• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.40.2-40.2
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• 2013

Although galaxy mergers are thought to play an important role in forming elliptical galaxies, mergers in galaxy clusters have drawn less attention compared to mergers in field environments because galaxies with high peculiar velocities are unlikely to merge with each other. However, comparable fractions of merger features in cluster galaxies have been reported from deep imaging of Abell clusters, suggesting the relevance of mergers in the transformation of cluster early-type galaxies (Sheen et al. 2012). As a more direct approach to understanding the origin of tidal features in clusters, we perform hydrodynamic re-simulations on a cluster of galaxies. Based on mock observation images of the simulated cluster galaxies, we construct and analyze the cluster early-type galaxy sample in a consistent manner with Sheen et al. 2012. We find that the fraction of tidal feature from the simulated cluster is comparable to that of the observation. Evolutionary history of the galaxies with merger features shows that most of the mergers responsible for the merger features in the present originate from outside the cluster more than 2Gyrs ago. We also find that many of the galaxies with tidal features show correlations with subgroups in the cluster. All these results suggest that merger features in the cluster are due to preprocessing before accretion into the cluster.

• Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.529-530
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• 2015

We investigated the galaxy morphology of 6 Abell clusters at z = 0.0784 - 0.145 based on deep images obtained using MegaCam on the CFHT. For hundreds of galaxies in our data, we classified their morphology based on criteria related to secular or merger related evolution. We found that the morphological mixture of galaxies varies considerably from cluster to cluster. This article contains a general description of our deep imaging campaign and preliminary results for galaxy morphologies in cluster environments.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.57-71
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• 2006

We investigated the structural parameters of a sample of 30 dwarf galaxies(15 dEs and 15 dS0s) in the Virgo Cluster using i-band images from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 4. Among 28 galaxies for which surface brightness profiles were derived from ellipse fittings, 23 galaxies had a single component that was adequately described by a generalized $S\acute{e}rsic$ function with a shape parameter ranging from n=0.5 to 2, while 5 galaxies(2 dEs and 3 dS0s) had bulge and disk components that were fitted by a generalized $S\acute{e}rsic$ function and an exponential function, respectively. Since the majority of dwarf galaxies in the present sample had a single component, it seems likely that genuine dS0 galaxies that have disk and bulge components are quite rare in the Virgo Cluster. The similarity in structural parameters of genuine dS0 galaxies in the Virgo Cluster with those of Magellanic-type galaxies implies that the progenitors of dwarf lenticular galaxies in the Virgo Cluster were most likely Magellanic-type galaxies if dS0s are harassed late-type spirals.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.75.3-75.3
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• 2019

The filament is an interesting structure in the Universe because clusters form at the nodes of filaments and grow through the continuous accretion of individual galaxies and groups from the surrounding filaments. We study the chemical properties of star-forming (SF) galaxies in the five large-scale filamentary structures (Leo II A, Leo II B, Leo Minor, Canes Venatici, and Virgo III) related with the Virgo cluster, with the spectroscopic data taken with the SDSS DR12, and compare them with those of the Virgo cluster and field galaxies. In mass-metallicity relation, most of the SF galaxies in Virgo-related filaments (except Virgo III filament) show lower metallicity on average than the Virgo cluster SF galaxies, but similar to field counterparts. These chemically less evolved feature of SF galaxies in the filaments and field are more pronounced for lower mass galaxies. This is probably because low mass galaxies have low potential wells and are therefore likely to be sensitive to cluster environmental effects. Interestingly, we find that the metallicity enhancement of SF galaxies in the Virgo III filament. In chemical and morphological perspectives, SF galaxies in the Virgo III thought to be transitional objects possibly transformed from SF late-type galaxies and are on the way to red early-type galaxies in the filament environment. This is the first discovery of systematic 'chemical pre-processing' signature for filament galaxies in Local Universe before they fall into the cluster.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.40.2-40.2
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• 2012

Early-type dwarf galaxies are the most numerous galaxies in dense environments, making them ideal probes of the mechanisms that govern galaxy formation and evolution. Despite the common picture of an early-type dwarf galaxy as a quiescent one with no star formation and little gas, recent systematic investigations of early-type dwarf galaxies in the cluster revealed an unexpected variety among these apparently simple objects. In this talk, I review intriguing complexity of early-type dwarf galaxies in the cluster. I will also briefly introduce a new catalog of galaxies in the Virgo cluster using SDSS data, extended Virgo Cluster Catalog (EVCC).

