• 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.

• Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.413-415
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• 2015

How galaxy evolution differs in different environments is one of the intriguing questions in the study of structure formation. While galaxy properties are clearly distinguished in different environments in the local universe, it is still an open issue what causes this environmental dependence of various galaxy properties. To address this question, in this work, we investigate the build-up of passive galaxies over a wide redshift range, from z ~ 2 to z ~ 0.5, focusing on its dependence on galaxy environment. In the UKIDSS/Ultra Deep Survey (UDS) field, we identify high-redshift galaxy cluster candidates within this redshift range. Then, using deep optical and near-infrared data from Subaru and UKIRT available in this field, we analyze and compare the stellar population properties of galaxies in the clusters and in the field. Our results show that the environmental effect on galaxy star-formation properties is a strong function of redshift as well as stellar mass - in the sense that (1) the effect becomes significant at small redshift, and (2) it is stronger for low-mass ($M_{\ast}<10^{10}M_{\odot}$) galaxies. We have also found that galaxy stellar mass plays a more significant role in determining their star-formation property - i.e., whether they are forming stars actively or not - than their environment throughout the redshift range.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.39.2-39.2
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• 2014

We present a photometric study of star clusters in the nuclear starburst region of NGC 253 using gVI, YJ, and H band images in the Hubble Space Telescope archive. We find about one thousand star clusters in about 200"x200" field by visual inspection with I<21. We also find about ten thousand star clusters in the same field by automated classification method with magnitude range of 21< I $$\leq_-$$ 24. Ages and masses of star clusters are estimated using spectral energy distribution fitting method. Age distribution of star cluster shows two distinguished young populations with peak ages at 3.5 Myr and 18 Myr. Old populations (>100 Myr) are exist, but their number is small. About thirty young massive star clusters (<10 Myr, ) are found in nuclear region of NGC 253 which are regarded as a result of the recent starburst. Mass function of young star clusters in NGC 253 is somewhat different with those of star clusters in other galaxies. This result suggests that initial cluster mass functions (ICMFs) for star clusters are not universial. Especially ICMF in starburst galaxies may be distinguishable compared with those in normal spiral galaxies. We discuss the implications of these results.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.69.2-69.2
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• 2021

We present the discovery of rare active galactic nuclei (AGNs) in nearby (z<0.05) compact elliptical galaxies (cEs) located in isolated environments. Using spectroscopic data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Data Release 12, four AGNs were identified based on the optical emission-line diagnostic diagram. SDSS optical spectra of AGNs show the presence of distinct narrow-line emissions. Utilizing the black hole (BH) mass-stellar velocity dispersion scaling relation and the correlation between the narrow L([OIII])/L(Hβ) line ratio and the width of the broad Hα emission line, we estimated the BH masses of the cEs to be in the range of 7×10⁵-8×10⁷ solar mass. The observed surface brightness profiles of the cEs were fitted with a double Sérsic function using the Dark Energy Camera Legacy Survey r-band imaging data. Assuming the inner component as the bulge, the K-band bulge luminosity was also estimated from the corresponding Two Micron All Sky Survey images. We found that our cEs follow the observed BH mass-stellar velocity dispersion and BH mass-bulge luminosity scaling relations, albeit there was a large uncertainty in the derived BH mass of one cE. In view of the observational properties of BHs and those of the stellar populations of cEs, we discuss the proposition that cEs in isolated environments are bona fide low-mass early-type galaxies (i.e., a nature origin).

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.47.1-47.1
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• 2015

The formation mechanism of supermassive black holes (SMBHs) at the center of galaxies remains an open fundamental question. Black holes (BHs) are believed to grow by accretion of gas or by merging with other BHs. Motivated by the observation of luminous quasar around redshift z ~ 7 with SMBH mass up to 109 solar mass, we follow the growth of the early assembly of SMBHs that trace the hierarchical evolution of dark matter halos derived from large cosmological simulations. The initial masses of BH seeds in the first halos were set up according to the BH mass - halo mass relation. We assume that mergers of host galaxies cause loss of angular momentum of gas and trigger episodes of gas accretion onto BHs for available durations and at the end of each episode of accretion, BHs merge immediately. We trace the evolution of BH masses for various scenarios for central gas properties in halos. We estimate the BH to halo mass ratio and BH mass function at each redshift.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.53.1-53.1
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• 2011

