• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.74.1-74.1
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• 2012

It is known that the diffuse H${\alpha}$ halos around bright H II regions are more extended than the dust-scattered halos around point sources and the line ratios [S II] ${\lambda}$6716/H${\alpha}$ and [N II] ${\lambda}$6583/H${\alpha}$ observed outside of bright H II regions are generally higher than those in H II regions. These observational facts have been regarded as evidence against the dust-scattering origin of the diffuse H${\alpha}$ emission and the effect of dust-scattering has been neglected in studying the diffuse H${\alpha}$ emission. In this paper, we find, however, that dust-scattered halos of H II regions should be more extended than those of point sources and is in good agreement with the observed H${\alpha}$ profiles around H II regions. We also found that the observed line ratios [S II]/H${\alpha}$, [N II]/H${\alpha}$, and He I ${\lambda}$5876/H${\alpha}$ in the diffuse regions can be well reproduced with the dust-scattered halos around H II regions which are photoionized by late O- and/or early B-type stars in the interstellar medium with the abundances close to those of the warm neutral medium. Therefore, we conclude that the diffuse H${\alpha}$ emission may originate mostly from the dust-scattering.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.48.1-48.1
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• 2013

It is known that the diffuse $H{\alpha}$ emission outside of bright H II regions not only are very extended, but also can occur in distinct patches or filaments far from H II regions, and the line ratios of [S II] ${\lambda}6716/H{\alpha}$ and [N II] ${\lambda}6583/H{\alpha}$ observed far from bright H II regions are generally higher than those in the H II regions. These observations have been regarded as evidence against the dust-scattering origin of the diffuse $H{\alpha}$ emission (including other optical lines), and the effect of dust scattering has been neglected in studies on the diffuse $H{\alpha}$ emission. However, as opposed to the previous contention, the expected dust-scattered $H{\alpha}$ halos surrounding H II regions are, in fact, in good agreement with the observed $H{\alpha}$ morphology. We find that the observed line ratios of [S II]/$H{\alpha}$, [N II]/$H{\alpha}$, and He I ${\lambda}5876/H{\alpha}$ in the diffuse ISM accord well with the dust-scattered halos around H II regions, which are photoionized by late O- and/or early B-type stars. We also demonstrate that the $H{\alpha}$ absorption feature in the underlying continuum from the dust-scattered starlight ("diffuse galactic light") and unresolved stars is able to substantially increase the [S II]/$H{\alpha}$ and [N II]/$H{\alpha}$ line ratios in the diffuse ISM.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.72.2-72.2
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• 2011

We have performed the first self-consistent, large-scale simulation of cosmic reionization by stellar sources, including the Population III stars that emerged and were hosted by minihalos at very high redshifts (z~40). Based on this result, we calculate the redshifted radiation background from these stars and the relic H II regions which can be observed at near-infrared and infrared regime. Formation of the first stars inside minihalos are quenched by radiative feedback at z~15, while the relic H II regions have much longer lifetime due to the slow recombination rate. Therefore, the radiation output from the relic H II regions, dominated by Lyman alpha photons, will be observed both in the near-infrared and infrared regime. The estimated background from the first stars inside minihalos are still sub-dominant compared to that from stars inside larger halos, however, and thus complementary observations are necessary, such as redshifted 21-cm line observation.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.58.1-58.1
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• 2020

The Multipupose InfraRed Imaging System (MIRIS) Paα Galactic Plane Survey (MIPAPS) covers the whole Galactic plane with the latitude range of -3° < b < +3°. Next to the first result in l = 96°-116° (Cepheus), we present the results in l = 276°-296° (Carina). This region with the direction toward the inner Galaxy, has much higher extinction but much more Paα-emitting sources than Cepheus. We list up the detected Paα sources, and compare them with the WISE H II region catalog (there are 308 H II regions and candidates in this region) and VPHAS+ Hα image. By detecting the Paα and Hα recombination lines, 71 H II region candidates are newly confirmed as definite H II regions, out of which 53 H II regions are detected at Paα. For the Paα-detected sources, we measure the Paα and Hα fluxes and estimate the E(B-V) color excesses for the extended sources.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.58.3-59
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• 2015

Dynamical expansion of H II regions plays a key role in dispersing surrounding gas and therefore in limiting the efficiency of star formation in molecular clouds. We use analytic methods and numerical simulations to explore expansions of spherical dusty H II regions, taking into account the effects of direct radiation pressure, gas pressure, and total gravity of the gas and stars. Simulations show that the structure of the ionized zone closely follows Draine (2011)'s static equilibrium model in which radiation pressure acting on gas and dust grains balances the gas pressure gradient. Strong radiation pressure creates a central cavity and a compressed shell at the ionized boundary. We analytically solve for the temporal evolution of a thin shell, finding a good agreement with the numerical experiments. We estimate the minimum star formation efficiency required for a cloud of given mass and size to be destroyed by an HII region expansion. We find that typical giant molecular clouds in the Milky Way can be destroyed by the gas-pressure driven expansion of an H II region, requiring an efficiency of less than a few percent. On the other hand, more dense cluster-forming clouds in starburst environments can be destroyed by the radiation pressure driven expansion, with an efficiency of more than ~30 percent that increases with the mean surface density, independent of the total (gas+stars) mass. The time scale of the expansion is always smaller than the dynamical time scale of the cloud, suggesting that H II regions are likely to be a dominant feedback process in protoclusters before supernova explosions occurs.

