• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.60.1-60.1
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• 2011

We present preliminary results of a statistical study on star formation history of infrared luminous galaxies selected from a IRAS-SDSS matched sample. We derive their star formation histories by comparing observed optical spectra and stellar population synthetic model templates. We find that young population fraction (<500 Myr) increases with infrared luminosity, while AGN-host (based on optical line ratios) galaxies show an enhancement of star formation at intermediate age (around 1 Gyr) compared with starburst galaxies. These results support that infrared luminosity is dominated by starburst activity and that there is an evolutionary connection from starburst to AGN.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.77.2-77.2
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• 2019

NGC 4522 is one of the best-known examples among the Virgo galaxies undergoing active ram pressure stripping. There have been a number of detailed observational and theoretical studies on this galaxy to constrain its stripping and star formation history. However, the impact of ram pressure on the multi-phased ISM, in particular molecular gas which plays an important role in star formation, is still not fully understood. NGC 4522, as a system where the extra-planar molecular gas is identified, is an ideal case to probe in depth how ram pressure affects molecular gas properties. Aiming to get more theoretical insights on the detailed stripping process of multi-phased ISM and its consequences, we have conducted simulations using the TIGRESS which could reproduce the realistic ISM under comparable conditions as NGC 4522. In this work, we compare the fraction of gas mass to stellar mass, star formation rates and gas depletion time scales of NGC 4522 with those measured from the simulations, not only inside the disk but also in the extra-planar space.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.54.1-54.1
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• 2021

Observing sub-mm continuum emission from cold dust can play an important role in measuring star formation rates of galaxies, especially in the case of AGN host ones, since AGNs contaminate FIR fluxes by dust heating. To measure star formation rates, we observed total 49 local AGN host galaxies(z<0.2) by SCUBA-2 camera at James Clerk Maxwell Telescope(JCMT) at 450㎛ and 850㎛. We performed several tests with the observed images to determine whether each source is detected, and adopted 3s as the flux upper limit in non-detection cases. Using these measurements and FIR archival data, we modeled spectral energy distributions of the galaxies to estimate star formation rates. The effect of AGN activity on host galaxy star formation will be discussed.

• Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.53-58
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• 2010

The origin of the galaxies represents an important focus of current cosmological research, both observational and theoretical. Its resolution involves a comprehensive understanding of star formation and evolution, galaxy dynamics, supermassive black holes, and the cosmology of the very early universe. In this paper, I will review our current understanding of galaxy formation and review some of the challenges that lie ahead. Specific issues that I address include the galaxy luminosity function, feedback by supernovae and by AGN, and downsizing. I argue that current evidence favours two distinct modes of star formation in the early universe, in order to account for the origin of disk and massive spheroidal galaxies. However perhaps the most urgent need is for a robust theory of star formation.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.38.3-39
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• 2017

The N159 and N160 ionized regions in the Large Magellanic Cloud are an important extragalactic star-forming complex. The physical environments and the star formation stages are different in N159 and N160. We performed near-infrared polarimetry to those star forming regions with IRSF/SIRPOL 1.4-m telescope. Near-infrared polarization enabled us to trace the detailed structure of magnetic fields in star-forming regions. Through the polarimetric data of J, H, and Ks bands, we examined the magnetic field structures in the N159/N160 complex. In this presentation, we show complex distribution of the magnetic fields associated with dust and gas structures. We verify the local magnetic fields in each star-forming region, which appear to be related with local environments, such as interior and boundary of shell structure, star-forming HII regions, and boundaries between HII regions and dense dark clouds. We discuss the formation scenario of the N159/N160 complex suggested from the magnetic field structure.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.60.2-60.2
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• 2014

Hierarchical structure of star-forming regions is widespread and may be characteristic of all star formation. We studied the hierarchical structure of star-forming regions in the Local Group galaxies (M31, M33, Phoenix, Pegasus, Sextans A, Sextans B, WLM). The star-forming regions were selected from Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) far-UV imaging in various detection thresholds for investigating hierarchical structure. We examined the spatial distribution of the hot massive stars within star-forming regions from Hubble Space Telescope (HST) multi-band photometry. Small compact groups arranged within large complexes. The cumulative mass distribution follows a power law. The results allow us to understand the hierarchical structure of star formation and recent evolution of the Local Group galaxies.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.74.1-74.1
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• 2010

