• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.42.3-42.3
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• 2017

We present the analysis of chemical abundances and kinematics for six hypervelocity star (HVS) candidates. These objects are G/K-type low-mass stars in the Galactic disk, while other HVSs previously found are B-type high-mass objects in the Galactic halo. The stellar orbits and kinematics of our HVS candidates suggest that they do not originate in the Galactic center or in an accretion event, indicative of yet-unknown mechanisms that produce kinematically-extreme disk stars. In order to study in detail their origin, we obtained medium-resolution (R~6000) spectra of these stars and derived abundances of several chemical elements (Mg, Ca, Si, Ti, Cr, Fe, and Ni). From the comparison of the chemical abundances with the Galactic stellar components (disk, bulge, halo, and dwarf galaxies) and the kinematic properties of our HVSs, we conclude that two of them are likely ejected from the Galactic disk, one originated from the Galactic center as for the young B-type HVSs, and the other one might be ejected from either the Galactic disk or other regions.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.30.2-30.2
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• 2016

M104 (NGC 4594, the Sombrero) is an intriguing disk galaxy classified as an elliptical galaxy nowadays. It hosts a luminous bulge and a massive disk, but it is still mysterious how M104 acquired such peculiar structures. Globular clusters are an useful tracer to investigate the formation history of early-type galaxies. In this study we present a wide field imaging study of the globular clusters in M104. Using wide ($1^{\circ}{\times}1^{\circ}$) and deep ugi images of M104 obtained with the CFHT/MegaCam observations, we detect a large number of globular clusters. The color distribution of these globular clusters shows that there are two subpopulations: a metal-poor system and a metal-rich system. The radial number density of the metal-poor globular clusters shows a long tail reaching R ~ 30' (~ 80 kpc), indicating clearly the existence of a giant metal-poor halo in M104. This result is consistent with the previous studies on the dual halos of massive early-type galaxies. We will discuss implications of these results in relation with the formation history of M104.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.33.1-33.1
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• 2018

Ram pressure stripping by intracluster medium (ICM) can play a crucial role in galaxy evolution in the high-density environment as seen by many examples of cluster galaxies. Although much progress has been made by direct numerical simulations of galaxies (or a galaxy) as a whole in a cluster environment, the interstellar medium (ISM) in galactic disks is not well resolved to understand responses of the ISM in details. In order to overcome this, we utilize the TIGRESS simulation suite that focuses on a local region of galactic disks and resolves key physical processes in the ISM with uniformly high resolution. In this talk, we present the results from the solar neighborhood TIGRESS model facing the ICM winds with a range of ram pressures. When ram pressure is weaker than and comparable to the ISM weight, the ICM winds simply reshape the ISM to the one-sided disk, but star formation rates remain unchanged. Although there exist low-density channels in the multiphase ISM that allow the ICM winds to penetrate through, the ISM turbulence quickly closes the channels and prevents efficient stripping. When ram pressure is stronger than the ISM weight, a significant amount of the ISM can be stripped away rapidly, and star formation is quickly quenched. While the low-density gas is stripped rapidly, star formation still occurs in the extraplanar dense ISM (1-2kpc away from the stellar disk). Finally, we quantify the momentum transfer from the ICM to the ISM using the mass-and momentum-weighted velocity distribution functions of each gas phase.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.38.2-38.2
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• 2010

We present ultraviolet (UV) color-magnitude relations (CMRs) of early-type dwarf galaxies in the Virgo cluster, based on Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) UV and Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) optical imaging data. We find that dwarf lenticular galaxies (dS0s), including peculiar dwarf elliptical galaxies (dEs) with disk substructures and blue centers, show a surprisingly distinct and tight locus separated from that of ordinary dEs, which is not clearly seen in previous CMRs. The dS0s in UV CMRs follow a steeper sequence than dEs and show bluer UV-optical color at a given magnitude. We also find that the UV CMRs of dEs in the outer cluster region are slightly steeper than that of their counterparts in the inner region, due to the existence of faint, blue dEs in the outer region. We explore the observed CMRs with population models of a luminosity-dependent delayed exponential star formation history. We confirm that the feature of delayed star formation of early-type dwarf galaxies in the Virgo cluster is strongly correlated with their morphology and environment. The observed CMR of dS0s is well matched by models with relatively long delayed star formation. Our results suggest that dS0s are most likely transitional objects at the stage of subsequent transformation of late-type progenitors to ordinary red dEs in the cluster environment, In any case, UV photometry provides a powerful tool to disentangle the diverse subpopulations of early-type dwarf galaxies and uncover their evolutionary histories.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.133-140
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• 2013

The empirical mass discrepancy-acceleration (MDA) relation of disk galaxies provides a key test for models of galactic dynamics. In terms of modified laws of gravity and/or inertia, the MDA relation quantifies the transition from Newtonian to modified dynamics at low centripetal accelerations $a_c{\lesssim}10^{-10}ms^{-2}$. As yet, neither dynamical models based on dark matter nor proposed modifications of the laws of gravity/inertia have predicted the functional form of the MDA relation. In this work, I revisit the MDA data and compare them to four different theoretical scaling laws. Three of these scaling laws are entirely empirical; the fourth one - the "simple ${\mu}$" function of Modified Newtonian Dynamics - derives from a toy model of gravity based on massive gravitons (the "graviton picture"). All theoretical MDA relations comprise one free parameter of the dimension of an acceleration, Milgrom's constant aM. I find that the "simple ${\mu}$" function provides a good fit to the data free of notable systematic residuals and provides the best fit among the four scaling laws tested. The best-fit value of Milgrom's constant is $a_M=(1.06{\pm}0.05){\times}10^{-10}ms^{-2}$. Given the successful prediction of the functional form of the MDA relation, plus an overall agreement with the observed kinematics of stellar systems spanning eight orders of magnitude in size and 14 orders of magnitude in mass, I conclude that the "graviton picture" is sufficient (albeit probably not a necessary nor unique approach) to describe galactic dynamics on all scales well beyond the scale of the solar system. This suggests that, at least on galactic scales, gravity behaves as if it was mediated by massive particles.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.44.1-44.1
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• 2017

