In this paper we introduce the Plasma Physics of Active Galactic Nuclei project, which is an ongoing experiment with Korean VLBI Network (KVN) and KVN and VERA Array (KaVA) to study multi- frequency polarimetric properties on parsec scales of active galaxies. The goal of the project is to improve our understanding of fundamental jet physics, especially evolution of the relativistic out ow coupled with the large-scale magnetic field. We selected six radio-loud AGN as our targets. So far we (i) detected resolved emissions regions at 86 and 129 GHz on VLBI scales, (ii) constructed 2D spectral index maps of the out ows, and (iii) found polarizations at 22 and 43 GHz for a few targets. Here we present spectral index distributions of 3C 120 between 22 and 43 GHz and a linear polarization map of BL Lac at 43 GHz obtained with KVN.
Observations show that the accretion ows in low-luminosity active galactic nuclei (LLAGNs) probably have a two-component structure with an inner hot, optically thin, advection dominated accretion flow (ADAF) and an outer truncated cool, optically thick accretion disk. As shown by Taam et al. (2012), within the framework of the disk evaporation model, the truncation radius as a function of mass accretion rate is strongly affected by including the magnetic field. We define the parameter β as pm = B2=8π = (1 - β)ptot, (where ptot = pgas + pm, pgas is gas pressure and pm is magnetic pressure) to describe the strength of the magnetic field in accretion ows. It is found that an increase of the magnetic field (decreasing the value of β) results in a smaller truncation radius for the accretion disk. We calculate the emergent spectrum of an inner ADAF + an outer truncated accretion disk around a supermassive black hole by considering the effects of the magnetic field on the truncation radius of the accretion disk. By comparing with observations, we found that a weaker magnetic field (corresponding to a bigger value of β) is required to match the observed correlation between L2-10keV/LEdd and the bolometric correction K2-10keV, which is consistent with the physics of the accretion ow with a low mass accretion rate around a black hole.
Quasars are among the farthest and brightest objects known in the universe. Because quasars are mostly observed in the redshift range between 1 and 3, they can be used to study large scale structure in the universe, and its evolution over the past billion years. An important issue is the evolution of the quasar luminosity function, which has been investigated for relative small samples of the 2QZ catalog. Here we extend the study to 3 quasar samples, the most recent data of the Milliquas, Master and 2QZ quasar catalogs to determine the luminosity function of quasars and its evolution, using the Standard cosmological ΛCDM model with ΩΛ = 0.73, ΩM = 0.27, and H0 = 70kms-1Mpc-1. For the purpose of this analysis we initially used 0.25-mag bins and approximately 0.180-redshift bins, then calculated the comoving distance and comoving volume for each bin of redshift and calculated the number of objects in each bin per unit volume, in order to find the number density per absolute magnitude bin. Our analysis on the basis of these new and much more complete datasets is largely in agreement with earlier studies of the luminosity evolution of quasars.
It has been suggested that only the most luminous AGNs (L ≳ 1045 erg/s) are triggered by galaxy mergers, while less luminous AGNs (L ~ 1043 erg/s) are driven by other internal processes. The lack of merging features in low luminosity AGN host galaxies has been a primary argument against the idea of merger triggering of low luminosity AGNs. But a merger, especially a rather minor one, might still have played an important role in low luminosity AGNs, as minor merging features at low luminosities are more difficult to identify than major merging features. Using SNUCAM on the 1.5 m telescope at Maidanak observatory, we obtained deep optical images of NGC 7743, a barred spiral galaxy classified as a Seyfert 2 AGN with a low bolometric luminosity of 5 X 1042 erg/s. Surprisingly, we discovered a merging feature around the galaxy, which indicates past merging activity in the galaxy. This example indicates that the merging fraction of low luminosity AGNs may be much higher than previously thought, hinting at the importance of galaxy mergers even in low luminosity AGNs.
We presents a study of interactions between galaxies in the low-redshift group known as the NGC 4065 group. Imaging data were taken using the 2.4 meter telescope at the Thai National Observatory (TNO) for B, V and Rc broadband filters and [S ii] and Red-continuum narrowband filters. There are 21 galaxies in our sample. The results show that most early type galaxies (ETGs) with equivalent width EW(Hα) < 10 Å are gas-deficient galaxies, while late type galaxies (LTGs) show more EW(Hα) and are bluer than the ETGs. This means that star formation activity in the LTGs could be triggered by tidal interactions between galaxy members due to dense environmental effects in the compact group.
How galaxies are affected by their neighboring galaxies during galaxy-galaxy interactions is a long- standing question. We investigate the role of neighbors in galaxy pairs based on the SDSS data release 7 and the KIAS value-added galaxy catalog. Three groups of galaxies are identified: (a) galaxies with an early-type neighbor, (b) with a late-type neighbor, and (c) isolated ones with no neighbor. We compare their UV + optical colors and Hα emission as indicators of the recent star-formation rate (SFR). Given that galaxies show systematic differences in SFR as functions of morphology, luminosity, and large-scale environments, we construct a control sample in which the galaxies have the same conditions (in terms of morphology, luminosity, and large-scale environment) except for the neighbor's properties (i.e., morphol- ogy, mass, and distance). The results are as follows. (1) Galaxies with a late-type companion demonstrate more enhanced SFR than those with an early-type companion. (2) Galaxies with an early-type neighbor show NUV- and u-band derived SFRs that are even lower than that of isolated galaxies, while they have similar or slightly higher Hα-based SFR compared to isolated ones.
