• 천문학회지
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• 제47권5호
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• pp.195-199
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• 2014

We present a GUI-based interactive Python program, VIMAP, which generates radio spectral index maps of active galactic nuclei (AGN) from Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) maps obtained at different frequencies. VIMAP is a handy tool for the spectral analysis of synchrotron emission from AGN jets, specifically of spectral index distributions, turn-over frequencies, and core-shifts. In general, the required accurate image alignment is difficult to achieve because of a loss of absolute spatial coordinate information during VLBI data reduction (self-calibration) and/or intrinsic variations of source structure as function of frequency. These issues are overcome by VIMAP which in turn is based on the two-dimensional cross-correlation algorithm of Croke & Gabuzda (2008). In this paper, we briefly review the problem of aligning VLBI AGN maps, describe the workflow of VIMAP, and present an analysis of archival VLBI maps of the active nucleus 3C 120.

• 천문학회지
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• 제36권3호
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• pp.177-187
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• 2003

Active galactic nuclei (AGNs) are distant, powerful sources of radiation over the entire electromagnetic spectrum, from radio waves to gamma-rays. There is much evidence that they are driven by gravitational accretion of stars, dust, and gas, onto central massive black holes (MBHs) imprisoning anywhere from $\~$1 to $\~$10,000 million solar masses; such objects may naturally form in the centers of galaxies during their normal dynamical evolution. A small fraction of AGNs, of the radio-loud type (RLAGNs), are somehow able to generate powerful synchrotron-emitting structures (cores, jets, lobes) with sizes ranging from pc to Mpc. A brief summary of AGN observations and theories is given, with an emphasis on RLAGNs. Preliminary results from the imaging of 10000 extragalactic radio sources observed in the MITVLA snapshot survey, and from a new analytic theory of the time-variable power output from Kerr black hole magnetospheres, are presented. To better understand the complex physical processes within the central engines of AGNs, it is important to confront the observations with theories, from the viewpoint of analyzing the time-variable behaviours of AGNs - which have been recorded over both 'short' human ($10^0-10^9\;s$) and 'long' cosmic ($10^{13} - 10^{17}\;s$) timescales. Some key ingredients of a basic mathematical formalism are outlined, which may help in building detailed Monte-Carlo models of evolving AGN populations; such numerical calculations should be potentially important tools for useful interpretation of the large amounts of statistical data now publicly available for both AGNs and RLAGNs.

• 천문학회지
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• 제48권5호
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• pp.277-284
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• 2015

We present our efforts for extending the simultaneous multi-frequency receiver system of the Korean Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) Network (KVN) to global baselines in order to measure the frequency-dependent position shifts in Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) jets, the so called core shift effect, with an unprecedented accuracy (a few micro-arcseconds). Millimeter VLBI observations with simultaneous multi-frequency receiver systems, like those of the KVN, enable us to explore the innermost regions of AGN and high precision astrometry. Such a system is capable of locating the frequency dependent opacity changes accurately. We have conducted the feasibility test-observations with the interested partners by implementing the KVN-compatible systems. Here we describe the science case for measuring the core shift effect in the AGN jet and report progress and future plans on extending the simultaneous multi-frequency system to global baselines.

• 천문학회지
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• 제48권5호
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• pp.285-298
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• 2015

Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) with bright radio jets offer the opportunity to study the structure of and physical conditions in relativistic outflows. For such studies, multi-frequency polarimetric very long baseline interferometric (VLBI) observations are important as they directly probe particle densities, magnetic field geometries, and several other parameters. We present results from first-epoch data obtained by the Korean VLBI Network (KVN) within the frame of the Plasma Physics of Active Galactic Nuclei (PAGaN) project. We observed seven radio-bright nearby AGN at frequencies of 22, 43, 86, and 129 GHz in dual polarization mode. Our observations constrain apparent brightness temperatures of jet components and radio cores in our sample to > 10^8.01 K and > 10^9.86 K, respectively. Degrees of linear polarization m_L are relatively low overall: less than 10%. This indicates suppression of polarization by strong turbulence in the jets. We found an exceptionally high degree of polarization in a jet component of BL Lac at 43 GHz, with m_L ~ 40%. Assuming a transverse shock front propagating downstream along the jet, the shock front being almost parallel to the line of sight can explain the high degree of polarization.

• 천문학논총
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• 제30권2호
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• pp.453-455
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• 2015

In this paper we introduce the Plasma Physics of Active Galactic Nuclei project, which is an ongoing experiment with Korean VLBI Network (KVN) and KVN and VERA Array (KaVA) to study multi-frequency polarimetric properties on parsec scales of active galaxies. The goal of the project is to improve our understanding of fundamental jet physics, especially evolution of the relativistic outflow coupled with the large-scale magnetic field. We selected six radio-loud AGN as our targets. So far we (i) detected resolved emissions regions at 86 and 129 GHz on VLBI scales, (ii) constructed 2D spectral index maps of the outflows, and (iii) found polarizations at 22 and 43 GHz for a few targets. Here we present spectral index distributions of 3C 120 between 22 and 43 GHz and a linear polarization map of BL Lac at 43 GHz obtained with KVN.

