• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.55.1-55.1
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• 2011

Luminous infrared galaxies (LIRGs; $L_{IR}$ > ${10^{11}}_{Lsun}$) are the most powerful objects in the local Universe. Previous work suggested that dust re-processing of starburst and/or active galactic nuclei (AGN) activity, triggered by galaxy interactions, is responsible for their enormous infrared emission. To understand the nature of LIRGs, it is essential to determine their spectral types. Optical spectral types of 115 ultraluminous infrared galaxies in the southern sky are presented using CTIO observations. The AGN fraction is on average 50% and increases with infrared luminosity. Near-infrared spectral types of 36 LIRGs are also presented based on AKARI observations. In the sample, 12 optically elusive buried AGNs are found. To investigate the evolutionary sequence of LIRGs, star formation histories of ~6000 LIRGs in the SDSS and IRAS/AKARI matched sample are derived by comparing observed optical spectra and stellar population models. AGN-dominated LIRGs are currently massive relative to starburst-dominated LIRGs, which originates from an enhancement of star formation at intermediate-ages. For ~1100 early-type LIRGs, optical and NIR fundamental planes (FPs) are constructed. The FP of LIRGs is significantly different from that of normal early-type galaxies, but the difference is minimized in low luminous and AGN-like LIRGs. These findings support that the importance of AGN is growing as infrared luminosity increases and that LIRGs follow at least in the high mass regime the standard evolutionary scenario: starburst LIRGs evolve into AGN LIRGs and finally into normal early-type galaxies.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.60.1-60.1
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• 2011

We present preliminary results of a statistical study on star formation history of infrared luminous galaxies selected from a IRAS-SDSS matched sample. We derive their star formation histories by comparing observed optical spectra and stellar population synthetic model templates. We find that young population fraction (<500 Myr) increases with infrared luminosity, while AGN-host (based on optical line ratios) galaxies show an enhancement of star formation at intermediate age (around 1 Gyr) compared with starburst galaxies. These results support that infrared luminosity is dominated by starburst activity and that there is an evolutionary connection from starburst to AGN.

• Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.271-274
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• 2012

We present the result of systematic AKARI IRC infrared $2.5-5{\mu}m$ spectroscopy of >100 nearby luminous infrared galaxies, to investigate the energetic roles of starbursts and optically-elusive buried AGNs. Based on (1) the equivalent widths of the $3.3{\mu}m$ PAH emission features, (2) the optical depths of absorption features, and (3) continuum slopes, we can disentangle emission from starbursts and AGNs. We find that the energetic importance of buried AGNs increases with increasing galaxy infrared luminosities, suggesting that the AGN-starburst connections (and thereby possible AGN feedback to host galaxies) are luminosity dependent.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.29 no.spc1
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• pp.159-160
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• 1996

Recent high resolution CO observations of normal and starburst galaxies at Owens Valley Millimeter Array are summarized. While normal disk galaxies generally show exponential distribution which follows the optical blue light, starburst galaxies are often characterized by a compact ($\~$1 kpc) nuclear complex whose surface gas mass density is strongly correlated with the observed large infrared luminosity and thus the ongoing massive star formation.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2010

JHK near-infrared photometry of star clusters in the dwarf irregular/dwarf starburst galaxy NGC 1569 are presented. After adopting several criteria to exclude other sources (foreground stars, background galaxies, etc.), 154 candidates of star clusters are identified in the near-infrared images of NGC 1569, which include very young star clusters. Especially, from analysis based on theoretical background, we found ten very young star clusters near the center of NGC 1569. The total reddening values toward these clusters are estimated to be $A_V$=1-9 mag from comparison with the theoretical estimates given by the Leitherer et al. (1999)'s star cluster model.

• Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.321-324
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• 2012

Using extensive mid-IR datasets from AKARI, i.e. 9-band photometry covering the wavelength range from $2{\mu}m$ to $24{\mu}m$ and the unbiased spectroscopic survey for sources with $S_{\nu}$($9{\mu}m$)>0.3 mJy, we study starburst galaxies specifically at the redshift of z ~ 0.5, whose mid-IR spectra are clearly dominated by the PAH emission features. PAH-selected galaxies, selected with extremely red mid-IR colour due to PAHs, have high rest-frame PAH-to-stellar luminosity ratios, comparable to those in the most active regions in nearby starburst galaxies. Thus, they seem to have active starburst regions spreading over the whole body. Furthermore, some of PAH-selected galaxies are found to have peculiar rest-frame 11-to-$8{\mu}m$ flux ratios, which is systematically smaller than nearby starburst/AGN spectral templates. This may indicate a systematic difference in the physical condition of ISM between nearby and distant starburst galaxies.

• Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.189-191
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• 2017

We performed systematic observations of the H $\small{I}$ $Br{\alpha}$ line ($4.05{\mu}m$) in 51 nearby (z<0.3) ultraluminous infrared galaxies (ULIRGs), using AKARI near-infrared spectroscopy. The $Br{\alpha}$ line is predicted to be the brightest among the H ${\small{I}}$ recombination lines in ULIRGs with visual extinction higher than 15 mag. We detected the $Br{\alpha}$ line in 33 ULIRGs. In these galaxies, the relative contribution of starburst to the total infrared luminosity ($L_{IR}$) is estimated on the basis of the ratio of the $Br{\alpha}$ line luminosity ($L_{Br{\alpha}}$) to $L_{IR}$. The mean $L_{Br{\alpha}}/L_{IR}$ ratio in LINERs or Seyferts is significantly lower (~50%) than that in H $\small{II}$ galaxies. This result indicates that active galactic nuclei contribute significantly (~50%) to $L_{IR}$ in LINERs, as well as Seyferts. We also estimate the absolute contribution of starburst to $L_{IR}$ using the ratio of star formation rates (SFRs) derived from $L_{Br{\alpha}}$ ($SFR_{Br{\alpha}}$) and those needed to explain $L_{IR}$ ($SFR_{IR}$). The mean $SFR_{Br{\alpha}}/SFR_{IR}$ ratio is only 0.33 even in H $\small{II}$ galaxies, where starburst is supposed to dominate the luminosity. We attribute this apparently low $SFR_{Br{\alpha}}/SFR_{IR}$ ratio to the absorption of ionizing photons by dust within H $\small{II}$ regions.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.17-24
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• 2001

We have studied the central parts of M82, which is a well-known infrared luminous, starburst galaxy, by analyzing archival data from the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO). M82 was observed at 11 positions covering $\pm$45" from the center along the major axis. We analyzed 4 emission lines, [ArIII] 8.99 ${\mu}m$, $H_2$ 17.034 ${\mu}m$, [FeII] 25,98 ${\mu}m$, and [SiII] 34,815 ${\mu}m$ from $SWSO_2$ data. The integrated flux distributions of these lines are quite different. The $H_2$ line shows symmetric twin peaks at $\~$18" from the center, which is a general characteristic of molecular lines in starburst or barred galaxies. This line appears to be associated with the rotating molecular ring at around $\~$200 pc just outside the inner spiral arm. The relative depletion of the $H_2$ line at the center may be due to the active star formation activity which dissociates the $H_2$ molecules. The other lines have peaks at the center and the distributions are nearly symmetric. The line profiles are deconvolved assuming that both intrinsic and instrumental profiles are Gaussian. The velocity dispersion outside the core is found to be $\~50 km s^{-1}$. The central velocity dispersion is much higher than $50 km s^{-1}$, and different lines give different values. The large central velocity dispersion ($\sigma$) is mostly due to the rotation, but there is also evidence for a high $\sigma$ for [ArIII] line. We also generated position-velocity maps for these four lines. We found very diverse features from these maps.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.56.1-56.1
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• 2010

We present JHK photometry of star clusters in the dwarf irregular/dwarf starburst galaxy NGC 1569. Adopting several criteria to exclude other sources like foreground stars, background galaxies, etc., ~150 star cluster candidates are identified in the near-infrared images of NGC 1569, which include very young star clusters. From analysis based on theoretical background, we find ten very young star clusters near the center of this galaxy. The total reddening values toward these clusters are estimated from comparison with the theoretical estimates given by star cluster mode.

• Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.257-258
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• 2012

With AKARI, we carried out near-infrared spectroscopy of the nearby barred spiral galaxy, NGC 1097, categorized as Seyfert 1 with a circumnuclear starburst ring. Our observations mapped the galactic center region. As a result, we obtain the spatial distributions of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon $3.3{\mu}m$ and the aliphatic hydrocarbon $3.4-3.6{\mu}m$ emission. The former is detected from all the observed regions and the latter is enhanced near the bar connecting the ring with the nucleus. In addition, we detect absorption features due to $H_2O$ ice and CO/SiO at the ring and the galactic center, while we detect the hydrogen recombination line $Br{\alpha}$ only from the ring. Hence the observed spectra change dramatically within the central 1 kpc region.