• 천문학회보
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• 제43권1호
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• pp.43.1-43.1
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• 2018

Star formation in galaxies predominantly takes place in giant molecular clouds (GMCs). While it is widely believed that UV radiation feedback from young massive stars can destroy natal GMCs by exciting HII regions and driving their expansion, our understanding on how this actually occurs remains incomplete. To quantitatively assess the effect of UV radiation feedback on cloud disruption, we conduct a series of theoretical studies on the dynamics of HII regions and its role in controlling the star formation efficiency (SFE) and lifetime of GMCs in a wide range of star-forming environments. We first develop a semi-analytic model for the expansion of spherical dusty HII regions driven by the combination of gas and radiation pressures, finding that GMCs in normal disk galaxies are destroyed by gas-pressure driven expansion with SFE < 10%, while more dense and massive clouds with higher SFE are disrupted primarily by radiation pressure. Next, we turn to radiation hydrodynamic simulations of GMC dispersal to allow for self-consistent star formation as well as inhomogeneous density and velocity structures arising from supersonic turbulence. For this, we develop an efficient parallel algorithm for ray tracing method, which enables us to probe a range of cloud masses and sizes. Our parameter study shows that the net SFE, lifetime (measured in units of free-fall time), and the importance of radiation pressure (relative to photoionization) increase primarily with the initial surface density of the cloud. Unlike in the idealized spherical model, we find that the dominant mass loss mechanism is photoevaporation rather than dynamical ejection and that a significant fraction of radiation escapes through low optical-depth channels. We will discuss the astronomical.

• 천문학회보
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• 제36권2호
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• pp.54.2-54.2
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• 2011

We present a study of HII regions in M51 using HST/ACS images taken as part of the Hubble Heritage Program. We found about 19,600 HII regions in M51 with $H_{\alpha}$ luminosity in the range of $L=10^{35.5}-10^{39.0}\;erg\;s^{-1}$. The $H_{\alpha}$ luminosity function of HII regions (HII LF) in M51 is well represented by a double power law with its index ${\alpha}=-2.25{\pm}0.02$ for the bright part and ${\alpha}=-1.42{\pm}0.01$ for the faint part, separated at a break point $L=10^{37.1}\;erg\;s^{-1}$. Comparison with simulated HII LFs suggests that this break is caused by the transition of HII region ionizing sources, from low-mass clusters (including several OB stars) to more massive clusters (including several tens of OB stars). The HII LFs with L < $10^{37.1}\;erg\;s^{-1}$ are found to have different slopes for different parts in M51: the HII LF for the interarm region is steeper than those for the arm and the nuclear regions. This observed difference in HII LFs can be explained by evolutionary effects: HII regions in the interarm region are relatively older than those in the other parts of M51. The size distribution of the HII regions is fitted by a double power law with a break at D = 30 pc. The power law index for the small HII regions with 15 pc < D < 30 pc is ${\alpha}=-1.78{\pm}0.04$, whereas ${\alpha}=-5.04{\pm}0.08$ for the large HII region with 30 pc < D < 110 pc. The power law indices of the size distribution are related with those of HII LF, and the relation between the luminosities and sizes of HII regions is fitted well by $L{\propto}D^{3.04{\pm}}$.

• 천문학회지
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• 제27권1호
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• pp.81-102
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• 1994

We have decomposed the 11-cm radio continuum emission of the W51 complex into thermal and non-thermal components. The distribution of the thermal emission has been determined by analyzing HI, CO, and IRAS $60-{\mu}m$ data. We have found a good correlation between the 11-cm thermal continuum and the 60- 11m emissions, which is used to obtain the thermal and non-thermal 11-cm continuum maps of the W51 complex. Most of the thermal continuum is emanating from the compact H II regions and their low-density ionized envelopes in W51A and W51B. All the H II regions, except G49.1-0.4 in W51B, have associated molecular clumps. The thermal radio continuum fluxes of the compact H II regions are proportional to the CO fluxes of molecular clumps. This is consistent with the previous results that the total mass of stars in an H II region is proportional to the mass of the associated molecular clump. According to our result, there are three non-thermal continuum sources in W51: G49.4-0.4 in W51A, a weak source close to G49.2-0.3 in W51B, and the shell source W51C. The non-thermal flux of G49.5-0.4 at 11-cm is $\~28 Jy$, which is $\~25\%$ of its total 11-cm flux. The radio continuum spectrum between 0.15 and 300 GHz also suggests an excess emission over thermal free-free emission. We show that the excess emission can be described as a non-thermal emission with a spectral index ${\alpha}{\simeq}-1.0 (S_v{\propto}V^a)$ attenuated by thermal free-free absorptions at low-frequencies. The non-thermal source close to G49.2-0.3 is weak $(\~9 Jy)$. The nature of the source is not known and the reality of the non-thermal emission needs to be confirmed. The non~thermal shell source W51C has a 11-cm flux of $\~130Jy$ and a spectral index ${\alpha}{\simeq}-0.26$.

