the key characteristics of fly-bys that are examined theoretically via cosmological N-body simulations. In particular, we use the simulations generated by a particle-mesh tree code, GOTPM, and investigate the statistics of galactic fly-by interactions, which are defined by the total energy of two halos of interest being positive and their minimum distances escaping mergers. We discuss (1) the rate of fly-by interactions (the Fly-by Rate, $R_f$) as functions of(a) redshifts, (b) halo masses and mass ratios, and (c) environments, and (2) their impact on galaxy evolution in terms of morphology and star-formation rate, in comparison to that of direct mergers.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
• /
• v.46 no.2
• /
• pp.40.3-41
• /
• 2021

Minor mergers leave behind long lived, but extremely faint and extended tidal features including tails, streams, loops and plumes. These act as a fossil record for the host galaxy's past interactions, allowing us to infer recent accretion histories and place constraints on the properties and nature of a galaxy's dark matter halo. However, shallow imaging or small homogeneous samples of past surveys have resulted in weak observational constraints on the role of galaxy mergers and interactions in galaxy assembly. The Rubin Observatory, which is optimised to deliver fast, wide field-of-view imaging, will enable deep and unbiased observations over the 18,000 square degrees of the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST), resulting in samples of potentially of millions of objects undergoing tidal interactions. Using realistic mock images produced with state-of-the-art cosmological simulations we perform a comprehensive theoretical investigation of the extended diffuse light around galaxies and galaxy groups down to low stellar mass densities. We consider the nature, frequency and visibility of tidal features and debris across a range of environments and stellar masses as well as their reliability as an indicator of galaxy accretion histories. We consider how observational biases such as projection effects, the point-spread-function and survey depth may effect the proper characterisation and measurement of tidal features, finding that LSST will be capable of recovering much of the flux found in the outskirts of L* galaxies at redshifts beyond local volume. In our simulated sample, tidal features are ubiquitous In L* galaxies and remain common even at significantly lower masses (M*>10^10 Msun). The fraction of stellar mass found in tidal features increases towards higher masses, rising to 5-10% for the most massive objects in our sample (M*~10^11.5 Msun). Such objects frequently exhibit many distinct tidal features often with complex morphologies, becoming increasingly numerous with increased depth. The interpretation and characterisation of such features can vary significantly with orientation and imaging depth. Our findings demonstrate the importance of accounting for the biases that arise from projection effects and surface-brightness limits and suggest that, even after the LSST is complete, much of the discovery space in low surface-brightness Universe will remain to be explored.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
• /
• v.36 no.2
• /
• pp.76.1-76.1
• /
• 2011

We present ultraviolet (UV) photometric properties of galaxies in two clusters, the Fornax and Virgo, with different dynamical conditions. We construct UV color-magnitude relations (CMRs) of galaxies in the Fornax and Virgo clusters using GALEX UV data matching with optical B band data. Elliptical and lenticular galaxies locate on red sequence in UV CMRs and show UV upturn phenomenon in both clusters. While dwarf lenticular galaxies (dS0s) in the Fornax also follow the extension of red sequence of giant early type galaxies, they are redder than dS0s in the Virgo at a given magnitude. We also investigated the effect of neighbor galaxies and cluster environment to the UV properties. In the space of projected clustercentric radius and projected nearest neighbor galaxy distance, we found that red (NUV-B>3) galaxy fraction of the Fornax depends entirely on clustercentric radius. However, in the case of Virgo, galaxy colors are also affected by interactions between galaxies outside the cluster virial radius. We suggest that UV properties of early-type galaxies in the Fornax cluster is likely consistent with its dynamically evolved system compared to the Virgo cluster.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
• /
• v.48 no.6
• /
• pp.381-398
• /
• 2015

Dynamical analysis of compact groups provides important tests of models of compact group formation and evolution. By compiling 2066 redshifts from FLWO/FAST, from the literature, and from SDSS DR12 in the fields of compact groups in , we construct the largest sample of compact groups with complete spectroscopic redshifts in the redshift range 0.01 < z < 0.22. This large redshift sample shows that the interloper fraction in the compact group candidates is ~ 42%. A secure sample of 332 compact groups includes 192 groups with four or more member galaxies and 140 groups with three members. The fraction of early-type galaxies in these compact groups is 62%, higher than for the original Hickson compact groups. The velocity dispersions of early-and late-type galaxies in compact groups change little with groupcentric radius; the radii sampled are less than 100 h⁻¹ kpc, smaller than the radii typically sampled by members of massive clusters of galaxies. The physical properties of our sample compact groups include size, number density, velocity dispersion, and local environment; these properties slightly differ from those derived for the original Hickson compact groups and for the DPOSS II compact groups. Differences result from subtle differences in the way the group candidates were originally selected. The abundance of the compact groups changes little with redshift over the range covered by this sample. The approximate constancy of the abundance for this sample is a potential constraint on the evolution of compact groups on a few Gigayear timescale.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
• /
• v.36 no.3
• /
• pp.159-165
• /
• 2003

