• Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.215-216
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• 2015

Close binary stars are so close that one component has an effect on the evolution of the other. But how do they form and evolve? This is an unsolved problem. One speculation is that the binary is a part of a hierarchical triple and its orbit shrinks due to interaction with the third component. Therefore, searching for and investigating tertiary components, especially close-in ones, in close binary stars are important for understanding their origin, as well as to test theories of star formation and stellar dynamical interaction.

• Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.289-292
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• 2015

Most of the stars in the Galaxy are in binary systems. Binaries should be possible as the hosting stars of planets. Searching for planetary companions to binaries, especially evolved close binary stars, can provide insight into the formation and the ultimate fate of circumbinary planets and shed light on the late evolution of binary stars. In order to do this, we have chosen some post common envelope binaries including sdB-type eclipsing binaries and detached WD+dM eclipsing binaries as our targets and monitored them for several years. In this paper, we will present some of our new observations and results for three targets, NSVS 07826147, NSVS14256825 and RR Cae.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.60.3-60.3
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• 2019

Binary systems of a white dwarf showing mass transfer activities are classified into cataclysmic variables and symbiotic stars. In the case of cataclysmic variables, the companion is usually a late type main sequence star filling its Roche lobe, where material is transferred through the inner Lagrangian point to form an accretion disk around the white dwarf. The disk becomes unstable and highly viscous when the surface density exceeds the critical density, leading to dwarf nova outbursts. In contrast, symbiotic stars are wide binary systems having a giant as the mass donor. Some fraction of giant stellar wind is accreted to the white dwarf giving rise to various symbiotic activities. In particular, half of symbiotics show Raman O VI at 6830 and 7088, which are important spectroscopic probe of mass transfer process. Monitoring observations using 1 m class telescopes will produce valuable information regarding the mass loss and mass transfer to white dwarf stars, shedding much light on the last stage of stellar evolution of low and intermediate mass stars.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.177-190
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• 1994

We have examined the photometric evolution of elliptical galaxies, using stellar evolutionary models covering the wide ranges of metallicity and mass, and the different IMFs (simple IMP & time-dependent bimodal IMF). The model with a time-dependent bimodal IMF can reproduce the observed integrated magnitudes and colors at all wavelengths. The computed model shows that the star formation in elliptical galaxies is still going on, although the number of newly born stars is very small. The chemical evolutionary effect is clearly seen in the C-M diagram of computed elliptical galaxies.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.56.2-56.2
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• 2012

We present a study of the asymptotic giant branch (AGB) contribution to the total Ks band luminosity of star clusters in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) as a function of age. AGB stars, a representative intermediate-age population, are a strong source of NIR to MIR emission so that they are a critical component for understanding the near-to-mid infrared observation of galaxies. Current calibration of IR emission in evolutionary population synthesis (EPS) models for galaxies is mainly based on a small number of LMC star clusters. However, each LMC star cluster with intermediate age contains only a few AGB stars so that it suffers from a stochastic effect. Therefore a large number of them are needed for solid calibration of the EPS models. We study physical properties of a large number of LMC star clusters to estimate the Ks band luminosity fraction of AGB stars in star clusters as a function of age. We discuss the stochastic effect in calibrating models, and the importance of this calibration for studying the evolution of not only nearby galaxies but also of high-z galaxies.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.72.1-72.1
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• 2010

Gas materials in the inner Galactic disk continuously migrate toward the Galactic center (GC) due to interactions with the bar potential, magnetic fields, stars, and other gaseous materials. In case of the Milky Way, those in forms of molecules appear to accumulate around 200 pc from the center (the central molecular zone, CMZ) to form stars there and further inside. The bar potential in the GC is thought to be responsible for such acculmulation of molecules and subsequent star formation, which is believed to have been continous throughout the lifetime of the Galaxy. We present 3-D hydrodynamic simulations of the CMZ that consider self-gravity, radiative cooling, and supernova feedback, and discuss the efficiency and role of the star formation in that region. We find that the gas accumulated in the CMZ by a bar potential of the inner bulge effectively turns into stars, supporting the idea that the stellar cusp inside the central 200 pc is a result of the sustained star formation in the CMZ. The obtained star formation rate in the CMZ, 0.03-0.1 Msun, is consistent with the recent estimate based on the mid-infrared observations by Yusef-Zadeh et al. We discuss the secular evolution of nuclear bulges in general, based on our results.

• Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.99-101
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• 2015

Massive stars are some of the most influential objects in the Universe, shaping the evolution of galaxies, creating chemical elements and hence shaping the evolution of the Universe. However, the processes by which they form and how they shape their environment during their birth processes are not well understood. We use $NH_3$ data from "The $H_2O$ Southern Galactic Plane Survey" (HOPS) survey to define the positions of dense cores/clumps of gas in the southern Galactic plane that are likely to form stars. Then, using data from "The Millimetre Astronomy Legacy Team 90 GHz" (MALT90) survey, we search for the presence of infall and outflow associated with these cores. We subsequently use the "3D Molecular Line Radiative Transfer Code" (MOLLIE) to constrain properties of the infall and outflow, such as velocity and mass flow. The aim of the project is to determine how common infall and outflow are in star forming cores, and therefore to provide valuable constraints on the timescales and physical process involved in massive star formation. Preliminary results are presented here.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.42.4-43
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• 2020

The hydrogen-rich envelope mass of a dying massive star is the key factor that determines the type and properties of the resulting supernova. Emulating wind-driven mass loss of single stars with the MESA(Modules for Experiments in Stellar Astrophysics) stellar evolution code, we made a grid of models for a large parameter space of initial mass (12 M⊙ to 30M⊙), metallicity (solar, LMC and SMC), hydrogen envelope mass (0.01M⊙ to 10M⊙) for progenitor stars in their final step of evolution. Our results suggest the final luminosity of the progenitor is largely determined by the initial mass, which means there is luminosity degeneracy for stars with the same initial mass but with different hydrogen-rich envelope masses. Since we can break this degeneracy by correcting luminosity with surface gravity (spectroscopic HR diagram), we can infer the exact mass property of an observed progenitor. The surface temperature drastically varies near the envelope mass of ~0.1M⊙ and surface temperature of ~10000 K, where the demarcation between the hydrogen-rich envelope and the helium core lies, which explains the rarity of 'white' supergiants. There also exists a discontinuity in the chemical composition of the progenitor envelope around this critical hydrogen-rich envelope mass of ~0.1 M⊙, which can be tested in future observations of "flash spectroscopy" of supernovae.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.50.2-50.2
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• 2021

There is increasing evidence that the convective mixing length (α) in stellar evolution models depends on metallicity of stars. In order to confirm a more precise metallicity-dependent mixing length trend, we investigate the effective temperature and metallicity of 14 red supergiant stars (RSGs) in the irregular dwarf galaxy IC 1613 using the near-infrared spectra observed with the MMIRS on the MMT telescope. From the synthetic spectral fitting to the observed spectra, we find that the mean metallicity is about [Fe/H]=0.69 with a weak bimodal distribution. We also find that the effective temperature of RSGs in IC 1613 is higher by about 250 K than that of the SMC on average. We compare the RSG position with stellar evolutionary tracks on the HR diagram, finding that models with α = 2.2-2.4 H_p can best reproduce the effective temperatures of the RSGs in IC 1613. It is evident that the mixing length values for IC 1613 is lower than that of the Milky Way. This result supports our previous study on a metallicity-dependent mixing length: mixing length decreases with decreasing metallicity of host galaxies. However, this dependency becomes relatively weak for RSGs having a metallicity equal to or less than the SMC metallicity.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.56 no.1
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• pp.11-22
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• 2023

We report the result of a high-resolution spectroscopic study on seven magnesium (Mg) enhanced stars. The high Mg abundances in these stars imply that they were born in an environment heavily affected by the nucleosynthesis products of massive stars. We measure abundances of 16 elements including Mg and they show various abundance patterns implying their diverse origin. Three of our program stars show a very high Mg to Si ratio ([Mg/Si] ≈ 0.18-0.25), which might be well explained by fall-back supernovae or by supernovae with rapid rotating progenitors having an initial mass higher than about 20 M_⊙. Another three of our program stars have high light to heavy s-process element ratios ([Y/Ba] ≈ 0.30-0.44), which are consistent with the theoretical prediction of the nucleosynthesis in rapidly rotating massive stars with an initial mass of about M = 40 M_⊙. We also report a star having both high Y ([Y/Fe] = 0.2) and Ba ([Ba/Fe] = 0.28) abundance ratios, and it also shows the highest Zn abundance ratio ([Zn/Fe] = 0.27) among our sample, implying the nucleosynthesis by asymmetric supernova explosion induced by very rapid rotation of a massive progenitor having an initial mass between 20 M_⊙ ≲ M ≲ 40 M_⊙. A relative deficiency of odd-number elements, which would be a signature of the pair-instability nucleosynthesis, is not found in our sample.