• 천문학회보
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• 제35권2호
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• pp.67.2-67.2
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• 2010

We present results of searching for the Very Low Luminosity Objects (VeLLOs; internal luminosity : $L_{int}$ < $0.1(d/140pc)^2\;L\odot$) in the Gould's Belt clouds using observations from 3.6 to 70 micron by the Spitzer Space Telescope. The clouds are California, Chamaeleon I, III, Musca, Lupus V, VI, Scorpius, Serpens, Corona Australis, Cepheus, and IC 5146 having the properties of active low-mass star-forming such as the Taurus cloud. The observing sensitivity of the Spitzer data is estimated to be about $L_{int}\;\geq\;5\times10^{-3}(d/140pc)^2\;L\odot$, a factor of 20 better than that of the Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS). The observing data were processed by the c2d Legacy pipeline. As the criteria to select the VeLLOs, we slightly modified previous ones by Dunham et al. The most important criterion is a flux density at 70 micron that is directly converted to the internal luminosity. Also, we used additional criteria to remove the contamination of evolved stars and extragalaxies which have colors or SEDs very similar to YSOs. We identified a total of 64 new embedded VeLLO candidates with $L_{int}$ < $0.1(d/140pc)^2\;L\odot$, consisting of 8 in California, 15 in Chamaeleon-Musca, 13 in Scorpius-Lupus, 20 in Serpens, 3 in Corona Australis, 3 in Cepheus, and 2 in IC 5146. The classification of the spectral index (${\alpha}$) fitted to the shape of the Ks-24 micron SEDs shows most of VeLLO candidates (89%) are in types of Class I and Flat spectrum. We plot various diagrams based on their 2MASS-Spitzer bands colors and magnitudes to discuss properties of the VeLLOs. This search will lead us new adventure toward a future systematic study of the VeLLOs.

• 천문학회보
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• 제46권2호
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• pp.66.3-67
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• 2021

Low-mass stars form by the gravitational collapse of dense molecular cores. Observations and theories of low-mass protostars both suggest that accretion bursts happen in timescales of ~100 years with high accretion rates, so called episodic accretion. One mechanism that triggers accretion bursts is infalling fragments from the outer disk. Such fragmentation happens when the disk is massive enough, preferentially activated during the embedded phase of star formation (Class 0 and I). Most observations and models focus on the gas structure of the protostars undergoing episodic accretion. However, the dust and ice composition are poorly understood, but crucial to the chemical evolution through thermal and energetic processing via accretion burst. During the burst phase, the surrounding material is heated up, and the chemical compositions of gas and ice in the disk and envelope are altered by sublimation of icy molecules from grain surfaces. Such alterations leave imprints in the ice composition even when the temperature returns to the pre-burst level. Thus, chemical compositions of gas and ice retain the history of past bursts. Infrared spectral observations of the Spitzer and AKARI revealed a signature caused by substantial heating, toward many embedded protostars at the quiescent phase. We present the AKARI IRC 2.5-5.0 ㎛ spectra for embedded protostars to trace down the characteristics of accretion burst across the evolutionary stages. The ice compositions obtained from the absorption features therein are used as a clock to measure the timescale after the burst event, comparing the analyses of the gas component that traced the burst frequency using the different refreeze-out timescales. We discuss ice abundances, whose chemical change has been carved in the icy mantle, during the different timescales after the burst ends.

• 천문학회보
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• 제40권2호
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• pp.42.2-43
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• 2015

Massive stars play a major role in the interstellar energy budget and the shaping of the galactic environment. The water molecule is thought to be a sensitive tracer of physical conditions and dynamics in star-forming regions because of its large abundance variations between hot and cold regions. Herschel/HIFI allows us to observe the multiple rotational transitions of H2O including the ground-state levels, and its isotopologues toward high-mass star-forming regions in different evolutionary stages. Photodissociation regions (PDRs) are also targeted to investigate the distribution of water and its chemistry. We present line profiles and maps of H2O using data from two guaranteed-time key programs "Water In Star-forming regions with Herschel" and "Herschel observations of EXtra-Ordinary Sources". We analyze the temperature and density structures using LTE and non-LTE methods. We also estimate turbulent and expansion velocities, and abundance of water in the inner and outer envelopes using the 1D radiative transfer code. Around high-mass protostars we find H2O abundances of ~10-8-10-9 for the outer envelope and ~10-4-10-5 for the inner envelope, and expansion and turbulent velocities range from 1.0 km s-1 to 2.0 km s-1. The abundances and kinematic parameters of the sources do not show clear trends with evolutionary indicators. The Herschel/HIFI mapping observations of H2O toward the Orion Bar PDR show that H2O emission peaks between the shielded dense gas and the radicals position, in agreement with the theoretical and the observational PDR structure. The derived H2O abundance is ~10-7 and peaks at the depth of AV ~8 mag from the ionization front. Together with the low ortho-to-para ratio of H2O (~1) presented by Choi et al. (2014), our results show that the chemistry of water in the Orion Bar is dominated by photodesorption and photodissociation.