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.70.1-70.1
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• 2012

We investigate 53 late-type galaxies in Virgo to get better understanding galaxy evolution driven by environmental effects in the cluster. The goal is to study how galaxies are strongly affected gravitationally by their surroundings and/or how interstellar medium (ISM) of galaxies changes through the interaction with intracluster medium (ICM). To quantify these, a variety of diagnostic methods have been introduced. Our diagnostics have two different perspectives. First, we have carefully examined the morphological and kinematical properties of individual galaxies using high resolution HI images and compared with multi-wavelength data. Based on the visual inspection, we have identified signatures of the interactions with other galaxies or the ICM. Second, we have quantified influence of local environments of individual galaxies using X-ray data and optical catalog of the cluster. By combining all the diagnostics, we have identified the environmental effect(s) at work on individual galaxies. We also probe the environmental processes as a function of the cluster centric distance. Various gravitational interactions are found throughout the cluster, while the ICM-ISM interaction is mainly dominant near the cluster center. However, we find some evidence that galaxies start losing their gas already in the low density outskirts of the cluster.

• Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.59-64
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• 2010

The core and global properties of the early-type ("red sequence") galaxies in the Virgo and Fornax clusters are examined using high-quality HST/ACS imaging for 143 galaxies. Rather than dividing neatly into disparate populations having distinct formation and/or evolution histories, many of the core and global properties of these galaxies show smooth and systematic variations along the galaxy luminosity function. The few examples of the rare class of compact elliptical galaxies in our sample all show properties that are strongly suggestive of tidal stripping by massive galaxies; if so, then these systems should not be viewed as populating the low-luminosity extension of so-called "normal" elliptical sequences. These results demonstrate that complete and/or unbiased samples are a pre-requisite for identifying the physical mechanisms that gave rise to the early-type galaxies we observe locally, and how these mechanisms varied with mass and environment.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.60.3-61
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• 2016

Galaxy morphology involves complex effects from both secular and non-secular evolution of galaxies. Although it is a final product of galaxy evolution, it gives a clue to the processes that the a galaxy has gone through. Galaxy clusters are the sites where the most massive galaxies are found, and thus the most dramatic merger histories are embedded. Our deep imaging program (${\mu}{\sim}28\;mag\;arcsec^{-2}$), KASI-Yonsei Deep Imaging Survey for Clusters (KYDISC), targets 14 Abell clusters at z = 0.016 - 0.14 using IMACS/Magellan telescope and MegaCam/CFHT to investigate cluster galaxies especially on low surface brightness features related to galaxy interactions. We visually classify galaxy morphology based on criteria related to secular or merger related evolution and find that the morphological mixture of galaxies varies considerably from cluster to cluster. Moreover it depends on the characteristics (e.g. cluster mass) of cluster itself which implies that environmental effects in cluster scale is also an important factor to the evolution of galaxies together with intrinsic (secular) and galaxy merger. Our deep imaging survey for morphological inspection of cluster galaxies with low surface brightness is expected to be a useful basis to understand the nature of cluster galaxies and their internal/external evolutionary path.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.42.1-42.1
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• 2010

We present ultraviolet (UV) photometric properties of dwarf galaxies in Fornax cluster and Ursa Major group in comparison with Virgo cluster using GALEX data. We construct UV color-magnitude relations (CMRs) of dwarf galaxies matching with available optical photometry and SDSS data. Majority of dwarf galaxies in Fornax cluster show sequence in UV CMRs consistent with that of dwarf elliptical (dEs) in Virgo cluster indicating similar age and metallicity properties of dEs in two clusters. The dS0 sequence in Fornax cluster is not distinct as much as that in Virgo cluster. Dwarf galaxies in outer region of the Fornax cluster show more bluer UV colors with a wide scatter in CMRs, which indicates recent star formation activity. We show that the UV colors of dwarf galaxies are related with the distribution and strength of the X-ray emission in the cluster. In contrast to the Fornax cluster, most dwarf galaxies in Ursa Major group are located in the blue cloud showing recent or on-going star formation, and few galaxies show characteristics of dEs. We discuss relationship between UV properties of dwarf galaxies and different environment of cluster.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.46.1-46.1
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• 2017

Late-type galaxies falling into a cluster would evolve being influenced by the interactions with both the cluster and the nearby cluster member galaxies. Most numerical studies, however, tend to focus on the effects of the former with little work done on those of the later. We thus perform numerical study on the evolution of a late-type galaxy falling radially toward the cluster center interacting with neighbouring early-type galaxies, using N-body, hydrodynamical simulations. Based on the information about the typical galaxy encounters obtained by using the galaxy catalog of Coma cluster, we run the simulations for the cases where a Milky Way Galaxy-like late-type galaxy, flying either edge-on or face-on, experiences six consecutive collisions with twice more massive early-type galaxies having hot gas in their halos. Our simulations show that the evolution of the late-type galaxy can be significantly affected by the high-speed multiple collisions with the early-type galaxies, such as on the cold gas content and the star formation activity, particularly through the hydrodynamic interactions between the cold disk and the hot gas halos. By comparing our simulation results with those of others, we claim that the role of the galaxy-galaxy interactions on the evolution of late-type galaxies in clusters could be comparable with that of the galaxy-cluster interactions, depending on the dynamical history.