In barred galaxies, gaseous structures such a nuclear ring and dust lanes are formed by a non-axisymmetric stellar bar potential, and the evolution of the stellar bar is influenced by mass inflows to the center and central star formation. To study how the presence of the gas affects the evolution of the stellar bar, we use the mesh-free hydrodynamics code GIZMO and run fully self-consistent three-dimensional simulations. To explore the evolution with differing initial conditions, we vary the fraction of the gas and stability of initial disks. In cases when the initial disk is stable with Q=1.2, the bar strength in the model with 5% gas is weaker than that in the gas-free model, while the bar with 10% gas does not form a bar. This suggests that the gaseous component is unfavorable to the bar formation dynamically. On the other hand, in models with relatively unstable disk with Q=1.0, the presence of gas helps form a bar: the bar forms more rapidly and strongly as the gas fraction increases. This is because the unable disks form stars vigorously, which in turn cools down the stellar disk by adding newly-created stars with low velocity dispersion. However, the central mass concentration also quickly increases as the bar grows in these unstable models, resulting in fast bar dissolution in gas rich models. We will discuss our results in comparison with previous work.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.33-45
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• 1993

We have conducted surface photometry of a spiral galaxy NGC4419, by making use of photographic plates in U, B, V and R-bands taken by 105cm Schmidt Camera at Kiso Observatory. Two dimensional surface brightness distributions as well as luminosity profiles along the major axis are examined in detail to decipher the morphological properties of the galaxy. Analysis of the color distributions of NGC4419 shows that B-V and U-B colors remain constant throughout the galaxy with a weak trend of blue bulge in B-V color. The blue bulge might indicate an active star formation in the nucleus of NGC4419. For a quantitative analysis of the luminosity distribution of NGC4419, the observed luminosity profiles are decomposed into bulge and disk components, assuming the bulge component to follow de Vaucouleurs $\gamma^{1/4}-law$ while the disk component is assumed to be exponential. The fitting generally fails at the central part and at the shoulder near r = 15' where bulge and disk components overlap. The failure at the central part cannot be attributed wholly by the seeing disk since the core-radius of the central plateau is much larger than the width of point spread function. The failure at shoulder could be due to the luminosities from the spiral arms.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.125-128
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• 2005

In this paper, we argue that the gigahertz peaked spectrum (GPS) quasars are special blazars, blazars in dense and dusty gas enviornment. The ROSAT detection rate of GPS quasars is similar to that of flat spectrum radio quasars (FSRQs), suggesting that the relativistic jets in GPS quasars are oriented at small angle to the line of sight. Due to strong inverse Compton scattering off infrared photons from dense and dusty nuclear interstellar media in GPS quasars, most of them may have significant soft gamma-ray and X-ray emission, which is consistent with ASCA X-ray observations. Because Compton cooling in GPS quasars is stronger than that in FSRQs, synchrotron emission in GPS quasars may less dominate over thermal emission of the accretion disk and hot dust, hence most GPS quasars show low optical polarization and small variability, consistent with observations. We suggest that it is the significant radio emission of electron/positron pairs produced by the interaction of gamma-rays with the dense gas and dust grains in GPS quasars that makes GPS quasars show steep radio spectra, low radio polarization, and relatively faint VLBI/VLBA cores. Whether GPS quasars are special blazars can be tested by gamma-ray observations with GLAST in the near future, with the detection rate of GPS quasars being similar to that of FSRQs.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2002

We have studied the long-term X-ray light curve (2-10 keV) of the luminous Seyfert 1 galaxy MCG-2-58-22 by compiling data, from various X-ray satellites, which together cover more than 20 years. We have found two distinct types of time variations in the light curve. One is a gradual and secular decrease of the X-ray flux, and the other is the episodic increase of X-ray flux (or flare) by a factor of 2-4 compared with the level expected from the secular variation. We detected 3 such flares in total; a representative duration for the flares is $\~$2 years, with intervening quiescent intervals lasting $\~$6-8 years. We discuss a few possible origins for these variabilities. Though a standard disk instability theory may explain the displayed time variability in the X-ray light curve, the subsequent accretions of stellar debris, from a tidal disruption event caused by a supermassive black hole in MCG-2-58-22, cannot be ruled out as an alternative explanation.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.9-15
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• 2001

We present the results of optical differential photometry of five blazars [PKS0219+428 (3C66A), PKS 0235+164 (AO 0235+16), H0414+019, PKS 0851+202 (OJ 287) and QSO 1807+698 (3C 371)] that were observed on 7 nights between November 05, 1997 and December 29, 1998, using the B and the V band filters. We have detected microvariations in four blazars (3C66A, AO 0235+16, H04l4+019, and OJ 287). In addition, the light curve of AO 0235+16 has displayed a mini-flare when the brightness of this source was decreasing. Night-to-night variations have also been detected in 3C66A, H04l4+019, and OJ 287. The results of our observations are discussed in the framework of accretion disk phenomena (magnetic flares or hot spots in accretion disks) and jet phenomena (plasma instabilities in jets).