• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.19-28
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• 2000

In the earlier papers we analyzed the axisymmetric, nonstationary electrodynamics of the central black hole and a surrounding thin accretion disk in an active galactic nucleus. In this paper we analyze the axisymmetric, nonstationary electrodynamics of the black hole magnetosphere in a similar way. In the earlier papers we employed the poloidal component of the plasma velocity which is confined only to the radial direction of the cylindrical coordinate system. In this paper we employ a more general poloidal velocity and get the Grad-Shafranov equation of the force-free magnetosphere of a Kerr black hole. The equation is consistent with the previous ones and is more general in many aspects as it should be. We also show in more general approaches that the angular velocity of the magnetic field lines anchored on the accreting matter tends to become close to that of the black hole at the equatorial zone of the hole.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.77.2-77.2
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• 2019

NGC 4522 is one of the best-known examples among the Virgo galaxies undergoing active ram pressure stripping. There have been a number of detailed observational and theoretical studies on this galaxy to constrain its stripping and star formation history. However, the impact of ram pressure on the multi-phased ISM, in particular molecular gas which plays an important role in star formation, is still not fully understood. NGC 4522, as a system where the extra-planar molecular gas is identified, is an ideal case to probe in depth how ram pressure affects molecular gas properties. Aiming to get more theoretical insights on the detailed stripping process of multi-phased ISM and its consequences, we have conducted simulations using the TIGRESS which could reproduce the realistic ISM under comparable conditions as NGC 4522. In this work, we compare the fraction of gas mass to stellar mass, star formation rates and gas depletion time scales of NGC 4522 with those measured from the simulations, not only inside the disk but also in the extra-planar space.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.40.2-40.2
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• 2017

At local, majority of galaxies in the dense environment, such as galaxy cluster, are red and quiescent with little star-formation (SF) activity. However, a different picture emerges as we go to high redshift: (1) there exist non-negligible fraction of galaxies still forming stars actively even in dense environment, and (2) there is a significant cluster-by-cluster variation in the SF properties, such as quiescent galaxy fraction. In this presentation, we show the results of our study about the variation of quiescent galaxy fraction among high-redshift (z~1) galaxy clusters, based on the multi-object spectroscopic (MOS) observation with IMACS on the Magellan telescope. Our main result is that galaxy clusters which are connected with significant large-scale structure (LSS), well beyond the cluster scale, are more active in their SF activity, i.e., the quiescent galaxy fraction for these clusters is lower compared to the clusters which are detached from LSS.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.167-175
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• 2003

There is accumulating evidence for a strong link between nuclear starbursts and AGN. Molecular gas in the central regions of galaxies plays a critical role in fueling nuclear starburst activity and feeding central AGN. The dense molecular ISM is accreted to the nuclear regions by stellar bars and galactic interactions. Here we describe recent observational results for the OB star forming regions in M51 and the nuclear star burst in Arp 220 - both of which have approximately the same rate of star formation per unit mass of ISM. We suggest that the maximum efficiency for forming young stars is an Eddington-like limit imposed by the radiation pressure of newly formed stars acting on the interstellar dust. This limit corresponds to approximately 500 $L_{\bigodot} / M_{\bigodot}$ for optically thick regions in which the radiation has been degraded to the NIR. Interestingly, we note that some of the same considerations can be important in AGN where the source of fuel is provided by stellar evolution mass-loss or ISM accretion. Most of the stellar mass-loss occurs from evolving red giant stars and whether their mass-loss can be accreted to a central AGN or not depends on the radiative opacity of the mass-loss material. The latter depends on whether the dust survives or is sublimated (due to radiative heating). This, in turn, is determined by the AGN luminosity and the distance of the mass-loss stars from the AGN. Several AGN phenomena such as the broad emission and absorption lines may arise in this stellar mass-loss material. The same radiation pressure limit to the accretion may arise if the AGN fuel is from the ISM since the ISM dust-to-gas ratio is the same as that of stellar mass-loss.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.51 no.4
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• pp.89-110
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• 2018

