• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.267-270
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• 2005

We investigate the spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of low mass-loss rate O-rich asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars using the infrared observational data including the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO) data. Comparing the results of detailed radiative transfer model calculations with observations, we find that the dust formation temperature is much lower than 1000 K for standard dust shell models. We find that the superwind model with a density-enhanced region can be a possible alternative dust shell model for LMOA stars.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.45 no.6
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• pp.139-146
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• 2012

We investigate the properties of OH, SiO, and $H_2O$ maser emission in O-rich AGB stars. We use a sample of 3373 objects, which is an updated version of the list of O-rich AGB stars presented in Suh & Kwon (2011). We divide the 3373 O-rich AGB stars into four different groups based on the maser emission: OH maser sources (1533), SiO sources (1627), $H_2O$ sources (452), and sources with no maser (610). To understand the nature of the maser sources, we present various infrared two-color diagrams (2CDs) using IRAS, 2MASS, and AKARI data. For each group, we compare the positions on various infrared 2CDs with theoretical models. We find that the OH maser sources generally show larger color indices and larger dust optical depths than SiO or $H_2O$ sources. We suggest that the differences of the color indices for different maser sources are due to different mass-loss rates and dust formation processes.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.49 no.6
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• pp.261-288
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• 2016

We present the results of simultaneous monitoring observations of $H_2O$ $6_{1,6}-5_{2,3}$ (22GHz) and SiO J=1-0, 2-1, 3-2 maser lines (43, 86, 129GHz) toward five post-AGB (candidate) stars, using the 21-m single-dish telescopes of the Korean VLBI Network. Depending on the target objects, 7 - 11 epochs of data were obtained. We detected both $H_2O$ and SiO maser lines from four sources: OH16.1-0.3, OH38.10-0.13, OH65.5+1.3, and IRAS 19312+1950. We could not detect $H_2O$ maser emission toward OH13.1+5.1 between the late OH/IR and post-AGB stage. The detected $H_2O$ masers show typical double-peaked line profiles. The SiO masers from four sources, except IRAS 19312+1950, show the peaks around the stellar velocity as a single peak, whereas the SiO masers from IRAS 19312+1950 occur above the red peak of the $H_2O$ maser. We analyzed the properties of detected maser lines, and investigated their evolutionary state through comparison with the full widths at zero power. The distribution of observed target sources was also investigated in the IRAS two-color diagram in relation with the evolutionary stage of post-AGB stars. From our analyses, the evolutionary sequence of observed sources is suggested as OH65.5+1.3${\rightarrow}$OH13.1+5.1${\rightarrow}$OH16.1-0.3${\rightarrow}$OH38.10-0.13, except for IRAS 19312+1950. In addition, OH13.1+5.1 from which the $H_2O$ maser has not been detected is suggested to be on the gateway toward the post-AGB stage. With respect to the enigmatic object, IRAS 19312+1950, we could not clearly figure out its nature. To properly explain the unusual phenomena of SiO and $H_2O$ masers, it is essential to establish the relative locations and spatial distributions of two masers using VLBI technique. We also include the $1.2-160{\mu}m$ spectral energy distribution using photometric data from the following surveys: 2MASS, WISE, MSX, IRAS, and AKARI (IRC and FIS). In addition, from the IRAS LRS spectra, we found that the depth of silicate absorption features shows significant variations depending on the evolutionary sequence, associated with the termination of AGB phase mass-loss.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.271-278
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• 2005

Athough planetary nebulae (PNe) have been discovered for over 200 years, it was not until 30 years ago that we arrived at a basic understanding of their origin and evolution. Even today, with observations covering the entire electromagnetic spectrum from radio to X-ray, there are still many unanswered questions on their structure and morphology. In this review, we summarize recent theoretical and observational advances in PNe research, and discuss the roles of PNe in the chemical (atomic, molecular, and solid-state) enrichment of the galaxy and as tracers of the large scale structure of the Universe.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.44 no.5
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• pp.195-200
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• 2011

We have revisited the ACS Virgo Cluster Survey (ACSVCS), a Hubble Space Telescope program to obtain ACS/WFC g and z bands imaging for a sample of 100 early-type galaxies in the Virgo Cluster. In this study, we examine 51 nucleated early-type galaxies in the ACSVCS in order to look into the relationship between the photometric and structural properties of stellar nuclei and their host galaxies. We morphologically dissect galaxies into five classes. We note that (1) the stellar nuclei of dwarf early-type galaxies (dS0, dE, and dE,N) are generally fainter and bluer with g > 18.95 and (g-z) < 1.40 compared to some brighter and redder counterparts of the ellipticals (E) and lenticular galaxies (S0), (2) the g-band half-light radii of stellar nuclei of all dwarf early-type galaxies (dS0, dE, and dE,N) are smaller than 20 pc and their average is about 4 pc, and (3) the colors of red stellar nuclei with (g - z) > 1.40 in bright ellipticals and lenticular galaxies are bluer than their host galaxies colors. We also show that most of the unusually "red" stellar nuclei with (g-z) > 1.54 in the ACSVCS are the central parts of bright ellipticals and lenticular galaxies. Furthermore, we present multi photometric band color - color plots that can be used to break the age-metallicity degeneracy particularly by inclusion of the thermally pulsing-asymptotic giant branch (TP-AGB) phases of stellar evolution in the stellar population models.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.54 no.6
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• pp.171-182
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• 2021