We analyze the halo and galaxy catalogs from the Millennium simulations at redshifts z=0, 0.5, 1 to determine the alignment profiles of cluster galaxies in terms of the matter density correlation coefficient and discuss a cosmological implication our result has for breaking parameter degeneracies. For each selected cluster, we measure the alignment between the major axes of the pseudo inertia tensors from all satellites within cluster's virial radius and from only those satellites within some smaller radius. Then we average the measured values over the similar-mass sample to determine the cluster galaxy alignment profile as a function of top-hat scale difference at each redshift. It is shown that the alignment profile of cluster galaxies is well approximated by a power-law of the nonlinear density correlation coefficient that is independent of the power spectrum normalization and bias factor. The alignment profile of cluster galaxies is found to have higher amplitude and lower power-law index when averaged over the larger-mass sample and to have rather weak redshift-dependence. This result is consistent with the picture that the satellite galaxies retain the memory of the external tidal fields right after merging and infalling into the clusters but they gradually lose the initial alignment tendency as the cluster's relaxation proceeds. Demonstrating that the nonlinear density correlation coefficient varies sensitively with the density parameter and neutrino mass fraction, we discuss a potential power of the cluster galaxy alignment profile as an independent probe of cosmology.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.9-28
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• 2002

We present UBVI CCD photometry of the stellar contents and globular cluster(GC) candidates in the spiral galaxy NGC 300 in the Sculptor group. Color-magnitude diagrams for 18 OB associations having more than 30 member stars are presented. The slope of the initial mass function for the bright stars in NGC 300 is estimated to be ${\Gamma}= -2.6{\pm} 0.3$. Assuming the distance to NGC 300 of (m - M)o = 26.53 $\pm$ 0.07, the mean absolute magnitude of three brightest blue stars is obtained to be < $M_v^{BSG}$ (3) > = -8.95 mag. We have performed search for GCs in NGC 300 and have found 17 GC candidates in this galaxy. Some characteristics of these GC candidates are discussed.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.29.1-29.1
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• 2010

Recent observations reveal that some early-type galaxies show a color-magnitude relation of blue globular clusters (GCs) in the color-magnitude diagrams, which is referred to as 'blue tilt'. This phenomenon is interpreted as a mass-metallicity relation -- metallicities of blue GCs increase with increasing mass, and thus provides a crucial clue to the chemical enrichment processes of GCs as a function of their mass. However, some galaxies show 'non-tilt' or even 'reverse blue tilt' on the blue GC sequence, and thus the origin of blue tilt still remains a puzzle. In this study, we put forward the theoretical explanation for the phenomenon and discuss its implications towards galaxy formation scenarios.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.76.3-76.3
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• 2019

We present the results from our comparisons of HCN and HCO+ (J=4-3) with HI and $H_2$ gas in NGC 6946, a sample from a mapping study of the dense molecular gas in the strongest star-forming galaxies (MALATANG). The MALATANG is one of the JCMT legacy surveys on the nearest 23 IR-brightest galaxies beyond the Local Group, which aims to study the relations of dense molecular gas with more general cool gas such as atomic and molecular hydrogen gas, and star formation properties in active galaxies. In this work, we particularly focus on the comparisons between the JCMT HCN/HCO+ (J=4-3) data and the THINGS HI/the NRO CO (J=1-0) data. We probe the dense molecular gas mass as a function of HI and $H_2$ mass in different locations in the central ${\sim}1.5kpc^2$ region. We discuss how the excess/deficit of $HI/H_2$ or total cool gas ($HI+H_2$) mass controls the presence and/or the fraction of dense molecular gas.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.30.2-30.2
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• 2015

Abell 2744 is a giant merging cluster, called the Pandora's Cluster, at the redshift of z=0.308 (corresponding to a distance of 1270 Mpc). Taking the advantage of the deep high resolution images in the Hubble Frontier Field program, we study the properties of compact stellar systems including globular clusters and ultracompact dwarfs (UCDs) as well as dwarf galaxies in this cluster. We find a rich population of globular clusters and UCDs in Abell 2744. The spatial distribution of these objects is consistent with the mass map derived from lensing analysis, while showing a significant offset from the X-ray map of hot gas. The faint end of the luminosity function of the galaxies in the red sequence is fit by a flat slope, showing no faint upturn. We discuss these finding in relation with the origin of UCDs, formation of red sequence dwarf galaxies, and formation of the Pandora's cluster.