Active Galactic Nucleus (AGN) variability can be used to study the physics of the region in the vicinity of the central black hole. In this paper, we investigated intra-night optical variability of AGN in the COSMOS field in order to understand the AGN instability at the smallest scale. Observations were performed using the KMTNet on three separate nights for 2.5 to 5 hours at a cadence of 20 to 30 min. We find that the observation enables the detection of short-term variability as small as ~ 0.02 and 0.1 mag for R ~ 18 and 20 mag sources, respectively. Using four selection methods (X-rays, mid-infrared, radio, and matching with SDSS quasars), 394 AGN are detected in the $4deg^2$ field of view. After differential photometry and ${\chi}^2$-test, we classify intra-night variable AGN. The fraction of variable AGN (0-8%) is statistically consistent with a null result. Eight out of 394 AGN are found to be intra-night variable in two filters or two nights with a variability level of 0.1 mag, suggesting that they are strong candidates for intra-night variable AGN. Still they represent a small population (2%). There is no sub-category of AGN that shows a statistically significant intra-night variability.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.50 no.6
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• pp.167-178
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• 2017

We present a study of the inexplicit connection between radio jet activity and ${\gamma}$-ray emission of BL Lacertae (BL Lac; 2200+420). We analyze the long-term millimeter activity of BL Lac via interferometric observations with the Korean VLBI Network (KVN) obtained at 22, 43, 86, and 129 GHz simultaneously over three years (from January 2013 to March 2016); during this time, two ${\gamma}$-ray outbursts (in November 2013 and March 2015) can be seen in ${\gamma}$-ray light curves obtained from Fermi observations. The KVN radio core is optically thick at least up to 86 GHz; there is indication that it might be optically thin at higher frequencies. To first order, the radio light curves decay exponentially over the time span covered by our observations, with decay timescales of $411{\pm}85$ days, $352{\pm}79$ days, $310{\pm}57$ days, and $283{\pm}55$ days at 22, 43, 86, and 129 GHz, respectively. Assuming synchrotron cooling, a cooling time of around one year is consistent with magnetic field strengths $B{\sim}2{\mu}T$ and electron Lorentz factors ${\gamma}$ ~ 10 000. Taking into account that our formal measurement errors include intrinsic variability and thus over-estimate the statistical uncertainties, we find that the decay timescale ${\tau}$ scales with frequency ${\nu}$ like ${\tau}{\propto}{\nu}^{-0.2}$. This relation is much shallower than the one expected from opacity effects (core shift), but in agreement with the (sub-)mm radio core being a standing recollimation shock. We do not find convincing radio flux counterparts to the ${\gamma}$-ray outbursts. The spectral evolution is consistent with the 'generalized shock model' of Valtaoja et al. (1992). A temporary increase in the core opacity and the emergence of a knot around the time of the second ${\gamma}$-ray event indicate that this ${\gamma}$-ray outburst might be an 'orphan' flare powered by the 'ring of fire' mechanism.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.36.2-36.2
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• 2013

The SPICA (SPace Infrared Telescope for Cosmology & Astrophysics) project is a next-generation infrared space telescope optimized for mid- and far-infrared observation with a cryogenically cooled 3m-class telescope. The focal plane instruments onboard SPICA will enable us to resolve many astronomical key issues from the formation and evolution of galaxies to the planetary formation. The FPC-S (Focal Plane Camera - Sciecne) is a near-infrared instrument proposed by Korea as an international collaboration. Owing to the capability of both low-resolution imaging spectroscopy and wide-band imaging with a field of view of $5^{\prime}{\times}5^{\prime}$, it has large throughput as well as high sensitivity for diffuse light compared with JWST. In order to strengthen advantages of the FPC-S, we propose the studies of probing population III stars by the measurement of cosmic near-infrared background radiation and the star formation history at high redshift by the discoveries of active star-forming galaxies. In addition to the major scientific targets, to survey large area opens a new parameter space to investigate the deep Universe. The good survey capability in the parallel imaging mode allows us to study the rare, bright objects such as quasars, bright star-forming galaxies in the early Universe as a way to understand the formation of the first objects in the Universe, and ultra-cool brown dwarfs. Observations in the warm mission will give us a unique chance to detect high-z supernovae, ices in young stellar objects (YSOs) even with low mass, the $3.3{\mu}$ feature of shocked circumstance in supernova remnants. Here, we report the current status of SPICA/FPC project and its extragalactic sciences.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.47 no.5
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• pp.167-178
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• 2014

