• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.159-174
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• 2002

Cosmological hydrodynamic simulations of large scale structure in the universe have shown that accretion shocks and merger shocks form due to flow motions associated with the gravitational collapse of nonlinear structures. Estimated speed and curvature radius of these shocks could be as large as a few 1000 km/s and several Mpc, respectively. According to the diffusive shock acceleration theory, populations of cosmic-ray particles can be injected and accelerated to very high energy by astrophysical shocks in tenuous plasmas. In order to explore the cosmic ray acceleration at the cosmic shocks, we have performed nonlinear numerical simulations of cosmic ray (CR) modified shocks with the newly developed CRASH (Cosmic Ray Amr SHock) numerical code. We adopted the Bohm diffusion model for CRs, based on the hypothesis that strong Alfven waves are self-generated by streaming CRs. The shock formation simulation includes a plasma-physics-based 'injection' model that transfers a small proportion of the thermal proton flux through the shock into low energy CRs for acceleration there. We found that, for strong accretion shocks, CRs can absorb most of shock kinetic energy and the accretion shock speed is reduced up to $20\%$, compared to pure gas dynamic shocks. For merger shocks with small Mach numbers, however, the energy transfer to CRs is only about $10-20\%$ with an associated CR particle fraction of $10^{-3}$. Nonlinear feedback due to the CR pressure is insignificant in the latter shocks. Although detailed results depend on models for the particle diffusion and injection, these calculations show that cosmic shocks in large scale structure could provide acceleration sites of extragalactic cosmic rays of the highest energy.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.1-12
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• 2003

Nonthermal particles can be produced due to incomplete thermalization at collisionless shocks and further accelerated to very high energies via diffusive shock acceleration. In a previous study we explored the cosmic ray (CR) acceleration at cosmic shocks through numerical simulations of CR modified, quasi-parallel shocks in 1D plane-parallel geometry with the physical parameters relevant for the shocks emerging in the large scale structure formation of the universe (Kang & Jones 2002). Specifically we considered pancake shocks driven by accretion flows with $U_o = 1500 km\;s^{-l}$ and the preshock gas temperature of $T_o = 10^4 - 10^8K$. In order to consider the CR acceleration at shocks with a broader range of physical properties, in this contribution we present additional simulations with accretion flows with $U_o = 75 - 1500 km\;s^{-l}$ and $T_o = 10^4K$. We also compare the new simulation results with those reported in the previous study. For a given Mach number, shocks with higher speeds accelerate CRs faster with a greater number of particles, since the acceleration time scale is $t_{acc}\;{\propto}\;U_o^{-2}$. However, two shocks with a same Mach number but with different shock speeds evolve qualitatively similarly when the results are presented in terms of diffusion length and time scales. Therefore, the time asymptotic value for the fraction of shock kinetic energy transferred to CRs is mainly controlled by shock Mach number rather than shock speed. Although the CR acceleration efficiency depends weakly on a well-constrained injection parameter, $\epsilon$, and on shock speed for low shock Mach numbers, the dependence disappears for high shock Mach numbers. We present the 'CR energy ratio', ${\phi}(M_s)$, for a wide range of shock parameters and for $\epsilon$ = 0.2 - 0.3 at terminal time of our simulations. We suggest that these values can be considered as time-asymptotic values for the CR acceleration efficiency, since the time-dependent evolution of CR modified shocks has become approximately self-similar before the terminal time.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.213-228
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• 2015

The Horizon Run 4 is a cosmological N-body simulation designed for the study of coupled evolution between galaxies and large-scale structures of the Universe, and for the test of galaxy formation models. Using 6300³ gravitating particles in a cubic box of L_box = 3150 h⁻¹Mpc, we build a dense forest of halo merger trees to trace the halo merger history with a halo mass resolution scale down to M_s = 2.7 × 10¹¹h⁻¹M_⊙. We build a set of particle and halo data, which can serve as testbeds for comparison of cosmological models and gravitational theories with observations. We find that the FoF halo mass function shows a substantial deviation from the universal form with tangible redshift evolution of amplitude and shape. At higher redshifts, the amplitude of the mass function is lower, and the functional form is shifted toward larger values of ln(1/σ). We also find that the baryonic acoustic oscillation feature in the two-point correlation function of mock galaxies becomes broader with a peak position moving to smaller scales and the peak amplitude decreasing for increasing directional cosine μ compared to the linear predictions. From the halo merger trees built from halo data at 75 redshifts, we measure the half-mass epoch of halos and find that less massive halos tend to reach half of their current mass at higher redshifts. Simulation outputs including snapshot data, past lightcone space data, and halo merger data are available at http://sdss.kias.re.kr/astro/Horizon-Run4.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.28.3-29
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• 2015