• 천문학논총
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• 제30권2호
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• pp.637-639
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• 2015

The Korean very-long-baseline interferometry (VLBI) network (KVN) and VLBI Exploration of Radio Astrometry (VERA) Array (KaVA) is the first international VLBI array dedicated to high-frequency (23 GHz (K-band) and 43 GHz (Q-band)) observations in East Asia. To evaluate the imagine capability of KaVA, we performed imaging observations of three bright active galactic nuclei (AGNs) known for their complex morphologies: 4C 39.25, 3C 273, and M87 by KaVA at K-/Q-band. Our KaVA images reveal extended outflows with complex substructure such as knots and limb brightening, in agreement with previous observations by other VLBI facilities. Angular resolutions are better than 1.4 and 0.8 milliarcsecond (max) at K-/Q-band, respectively. KaVA achieves a high dynamic range of ~1000, more than three times the value achieved by VERA. We conclude that KaVA is a powerful array with a great potential for the study of AGN outflows, at least comparable to the best existing radio interferometric arrays.

• 천문학회보
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• 제46권2호
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• pp.71.2-71.2
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• 2021

Using multi-epoch spectra of active galactic nuclei (AGN) obtained from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, we identify 16 spectrally variable sources, for which the spectral shapes of broad emission lines significantly vary with a time scale of yrs. Out of them, 3 AGNs are already known as changing-look (CL) AGNs by previous studies. 6 AGNs are newly identified as CL AGNs from our study. A majority of these AGNs are relatively faint and their variability in the continuum is small, which may explain their non-detection in the previous studies. 7 sources are known as binary AGN candidates based on the systematic velocity offset between broad emission lines and narrow emission lines. For those sources and 3 CL AGNs, we find that the peak of broad emission lines had been shifted up to a few thousands km/s for ~10 years, implying that those can be promising candidates for pc-scale binary AGNs or recoiling black holes. We plan to conduct multiwavelength follow-up studies to nail down the physical origin of the velocity shift.

• 천문학회보
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• 제37권2호
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• pp.74.1-74.1
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• 2012

We observed the radio sources found from the First Look Survey (FLS) field at the 1.4 GHz radio continuum emission with the Very Large Array (VLA) using the A configuration. We identify point sources and multi component sources at ${\geq}4{\sigma}$ level. We also present the submillimeter properties of the selected radio sources in the FLS field from the Herschel/SPIRE 250/350/500/${\mu}m$ and AzTEC 1.1mm surveys. The counterparts of the radio sources at submillimeter for these called 'submillimeter galaxies (SMGs)' are detected at infrared wavelength with the Spitzer MIPS 24 & 70 ${\mu}m$ sources. Based on the MMT/HECTOSPEC red-shift survey, IRS spectroscopy, and SDSS photometric red-shift survey, the radio sources are likely to be the extragalactic sources. Here, we use the star formation rate (SFR) derived from the MIPS 24 and 70 ${\mu}m$ luminosity to compare the measured SFR from the VLA 1.4 GHz luminosity. These results show that a tight correlation between the SFR from the radio luminosity and the MIPS $24{\mu}m$ rather than that from the MIPS $70{\mu}m$ luminosity. Radio and IR correlation is also used to indicate the radio and IR properties of star-formation in the galaxies and active galactic nuclei (AGNs). Using the counterpart sources selected at IR and radio wavelengths, we employ the IR/radio flux ratios to determine the properties and population of the selected galaxies.

• 천문학회보
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• 제45권1호
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• pp.63.2-63.2
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• 2020

FLASH is a blind neutral hydrogen (HI) absorption line survey, eventually targeting about 100,000 background radio continuum sources in the entire southern sky using the full 36-antenna of the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP). Our primary goal is to search for associated and intervening HI absorption lines in the intermediate redshift range 0.4 < z < 1.0. The survey aims to understand the evolution of HI gas in galaxies as well as various physical mechanisms in active galactic nuclei, such as accretion and feedback processes. In this poster, we give an overview of the FLASH survey and present the preliminary results from our first 100-hrs of pilot observations. The latest survey data covers 1,000 square degrees and is ideal for validating observation and data processing in the continuous 300MHz-width low frequency ASKAP band (700-1000MHz). One of the crucial objectives of the pilot survey is to establish the analysis methodology that will be applied to upcoming large absorption surveys in the future. We discuss our data quality validation and present some detections of associated/intervening HI absorption lines. These absorption lines allow us to trace the cold gas properties of active and normal galaxies at higher redshifts where the HI emission line is too weak to be detectable.

• 천문학회보
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• 제36권2호
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• pp.61.2-61.2
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• 2011

Low-ionization nuclear emission-line regions (LINERs) have been generally regarded to be powered by active galactic nuclei (AGNs), yet still a number of alternative explanations on the origin of LINER emission are suggested; for example, planetary nebulae nuclei of massive stars, supernovae shocks from death of massive stars, and old stellar populations. Interestingly, a majority of recent star formation early-type galaxies (ETGs) in local universe presents such LINER emission lines. Given that situation, revealing the true nature of LINERs is a crucial step to constrain the evolution path to quiescent ETGs. To resolve the issue, we use Keck/LRIS to obtain spatially resolved spectra on a carefully selected ETG. The ETG SDSS J091628.05+420818.7 at redshift z ~ 0.024 shows modest LINER emission line features without any detection of 21 cm radio continuum nor X-ray emission. We perform a stellar continuum subtraction and measure emission line strengths and their uncertainties for each spectrum from five apertures along the slit with size of 1 arcsecond (~0.5 kpc). We find that extended spatial distributions of four emission lines $H{\alpha}$, $H{\beta}$, [OIII]${\lambda}5007$, and [NII]${\lambda}6583$, and they can be explained by central emission blurring effect. We conclude that the emissions seem to be centrally concentrated, indicating the AGN-nature of LINERs.