• 천문학회보
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• 제41권2호
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• pp.57.2-57.2
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• 2016

Polarimetry is an important tool for studying the physical processes in the interstellar medium, including star-forming regions. Polarimetry of young stellar objects and their circumstellar structures provides invaluable information about distributions of matter and configurations of magnetic fields in their environments. However, only a few near-infrared circular polarization (CP) observations were reported so far (before our survey). A systematic near-infrared CP survey has been firstly conducted in various star-forming regions, covering high-mass, intermediate-mass, and low-mass young stellar objects. All the observations were made using the SIRPOL imaging polarimeter on the Infrared Survey Facility (IRSF) 1.4 m telescope at the South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO). In this presentation, we present the first CP survey results. The polarization patterns, extents, and maximum degrees of circular and linear polarizations are used to determine the prevalence and origin of CP in the star-forming regions. Our results are explained with a combination of circumstellar scattering and dichroic extinction mechanism generating the high degrees of CP in star-forming regions. The universality of the large and extended CPs in star-formaing regions can also be linked with the origin of homochirality of life.

• 천문학회지
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• 제47권6호
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• pp.235-253
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• 2014

Intensity interferometry, based on the Hanbury Brown-Twiss effect, is a simple and inexpensive method for optical interferometry at microarcsecond angular resolutions; its use in astronomy was abandoned in the 1970s because of low sensitivity. Motivated by recent technical developments, we argue that the sensitivity of large modern intensity interferometers can be improved by factors up to approximately 25 000, corresponding to 11 photometric magnitudes, compared to the pioneering Narrabri Stellar Interferometer. This is made possible by (i) using avalanche photodiodes (APD) as light detectors, (ii) distributing the light received from the source over multiple independent spectral channels, and (iii) use of arrays composed of multiple large light collectors. Our approach permits the construction of large (with baselines ranging from few kilometers to intercontinental distances) optical interferometers at the cost of (very) long-baseline radio interferometers. Realistic intensity interferometer designs are able to achieve limiting R-band magnitudes as good as $m_R{\approx}14$, sufficient for spatially resolved observations of main-sequence O-type stars in the Magellanic Clouds. Multi-channel intensity interferometers can address a wide variety of science cases: (i) linear radii, effective temperatures, and luminosities of stars, via direct measurements of stellar angular sizes; (ii) mass-radius relationships of compact stellar remnants, via direct measurements of the angular sizes of white dwarfs; (iii) stellar rotation, via observations of rotation flattening and surface gravity darkening; (iv) stellar convection and the interaction of stellar photospheres and magnetic fields, via observations of dark and bright starspots; (v) the structure and evolution of multiple stars, via mapping of the companion stars and of accretion flows in interacting binaries; (vi) direct measurements of interstellar distances, derived from angular diameters of stars or via the interferometric Baade-Wesselink method; (vii) the physics of gas accretion onto supermassive black holes, via resolved observations of the central engines of luminous active galactic nuclei; and (viii) calibration of amplitude interferometers by providing a sample of calibrator stars.

• 천문학회지
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• 제47권1호
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• pp.15-39
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• 2014

Polarization is a basic property of light and is fundamentally linked to the internal geometry of a source of radiation. Polarimetry complements photometric, spectroscopic, and imaging analyses of sources of radiation and has made possible multiple astrophysical discoveries. In this article I review (i) the physical basics of polarization: electromagnetic waves, photons, and parameterizations; (ii) astrophysical sources of polarization: scattering, synchrotron radiation, active media, and the Zeeman, Goldreich-Kylafis, and Hanle effects, as well as interactions between polarization and matter (like birefringence, Faraday rotation, or the Chandrasekhar-Fermi effect); (iii) observational methodology: on-sky geometry, influence of atmosphere and instrumental polarization, polarization statistics, and observational techniques for radio, optical, and $X/{\gamma}$ wavelengths; and (iv) science cases for astronomical polarimetry: solar and stellar physics, planetary system bodies, interstellar matter, astrobiology, astronomical masers, pulsars, galactic magnetic fields, gamma-ray bursts, active galactic nuclei, and cosmic microwave background radiation.

• 천문학회보
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• 제46권1호
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• pp.51.1-51.1
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• 2021

Spiral arms greatly affect gas flows and star formation in disk galaxies. We use local 3D simulations of vertically-stratified, self-gravitating, gaseous disks under a stellar spiral potential to study the effects of spiral arms on galactic star formation as well as formation of gaseous spurs/feathers. We adopt the TIGRESS framework to handle radiative heating and cooling, star formation, and ensuing supernova (SN) feedback. We find that more than 90% of star formation takes place inside spiral arms. The global star formation rate (SFR) in models with spiral arms is enhanced by less than a factor of 2 compared to the no-arm counterpart. This supports the picture that spiral arms do not trigger star formation but rather redistribute star-forming regions. Correlated SN feedback produces interarm feathers in both magnetized and unmagnetized models. These feathers live short, have parallel magnetic fields along their length, and are bounded by SN feedback in the lateral direction, in contrast to instability-induced feathers formed in our previous isothermal simulations.