We search for misclassified type 1 AGNs among type 2 AGNs identified with emission line flux ratios, and investigate the properties of the sample. Using 4 113 local type 2 AGNs at 0.02 < z < 0.05 selected from Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 7, we detected a broad component of the $H{\alpha}$ line with a Full-Width at Half-Maximum (FWHM) ranging from 1 700 to $19090km\;s^{-1}$ for 142 objects, based on the spectral decomposition and visual inspection. The fraction of the misclassified type 1 AGNs among type 2 AGN sample is ~3.5%, implying that a large number of missing type 1 AGN population may exist. The misclassified type 1 AGNs have relatively low luminosity with a mean broad $H{\alpha}$ luminosity, log $L_{H\alpha}=40.50{\pm}0.35\;erg\;s^{-1}$, while black hole mass of the sample is comparable to that of the local black hole population, with a mean black hole mass, log $M_{BH}=6.94{\pm}0.51\;M_{\odot}$. The mean Eddington ratio of the sample is log $L_{bol}/L_{Edd}=-2.00{\pm}0.40$, indicating that black hole activity is relatively weak, hence, AGN continuum is too weak to change the host galaxy color. We find that the O III lines show significant velocity offsets, presumably due to outflows in the narrow-line region, while the velocity offset of the narrow component of the $H{\alpha}$ line is not prominent, consistent with the ionized gas kinematics of general type 1 AGN population.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.74.2-74.2
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• 2015

Strong outflows from active galactic nuclei (AGNs) may play a crucial role in galaxy evolution. Integral-field spectroscopy (IFS) is the most powerful tool to study the detailed kinematics of AGN outflows. We present the on-going optical 3D spectroscopic survey of ionized gas outflows. Type 2 AGN sample is uniquely selected from SDSS DR7 with a luminosity-limit (i.e., L[O III] > $10^{41.5}erg/s$) as well as strong kinematic signatures of ionized gas outflows ([O III] velocity shift > ~200 km/s or [O III] velocity dispersion (FWHM) > 1000 km/s), defining an extremely rare population (< ~0.5%). Thus, these AGNs with strong outflow signatures are one of the best suites for investigating AGN feedback. The IFS observations cover several kpc scales for the central region of the host galaxies, providing a detailed information of the kinematics and geometry of the gas outflows. In this contribution, we report the current status of the survey and the preliminary results on gas kinematics of 18 AGNs, based on the Magellan/IMACS-IFU and the VLT/VIMOS data.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.42.1-42.1
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• 2015

Accurately estimating black hole (BH) masses at high redshifts is imperative in the current and future era of large-area extragalactic spectroscopic surveys. We present an extension of existing comparisons between rest-frame UV and optical virial BH mass estimators to intermediate redshifts, lower luminosities, and lower BH masses, comparable to the local $H{\beta}$ reverberation-mapping sample. We use data from the AGES survey and also newly acquired near-infrared spectra from the FMOS instrument on Subaru telescope for 89 broad-lined active galaxies at redshifts between 0.5 and 1.6. We focus on the MgII, CIV, and CIII broad emission lines and compare them to both $H{\alpha}$ and $H{\beta}$, using two different prescriptions to describe their emission profile width. We confirm that MgII shows a tight correlation with $H{\alpha}$, with a scatter of ~0.25 dex. The CIV and CIII estimators can be considered viable virial mass estimators, despite large scatter values. We combine our dataset with previous high redshift and high luminosity CIV and CIII measurements from the literature and we calculate a scatter of $\sim0.4$ dex and an offset to the 1:1 relation consistent with 0 for the combined sample. This updated comparison spans a total of 4 decades in BH mass, a much wider range than any previous individual study.