• 천문학논총
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• 제30권2호
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• pp.413-415
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• 2015

How galaxy evolution differs in different environments is one of the intriguing questions in the study of structure formation. While galaxy properties are clearly distinguished in different environments in the local universe, it is still an open issue what causes this environmental dependence of various galaxy properties. To address this question, in this work, we investigate the build-up of passive galaxies over a wide redshift range, from z ~ 2 to z ~ 0.5, focusing on its dependence on galaxy environment. In the UKIDSS/Ultra Deep Survey (UDS) field, we identify high-redshift galaxy cluster candidates within this redshift range. Then, using deep optical and near-infrared data from Subaru and UKIRT available in this field, we analyze and compare the stellar population properties of galaxies in the clusters and in the field. Our results show that the environmental effect on galaxy star-formation properties is a strong function of redshift as well as stellar mass - in the sense that (1) the effect becomes significant at small redshift, and (2) it is stronger for low-mass ($M_{\ast}<10^{10}M_{\odot}$) galaxies. We have also found that galaxy stellar mass plays a more significant role in determining their star-formation property - i.e., whether they are forming stars actively or not - than their environment throughout the redshift range.

• 천문학논총
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• 제30권2호
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• pp.665-669
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• 2015

The Kepler mission has shown that small planets are extremely common. It is likely that nearly every star in the sky hosts at least one rocky planet. We just need to look hard enough-but this requires vast amounts of telescope time. MINERVA (MINiature Exoplanet Radial Velocity Array) is a dedicated exoplanet observatory with the primary goal of discovering rocky, Earth-like planets orbiting in the habitable zone of bright, nearby stars. The MINERVA team is a collaboration among UNSW Australia, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Penn State University, University of Montana, and the California Institute of Technology. The four-telescope MINERVA array will be sited at the F.L. Whipple Observatory on Mt Hopkins in Arizona, USA. Full science operations will begin in mid-2015 with all four telescopes and a stabilised spectrograph capable of high-precision Doppler velocity measurements. We will observe ~100 of the nearest, brightest, Sun-like stars every night for at least five years. Detailed simulations of the target list and survey strategy lead us to expect $15{\pm}4$ new low-mass planets.

• 천문학논총
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• 제32권1호
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• pp.87-91
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• 2017

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are considered to be carriers of the unidentified infrared bands, which are ubiquitously observed in the Universe. PAHs are mainly formed around evolved carbon-rich stars and injected into interstellar space. Planetary nebulae (PNe), a late stage of low- and intermediate stellar mass evolution, are suitable objects to investigate the formation and evolution of PAHs. The shortest PAH feature is located in $3.3{\mu}m$, which is important to examine the excitation and size distribution of PAHs. While the number of samples had been limited before, the high sensitivity of AKARI /IRC has drastically increased the number of samples. We obtained the $2-5{\mu}m$ spectra of Galactic PNe with AKARI /IRC and compiled a near-infrared spectral catalog, containing 73 PNe. We investigate the detection rate and the evolution of the PAH features. The characteristics of the catalog are illustrated and the origin of the evolution of the PAH features is discussed.

• 천문학회지
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• 제48권3호
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• pp.165-175
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• 2015

We investigate physical properties of the nearby (∼ 7.5 pc) astrometric binary μ Cas in the context of standard evolutionary theory. Based on the spectroscopically determined relative abundances ([α/Fe] ≳ +0.4 dex, [Fe/H] ∼ −0.7 dex), all physical inputs such as opacities and equation of state are consistently generated. By combining recent spectroscopic analyses with the astrometric observations from the HIPPARCOS parallaxes and the CHARA array, the evolutionary model grids have been constructed. Through the statistical evaluation of the χ²-minimization among alternative models, we find a reliable evolutionary solution (M_A, M_B, t_age) = (0.74 M_⊙, 0.19 M_⊙, 11 Gyr) which excellently satisfies observational constraints. In particular, we find that the helium abundance of μ Cas is comparable with the primordial helium contents (Y_p ∼ 0.245). On the basis of the well-defined stellar parameters of the primary star, the internal structure and the p-mode frequencies have been estimated. From our seismic computation, μ Cas is expected to have a first order spacing ∆ν ∼ 169 μHz. The ultimate goal of this study is to describe physical processes inside a low-mass star through a complete modelling from the spectroscopic observation to the evolutionary computation.