• 천문학회보
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• 제46권2호
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• pp.64.1-64.1
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• 2021

Accretion flows around black holes and neutron stars emit high energy radiation with varying spectral and timing properties. Observed timing variations, both short and long-term, point to the existence of a mechanism, dictated by the flow dynamics, and not by the stellar surface or magnetic fields, that is common in both. Spectral energy distributions of multiple sources indicate that the Comptonization process, the dominant mechanism for changing states in X-ray, takes place inside the flow that has similar physical properties in both the objects. In a series of observational and numerical studies, we enquire about the following: 1. Is there a steady state configuration for accreting matter around black holes that can explain spectral and timing properties? 2. Could a similar formalism explain spectral and timing properties of accretion around neutron stars? 3. Could there be a generalized flow configuration for accreting matter around such compact objects? Furthermore, we show that a unified spectral model can be constructed based on the generalized flow configuration, common to black holes and neutron stars.

• 천문학논총
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• 제30권2호
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• pp.559-563
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• 2015

Monitor of All-sky X-ray Image (MAXI) is a Japanese X-ray all-sky surveyer mounted on the International Space Station (ISS). It has been scanning the whole sky since 2009 during every 92-minute ISS rotation. X-ray transients are quickly found by the real-time nova-search program. As a result, MAXI has issued 133 Astronomer's Telegrams and 44 Gamma-ray burst Coordinated Networks so far. MAXI has discovered six new black holes (BH) in 4.5 years. Long-term behaviors of the MAXI BHs can be classified into two types by their outbursts; a fast-rise exponential-decay type and a fast-rise flat-top one. The slit camera is suitable for accumulating data over a long time. MAXI issued a 37-month catalog containing 500 sources above a ~0.6 mCrab detection limit at 4-10 keV in the region ${\mid}{b}{\mid}$ > $10^{\circ}$. The SSC instrument utilizing an X-ray CCD has detected diffuse soft X-rays extending over a large solid angle, such as the Cygnus super bubble. MAXI/SSC has also detcted a Ne emission line from the rapid soft X-ray nova MAXI J0158-744. The overall shapes of outbursts in Be X-ray binaries (BeXRB) are precisely observed with MAXI/GSC. BeXRB have two kinds of outbursts, a normal outburst and a giant one. The peak dates of the subsequent giant outbursts of A0535+26 repeated with a different period than the orbital one. The Be stellar disk is considered to either have a precession motion or a distorted shape. The long-term behaviors of low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXB) containing weakly magnetized neutron stars are investigated. Transient LMXBs (Aql X-1 and 4U 1608-52) repeated outbursts every 200-1000 days, which is understood by the limit-cycle of hydrogen ionization states in the outer accretion disk. A third state (very dim state) in Aql X-1 and 4U 1608-52 was interpreted as the propeller effect in the unified picture of LMXB. Cir X-1 is a peculiar source in the sense that its long-term behavior is not like typical LMXBs. The luminosity sometimes decreases suddenly at periastron. It might be explained by the stripping of the outer accretion disk by a clumpy stellar wind. MAXI observed 64 large flares from 22 active stars (RS CVns, dMe stars, Argol types, young stellar objects) over 4 years. The total energies are $10^{34}-10^{36}$ erg $s^{-1}$. Since MAXI can measure the spectrum (temperature and emission measure), we can estimate the size of the plasma and the magnetic fields. The size sometimes exceeds the size of the star. The magnetic field is in the range of 10-100 gauss, which is a typical value for solar flares.

• 천문학회보
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• 제35권1호
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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.

• 천문학회지
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• 제24권2호
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• pp.129-149
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• 1991

An attempt has been made to examine the characteristics of acoustic and MHD waves generated in stellar convection zones($4000\;K\;{\leq}\;T_{eff}\;{\leq}\;7000\;K$, $3\;{\leq}\;\log\;g\;{\leq}\;4.5$). With the use of wave generation theories formulated for acoustic waves by Stein (1967), for MHD body waves by Musielak and Rosner (1987, 1988) and for MHD tube waves by Musielak et al.(l989a, 1989b), the energy fluxes are calculated and their dependence on effective temperature, surface gravity and megnetic field strength are analyzed by optimization techniques. In computing magneto-convection models, the effect of magnetic fields on the efficiency of convection has been taking into account by extrapolating it from Yun's sunspot models(1968; 1970). Our study shows that acoustic wave fluxes are dominant in F and G stars, while the MHD waves dominant in K and M stars, and that the MHD wave fluxes vary as $T_{eff}^4{\sim}T_{eff}^7$ in contrast to the acoustic fluxes, as $T_{eff}^{10}$. The gravity dependence, on the other hand, is found to be relatively weak; the acoustic wave fluxes ${\varpropto}\;g^{-0.5}$, the longitudinal tube wave fluxes ${\varpropto}\;g^{0.3}$ and the transverse tube wave fluxes ${\varpropto}\;g^{0.3}$. In the case of the MHD body waves their gravity dependence is found to be nearly negligible. Finally we assesed the computed energy fluxes by comparing them with the observed fluxes $F_{ob}$ of CIV(${\lambda}1549$) lines and soft X-rays for selected main sequence stars. When we scaled the corrected wave fluxes down to $F_{ob}$, it is found that these slopes are almost in line with each other.