We have investigated the radial g-r color gradients of early-type galaxies in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) DR6 in the redshift range 0.00$H{\beta}$ absorption-line strengths and/or emission-line ratios that are indicative of the presence of young stellar populations. This implies that most of the residual star formation in early-type galaxies is centrally concentrated. Blue-cored galaxies are predominantly low-velocity dispersion systems. A simple model shows that the observed positive color gradients are visible only for a billion years after a star formation episode for the typical strength of recent star formation. The observed effective radius decreases and the mean surface brightness increases due to this centrally concentrated star formation episode. As a result, the majority of blue-cored galaxies may lie on different regions in the fundamental plane (FP) from red-cored ellipticals. However, the position of the blue-cored galaxies on the FP cannot be solely attributed to recent star formation but requires substantially lower velocity dispersion. We conclude that a low-level of residual star formation persists at the centers of most of low-mass early-type galaxies, whereas massive ones are mostly quiescent systems with metallicity-driven red cores.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.54.1-54.1
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• 2011

Formation of self-gravitating gas clouds and hence stars in galaxies is a consequence of both thermal and dynamical evolution of a gaseous medium. Using hydrodynamics simulations including cooling and heating explicitly, we follow simultaneously thermal and dynamical evolution of galactic gas disks to study dynamics and structures of galactic spiral shocks with thermal instability and regulation of the star formation rates (SFRs). We first perform one-dimensional simulations in direction perpendicular to spiral arms. The multiphase gas flows across the arm soon achieve a quasi-steady state characterized by transitions from warm to cold phases at the shock and from cold to warm phases in the postshock expansion zone, producing a substantial fraction of intermediate-temperature gas. Next, we allow a vertical degree of freedom to model vertically stratified disks. The shock front experiences unsteady flapping motions, driving a significant amount of random gas motions, and self-gravity promotes formation of bound clouds inside spiral arms. Finally, we include the star formation feedback in both mechanical (due to supernova explosion) and radiative (due to FUV heating by young stars) forms in the absence of spiral arms. At saturation, gravitationally bound clouds form via thermal and gravitational instabilities, which are compensated by disruption via supernova explosions. We find that the FUV heating regulates the SFRs when gas surface density is low, confirming the prediction of the thermal and dynamical equilibrium model of Ostriker et al. (2010) for star formation regulation.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.34.1-34.1
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• 2019

To study the formation and evolution of stellar bars and gaseous nuclear rings in barred galaxies in realistic environments, we run fully self-consistent three-dimensional simulations of isolated disk galaxies. We consider two groups of models with cold or warm disks that differ in the radial velocity dispersion. We also vary the gas fraction of the disks. We found that a bar forms earlier and more strongly as the gas fraction increases in the cold disks, while the gas delays the bar formation in the warm disks. The bar formation enhances a central mass concentration which in turn weakens the bar strength temporarily, after which the bar regrows to become stronger in a model with a smaller gas fraction in both cold and warm disks. Although all bars rotate fast in the beginning, they rapidly turn to slow rotators. Gas infalling to the central region forms a dense star-forming nuclear ring. The ring size is very small when it first forms and grows over time. The ring star formation is episodic and bursty due to star formation feedback, and has a good correlation with the mass inflow rate to the ring. Some expanding shells produced by star formation feedback are sheared out in the bar regions and collide with dust lanes to appear as filamentary interbar spurs.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.36.1-36.1
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• 2018

Understanding the origin of strong galactic outflows and the suppression of star formation in dwarf galaxies is a key problem in galaxy formation. Using a set of radiation-hydrodynamic simulations of an isolated dwarf galaxy, we show that the momentum transferred from resonantly scattered Lyman-alpha(LyA) photons can suppress star formation by a factor of two in metal-poor galaxies by regulating the dynamics of star-forming clouds before the onset of supernova explosions (SNe). This is possible because each LyA photon resonantly scatters and imparts ~10-300 times greater momentum than in the single scattering limit. Consequently, the number of star clusters predicted in the simulations is reduced by a factor of ~5, compared to the model without the early feedback. More importantly, we find that galactic outflows become weaker in the presence of strong LyA radiation feedback, as star formation and associated SNe become less bursty. We also examine a model in which radiation field is arbitrarily enhanced by a factor of up to 10, and reach the same conclusion. The typical mass-loading factors in our metal-poor dwarf system are estimated to be ~5-10 near the mid-plane, while it is reduced to ~1 at larger radii.