$Ly{\alpha}$ nebulae, or "$Ly{\alpha}$ blobs", are extended (~100 kpc), bright (L[$Ly{\alpha}$] ~ 1044 erg/s) clouds of $Ly{\alpha}$-emitting gas. The origin of the $Ly{\alpha}$ emission remains unknown, but recent theoretical work suggests that measuring the polarization could discriminate among powering mechanisms. we will discuss current status of $Ly{\alpha}$ polarization observations at high-redshift and our on-going survey program. We will present the first narrow-band, imaging polarimetry of a $Ly{\alpha}$ blob, B3 J2330+3927 at z=3.09, with an embedded, radio-loud AGN (C. You et al. in prep.). The AGN lies near the blob's $Ly{\alpha}$ emission peak and its radio lobes align roughly with the blob's semi-major axis. With the SPOL polarimeter on the MMT telescope, we map the polarization in a grid of circular apertures of radius 0.6" (4.4 kpc), detecting a significant (>$2{\sigma}$) polarization fraction P% in 10 apertures and achieving strong upper-limits (as low as 2%) elsewhere. The degree of the polarization map increases from P% ~ 5% at ~5 kpc from the blob center to ~20% at the outer part (~30 kpc). The detections are distributed asymmetrically, roughly along the blob's major axis. The polarization angles (${\Theta}$) are mostly perpendicular to this axis. These results are consistent with the picture that $Ly{\alpha}$ photons produced at the AGN (or the host galaxy) are resonantly scattered away from the center. Higher polarization fraction on the radio jet suggests that the gas is more optically thin along the jet than the off-axis region.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.49.2-49.2
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• 2015

Galaxy cluster is the most important laboratoriy to study the effect of environment on galaxies, one of key questions in astronomy. In the local universe, it is well known that red, passive galaxies are concentrated in the cluster core. However, it is still controversial whether the star formation-density relation at the low redshift is retained in the distant universe. Many surveys have tried to find galaxy clusters at various epochs. However the optical dataset has limitations in finding galaxy clusters at z > 1, since the bulk of stellar emission of z > 1 galaxies is redshifted into the near-IR regime. We used the multi-wavelength data from the UKIDSS DXS (J and K bands), the SWIRE (4 IRAC bands), and the PAN-STARRS (g, r, i, z, y bands) and IMS (J band; Im et al. 2015, in preparation) in the European Large Area ISO Survey North1 (ELAIS-N1) field to search for high redshift galaxy clusters and study the properties of member galaxies. Using the multi-wavelength data, we investigated overdensities of galaxies at 0.2 < z < 1.6 based on the photometric redshift information. We found several superclusters where cluster candidates are concentrated within scales of few tens of Mpc at z ~ 0.9. Interestingly, some of the supercluster candidates consist of galaxy clusters which are dominated by blue galaxies. We will present high redshift galaxy cluster and supercluster candidates in ELAIS-N1 field and galaxy properties in different environments including dense clusters and fields.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.56.1-56.1
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• 2013

Supernovae type Ia (SNe Ia) cosmology is providing the only direct evidence for the presence of dark energy. This result is based on the assumption that the look-back time evolution of SNe Ia luminosity, after light-curve shape correction, would be negligible. However, the most recent compilation of SNe Ia data shows systematic difference in the Hubble residual (HR) between the E and Sd/Irr galaxies, indicating that the light-curve fitters used by the SNe Ia community cannot quite correct for a large portion of the population age effect. In order to investigate this possibility more directly, we have obtained low-resolution spectra for 30 nearby early-type host galaxies. This data set is used to estimate the luminosity-weighted mean ages and metallicities of host galaxies by employing the population synthesis models. We found an interesting trend between the host galaxy age and HR, in the sense that younger galaxies have positive residuals (i.e., light-curve corrected SNe Ia luminosity is fainter). This result is rather independent of the choice of the population synthesis models employed. Taken at face value, this age (evolution) effect can mimic a large fraction of the HR used in the discovery of the dark energy. This result is significant at 1.4 - 3 sigma levels, depending on the light curve fitters adopted, and further observations and analyses are certainly required to confirm the trend reported here.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.45.1-45.1
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• 2013

Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) are a powerful tool to investigate the expansion history of the universe, because their peak luminosity is as bright as a galaxy and is known as an excellent standard candle. Since the discovery of the acceleration of the universe based on the observations of SNe Ia, higher than ever accuracy of their peak luminosity is needed to investigate various problems in cosmology. We started a project to improve the accuracy of the calibration of the peak luminosity of SNe Ia by measuring accurate distances to nearby resolved galaxies that host SNe Ia. We derive accurate distances to the SN Ia host galaxies using the method to measure the luminosity of the tip of the red giant branch (TRGB). In this study we present the results for M66 and M96 in the Leo I Group which are nearby spiral galaxies hosting SN 1989B and SN 1998bu, respectively. We obtain VI photometry of resolved stars in these galaxies from F555W and F814W images in the Hubble Space Telescope archive. We derive the distances to these galaxies from the luminosity of the TRGB. With these results we derive absolute maximum magnitudes of two SNe (SN 1989B in M66 and SN 1998bu in M96). We derive a value of the Hubble constant from the optical magnitudes of these SNe Ia and SN 2011fe in M101 based on our TRGB analysis. This value is similar to the values derived from recent estimates from WMAP9 and Planck results, but smaller than other recent determinations based on Cepheid calibration for SNe Ia luminosity.

• Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.281-285
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• 2017

We present a summary of our spectroscopic redshift catalogue of 404 sources in the AKARI Deep Field South (ADF-S). We have used the AAOmega spectrograph to target mid-infrared and far-infrared sources selected primarily from AKARI observations in this field for which we were able to obtain optical counterparts. Our sources with identified redshifts include 316 with $H{\alpha}$ detections at $z{\leq}0.345$ and 15 sources at z > 1 with MgII or $Ly{\alpha}$ emission lines. About 13% of our $z{\leq}0.345$ sources are dominated by active galactic nuclei (AGN) emission, although many show emission from both star formation and AGNs. The median Balmer decrement is 5.9. Ultra-luminous infrared galaxies (ULIRGs) were found only in the higher-redshift sources. Optical and near infrared data will be available shortly, enabling calibration of the line luminosities and spectral energy distribution (SED) fitting for these sources.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.151-163
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• 2010

In this study, 10th grade students' views about the universe were surveyed and its affecting factors were investigated. Results showed that when hearing the word of 'the universe', 10th grade students considered it as 'a physical space'. Many students used 'feeling', or 'unknown space' to explain. When they portrayed the universe, many of them described it as a solar system scale. About the center and spatial limit of the universe, most students explained with the view of a heliocentric, geocentric or non-centered universe. Many students explained that the universe changed along with a direction as a physical space. These results were investigated again in different groups in terms of gender, beliefs, and familiarity with astronomy. As a result, students' models about the center, spatial limit, and the variation of the universe were different in the groups. Explanation of the origin of the universe was affected by the religious belief. Results showed that personal views of the universe are various, and many factors influence their views.

• Korean Journal of Logic
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.1-19
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• 2017

In modern cosmology, it is controversial whether the existence of human consciousness can be used as evidence to support the hypothesis that many parallel universes are actualized. In this paper, we want to explore the nature of self-consciousness information that I am awake now. Consider the following experiment participating Al and Bob. We throw a fair coin on Sunday. If the coin lands heads we wake up just one of Al and Bob on Monday. If the coin lands tails we wake up both of Al and Bob. On Monday, at least one of Al and Bob will wake up, to what degree ought they believe that the outcome of the coin toss is heads? We will argue that the correct answer to this question is 1/3. To this end, we will argue the awakened person's information that "I am awake" is given to himself through a random procedure.