The lack of short baselines, referred to as the short-spacing problem (SSP), is a well-known limitation of the performance of radio interferometers, causing a reduction of the flux detected from source structure on large angular scales. The very large number of antennas operated in the Atacama Large Millimeter/sub-millimeter Array (ALMA) generates situations for which the impact of the SSP takes a complex form, not simply measurable by a single number, such as the maximal recoverable scale. In particular, extended antenna configurations, complemented by a small group of closeby antennas at the centre of the array, may result in a double-humped baseline distribution with a significant gap between the two groups. In such cases one should adopt as the effective maximal recoverable scale the one associated with the extended array and use only the central array to recover missing flux, as one would do with single dish or ACA (Atacama Compact Array) observations. The impact of the missing baselines can be very important and may easily be underestimated, or even overlooked. The present study uses ALMA archival data of the ²⁹SiO(8-7) line emission of the AGB star W Hydrae for a demonstration. A critical discussion of the reliability of the observations away from the star is presented together with comments of a broader scope. Properties of the circumstellar envelope of W Hya within ~15 au from the star, many of which are not mentioned in the published literature, are briefly described and compared with R Doradus, an AGB star having properties very similar to W Hya.

• Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.279-286
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• 2009

To study properties of the variation of the infrared emission of OH/IR stars, we collect and analyze the infrared observational data in K band for nine OH/IR stars. We use the observational data obtained for about three decades including recent data from the two micron all sky survey (2MASS) and the deep near infrared survey of the southern sky (DENIS). We use Marquardt-Levenberg algorithm to determine the pulsation period and amplitude for each star and compare them with previous results of infrared and radio investigations.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.56 no.2
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• pp.149-157
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• 2023

The propagation speed of a circumstellar pattern revealed in the plane of the sky is often assumed to represent the expansion speed of the wind matter ejected from a post-main-sequence star at the center. We point out that the often-adopted isotropic wind assumption and the binary hypothesis as the underlying origin for the circumstellar pattern in the shape of multilayered shells are, however, mutually incompatible. We revisit the hydrodynamic models for spiral-shell patterns induced by the orbital motion of a hypothesized binary, of which one star is losing mass at a high rate. The distributions of transverse wind velocities as a function of position angle in the plane of the sky are explored along viewing directions. The variation of the transverse wind velocity is as large as half the average wind velocity over the entire three dimensional domain in the simulated models investigated in this work. The directional dependence of the wind velocity is indicative of the overall morphology of the circumstellar material, implying that kinematic information is an important ingredient in modeling the snapshot monitoring (often in the optical and near-infrared) or the spectral imaging observations for molecular line emissions.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.219-222
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• 2005

We present the high-resolution (2"-4") images of the molecular envelopes surrounding the evolved stars, V Hya, VY CMa, and ${\pi}^1$ Gru observed with the Submillimeter Array. The CO J=2-1 and 3-2 images of the carbon star V Hya show that the circumstellar structure of this star consists of three kinematic components; there is a flattened disk-like envelope that is expanding with a velocity of ${\~}16 km\;s^{-1}$, the second component is the medium-velocity wind having a deprojected velocity of 40-120 km $s^{-l}$ moving along the disk plane, and the third one is the bipolar molecular jet having an extreme velocity of 70-185 km $s^{-l}$. The axis of this high velocity jet is perpendicular to the plane of the disk-like envelope. We found that the circumstellar structure of the S-star ${\pi}^1$ Gru traced by the CO J =2-1 resembles that of V Hya quite closely; the star is surrounded by the expanding disk-like envelope and is driving the medium-velocity wind along the disk plane. We also obtained the excellent images of VY CMa with the CO and $^{13}CO$ J=2-1 and $SO\;6_5-5_4$ lines. The maps of three molecular lines show that the envelope has a significant velocity gradient in the east-west direction, suggesting that the envelope surrounding VY CMa is also flattened and expanding along its radial direction. The high-resolution images obtained with the SMA show that some AGB stars are associated with the asymmetric mass loss including the equatorial wind and bipolar jet.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.32-32
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• 2013

The Korean VLBI Network (KVN) as a world-first multi-frequency VLBI system is operated at four bands of 22, 43, 86, and 129 GHz simultaneously. The performances of both single dish and VLBI network were already confirmed through single dish researches and VLBI evaluation test observations. The VLBI common use of the KVN at 22/43 GHz bands has been started from this autumn. The combined network of KVN and Japanese VERA (KaVA) will start the common use from the first half of next year. Here we present several observational results in the fields of star forming regions, late-type stars, and active galactic nuclei using the KVN and KaVA. The fringes of 44 GHz $CH_3OH$ (Class I) masers were detected from 26 sources for the first time using the KVN and imaging observations are under performing. Simultaneous observations of SiO and $H_2O$ masers toward about 1000 evolved stars showed the different maser properties between SiO and $H_2O$ masers according to the evolutionary stages of AGB and post-AGB stars. The catalog of correlated flux densities were established from a 43 GHz (Q-band) survey of 637 extragalactic sources. At 22 GHz (K-band), flux density measurement and fringe survey for new sources were performed toward a large number of sources. In addition, the large program of KVN and/or KaVA under planning is introduced.