Optical (R) and near-infrared (K') images of the IRAS 1-Jy sample of 118 ultraluminous infrared galaxies have been studied. All but one object in the 1-Jy sample show signs of strong tidal interaction/merger. Most of them harbor a single disturbed nucleus and are therefore in the later stages of a merger event. Single-nucleus ULIGs show a broad distribution in host magnitudes with significant overlap with those of quasars. The same statement applies to R - K' colors in ULIG and quasar hosts. An analysis of the surface brightness profiles of the host galaxies in single-nucleus sources reveals that about $35\%$ of the Rand K' surface brightness profiles are well fit by an elliptical-like $R^{1/4}$-law, while only $2\%$ are well fit by an exponential disk. Another $38\%$ of the single-nucleus systems are fit equally well with an exponential or de Vaucouleurs profile. Elliptical-like hosts are most common among merger remnants with Seyfert 1 nuclei ($83\%$) and Seyfert 2 optical characteristics ($69\%$). The mean effective radius of these ULIGs is 4.80 $\pm$ 1.37 kpc at Rand 3.48 $\pm$ 1.39 kpc at K'. These values are in excellent agreement with recent quasar measurements obtained at H with HST. The hosts of elliptical-like 1-Jy systems follow with some scatter the same ${\mu}e - r_e$ relation, giving credence to the idea that some of these objects may eventually become elliptical galaxies if they get rid of their excess gas or transform this gas into stars.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
• /
• v.42 no.2
• /
• pp.47.2-47.2
• /
• 2017

We investigate the environmental effects on galaxy spin using the sample of ~1100 galaxies from the first public data of MaNGA integral field unit survey. We determine the spin parameter ${\lambda}_{Re}$ of galaxies by analyzing the two-dimensional stellar kinematic measurements within the effective radius, and study its dependence on the large-scale (background mass density determined with 20 nearby galaxies) and small-scale (distance to and morphology of the nearest neighbor galaxy) environments. We first examine the mass dependence of galaxy spin, and find that the spin parameter decreases with stellar mass at log ($M_{\ast}/M_{\odot}$) > 10, consistent with previous studies. We then divide the galaxies into three subsamples using their stellar masses to minimize the mass effects on galaxy spin. The spin parameter of galaxies in each subsample does not change with the background density, but do change with the distance to and morphology of the nearest neighbor. The spin parameter increases when late-type neighbors are within the virial radius, and decreases when early-type neighbors are within the virial radius. These results suggest that the large-scale environments hardly affect the galaxy spin, but the effects of small-scale environments such as hydrodynamic galaxy-galaxy interactions are substantial.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
• /
• v.35 no.2
• /
• pp.39.1-39.1
• /
• 2010

We study the effects of the cluster environment on galactic morphology by defining a dimensionless angular momentum parameter ld, to obtain a quantitative and objective measure of galaxy type. The use of this physical parameter allows us to take the study of morphological transformations in clusters beyond the measurements of merely qualitative parameters, e.g. S/E ratios, to a more physical footing. To this end, we employ an extensive SDSS sample, with galaxies associated with Abell galaxy clusters. The sample contains 93 relaxed Abell clusters and over 34,000 individual galaxies. We find that the median ld value tends to decrease as we approach the cluster center, with different dependences according to the mass of the galaxies and the hosting cluster; low and intermediate mass galaxies showing a strong dependence, while massive galaxies seems to show, at all radii, low ld values. By analysing trends in ld as functions of the nearest galactic neighbour environment, clustercentric radius and velocity dispersion of clusters, we can identify clearly the leading physical processes at work. We find that in massive clusters (s > 700 km/s), the interaction with the cluster central region dominates, whilst in smaller clusters galaxy-galaxy interactions are chiefly responsible for driving galactic morphological transformations.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
• /
• v.36 no.2
• /
• pp.55.1-55.1
• /
• 2011

Luminous infrared galaxies (LIRGs; $L_{IR}$ > ${10^{11}}_{Lsun}$) are the most powerful objects in the local Universe. Previous work suggested that dust re-processing of starburst and/or active galactic nuclei (AGN) activity, triggered by galaxy interactions, is responsible for their enormous infrared emission. To understand the nature of LIRGs, it is essential to determine their spectral types. Optical spectral types of 115 ultraluminous infrared galaxies in the southern sky are presented using CTIO observations. The AGN fraction is on average 50% and increases with infrared luminosity. Near-infrared spectral types of 36 LIRGs are also presented based on AKARI observations. In the sample, 12 optically elusive buried AGNs are found. To investigate the evolutionary sequence of LIRGs, star formation histories of ~6000 LIRGs in the SDSS and IRAS/AKARI matched sample are derived by comparing observed optical spectra and stellar population models. AGN-dominated LIRGs are currently massive relative to starburst-dominated LIRGs, which originates from an enhancement of star formation at intermediate-ages. For ~1100 early-type LIRGs, optical and NIR fundamental planes (FPs) are constructed. The FP of LIRGs is significantly different from that of normal early-type galaxies, but the difference is minimized in low luminous and AGN-like LIRGs. These findings support that the importance of AGN is growing as infrared luminosity increases and that LIRGs follow at least in the high mass regime the standard evolutionary scenario: starburst LIRGs evolve into AGN LIRGs and finally into normal early-type galaxies.