• Bulletin of the Korean Space Science Society
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• 2009.10a
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• pp.33.2-33.2
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• 2009

Diffuse ionized gas (DIG or warm ionized medium, WIM) outside traditional regions is a major component of the interstellar medium (ISM) not only in our Galaxy, but also in other galaxies. It is generally believed that major fraction of the Halpha emission in the DIG is provided by OB stars. In the "standard" photoionization models, the Lyman continuum photons escaping from bright H II regions is the dominant source responsible for ionizing the DIG. Then, a complex density structure must provide the low-density paths that allow the photons to traverse kiloparsec scales and ionize the gas far from the OB stars not only at large heights above the midplane, but also within a galactic plane. Here, I present Monte-Carlo models to examine the propagation of the ionizing radiation leaked out of traditional H II regions into the diffuse ISM applied to two face-on spirals M 51 and NGC 7424. We find that the "standard" scenario requires absorption too unrealistically small to be believed, but the obtained scale-height of the galactic disk is consistent with those of edge-on galaxies. We also report that the probability density functions of the Halpha intensities of the DIG and H II regions in the galaxies are log-normal, indicating the turbulence property of the ISM.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.17-28
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• 2007

We present wide-field $JHK_s$-band photometric observations of the three compact H II regions G48.9-0.3, G49.0-0.3, and G49.2-0.3 in the active star-forming region W51B. The star clusters inside the three compact H II regions show the excess number of stars in the $J-K_s$ histograms compared with reference fields. While the mean color excess ratio $(E_{J-H}/E_{H-K_s})$ of the three compact H II regions are similar to ${\sim}2.07$, the visual extinctions toward them are somewhat different: ${\sim}17$ mag for G48.9-0.3 and G49.0-0.3; ${\sim}23$ mag for G49.2-0.3. Based on their sizes and brightnesses, we suggest that the age of each compact H II region is ${\leq}2\;Myr$. The inferred total stellar mass, ${\sim}1.4{\times}10^4M_{\odot}$, of W51B makes it one of the most active star forming regions in the Galaxy with the star formation efficiency of ${\sim}10%$.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.281-284
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• 2004

Optical imaging and spectroscopy of G353.2+0.9, the brightest part of the giant H II region NGC 6357, shows that this H II region is optically thin, contains ${\~}300\;M_{\bigodot}$ of ionized gas and is probably expanding into the surrounding medium. Its chemical composition is similar to that found in other H II regions at similar galactocentric distances if temperature fluctuations are significant. The inner regions are probably made of thin shells and filaments, whereas extended slabs of material, maybe shells seen edge-on, are found in the periphery. The radio continuum and H$\alpha$ emission maps are very similar, indicating that most of the optical nebula is not embedded in the denser regions traced by molecular gas and the presence of IR sources. About $10^{50}$ UV photons per second are required to produce the H$\beta$ flux from the 1l.3'${\times}$10' region surrounding the Pis 24 cluster that is south of G353.2+0.9. Most of the energy powering this region is produced by the 03-7 stars in Pis 24. Most of the 2MASS sources in the field with large infrared excesses are within G353.2+0.9, indicating that the most recent star forming process occured within it. The formation of Pis 24 preceded and caused the formation of this new generation of stars and may be responsible for the present-day morphology of the entire NGC 6357 region.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.49.2-49.2
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• 2016

MIRIS Paschen-${\alpha}$ ($Pa{\alpha}$) Galactic Plane Survey (MIPAPS) presents the first whole Galactic plane (with the width of $-3^{\circ}$ < b < $+3^{\circ}$) map for the $Pa{\alpha}$ emission line. Many of $Pa{\alpha}$ features were detected more brightly than the previous observed $H{\alpha}$ features, and they coincide well with dense cloud regions. This means that newly detected $Pa{\alpha}$ blobs can indicate massive star forming regions (H II regions) screened by foreground clouds around Galactic plane. Anderson et al. (2014) presented the most complete Galactic H II region catalog based on WISE 12 and 22 um data. Of the cataloged sources, only ~20% have measured radio recombination line (RRL) or $H{\alpha}$ emission, and the rest are still candidate H II regions. At first, we compare the MIPAPS results with Anderson's H II region catalog for the Cepheus region (Galactic longitude from $+96^{\circ}$ to $116^{\circ}$). From this, we will investigate how much MIPAPS can supplement the catalog, and show MIPAPS scientific potential. After that, we plan to extend this work to the whole plane, and finally catalog MIRIS $Pa{\alpha}$ blob sources for the whole Galactic plane.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.27 no.1
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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 ${\alpha}{\simeq}-0.26$.