Halo merger trees are the essential backbone of semi-analytic models for galaxy formation and evolution. Srisawat et al. (2013) show that different tree building algorithms can build different halo merger histories from a numerical simulation for structure formation. In order to understand the differences induced by various tree building algorithms, we investigate the impact of halo merger trees on a semi-analytic model. We find that galaxy properties in our models show differences between trees when using a common parameter set. The models independently calibrated for each tree can reduce the discrepancies between global galaxy properties at z=0. Conversely, with regard to the evolutionary features of galaxies, the calibration slightly increases the differences between trees. Therefore, halo merger trees extracted from a common numerical simulation using different, but reliable, algorithms can result in different galaxy properties in the semi-analytic model. Considering the uncertainties in baryonic physics governing galaxy formation and evolution, however, these differences may not necessarily be significant.
We analyze the host galaxy of the tidal disruption object, Swift J1644+57, based on long-term optical to NIR data obtained with CQUEAN and UKIRT WFCAM observations. We decompose the bulge component using high resolution HST WFC3 images. We conclude that the host galaxy is bulge dominant. We investigate optical to NIR light curves and estimate the multi-band uxes of the host galaxy. We fit spectral energy distribution (SED) models in order to determine the stellar mass. Finally, we estimate the mass of the black hole in the center of the host galaxy based on several scale relations.
By probing nuclear regions and the overall properties of AGN hosts as a function of their environments, we aim to observationally examine how AGN activities are related to their surroundings. We have selected a representative sample of AGN hosts in the Virgo cluster. The selected galaxies are located in a range of density regions showing various morphologies in 1.4 GHz continuum emission. High-resolution obser- vations with the Korean VLBI Network (KVN) allow us to access the inner region of the AGN without suffering from dust extinction and synchrotron self-absorption. Since a number of our targets are too weak to be detected at K-band (22 GHz) within their coherence time, we applied phase referencing to calibrate fast atmospheric phase uctuations.
Multi-dimensionality in the inner working of core-collapse supernovae has long been considered one of the most important ingredients to understand the explosion mechanism. We perform a series of numerical experiments to explore how rotation impacts the 3-dimensional hydrodynamics of core-collapse supernova. We employ a light-bulb scheme to trigger explosions and a three-species neutrino leakage scheme to treat deleptonization effects and neutrino losses from the neutron star interior. We find that the rotation can help the onset of neutrino-driven explosions for models in which the initial angular momentum is matched to that obtained from recent stellar evolutionary calculations (~ 0:3 - 3 rad s-1 at the center). For models with larger initial angular momenta, a shock surface deforms to be oblate due to larger centrifugal force. This makes a gain region, in which matter gains energy from neutrinos, more concentrated around the equatorial plane. As a result, the preferred direction of the explosion in 3-dimensional rotating models is perpendicular to the spin axis, which is in sharp contrast to the polar explosions around the axis that are often obtained from 2-dimensional simulations.
We use light-curve fitting models (MLCS2k2, SALT2, and SNooPy) as implemented in SNANA to make the YOnsei Nearby Supernova Evolution Investigation (YONSEI) Supernova Catalogue. The catalogue consists of several hundred Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) in the redshift range from 0.01 to 1.35, and provides distance moduli, light-curve shape parameters, and color or extinction values for each supernova. This data set will be used to study the dependence of SNe Ia luminosities on the host galaxy morphologies. In this paper, we present the YONSEI Supernova Catalogue and preliminary systematic tests for the catalogue.
In type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) cosmology, a well-established correlation exists between the mass of host galaxies and the Hubble residual (HR) of SNe Ia. In order to investigate the origin of this correlation, we used low-resolution spectroscopic data of early-type host galaxies obtained from our YOnsei Nearby Supernovae Evolution Investigation (YONSEI) project. We measured velocity dispersions and Lick/IDS absorption line indices from these fully calibrated spectra. These indices were used to estimate the luminosity-weighted mean age, metallicity and mass of host galaxies. We found a tight correlation between host mass and population age, which is consistent with the "downsizing" trend in early-type galaxies. This suggests that the well-established correlation between HR and host mass is most likely due to the difference in population age. More observations, which are in progress, are required to understand the impact of luminosity evolution on SNe Ia cosmology.
We present population synthesis models for the calcium II triplet (CaT), currently the most popular metallicity indicator, based on high-resolution empirical spectral energy distributions (SEDs). Our new CaT models, based on empirical SEDs, show a linear correlation below [Fe/H] ~ -0.5, but the linear relation breaks down in the metal-rich regime by converging to the same equivalent width. This relation shows good agreement with the observed CaT of globular clusters (GCs) in NGC 1407 and the Milky Way. However, a model based on theoretical SEDs does not show this feature of the CaT and fails to reproduce observed GCs in the metal-rich regime. This linear relation may cause inaccurate metallicity determination for metal-rich stellar populations. We have also conrmed that the effect of horizontal- branch stars on the CaT is almost negligible in models based on both empirical and theoretical SEDs. Our new empirical model may explain the difference between the color distributions and CaT distributions of GCs in various early-type galaxies. Based on our model, we claim that the CaT is not a good metallicity indicator for simple stellar populations in the metal-rich regime.
We present 12CO (2-1) data for four spiral galaxies (NGC 4330, NGC 4402, NGC 4522, NGC 4569) in the Virgo cluster that are undergoing different ram pressure stages. The goal is to probe the detailed molecular gas properties under strong intra-cluster medium (ICM) pressure using high-resolution millime- ter data taken with the Submillimeter Array (SMA). Combining this with Institut de RadioAstronomie Millimetrique (IRAM) data, we also study spatially resolved temperature and density distributions of the molecular gas. Comparing with multi-wavelength data (optical, Hi, UV , Hα), we discuss how molecular gas properties and star formation activity change when a galaxy experiences Hi stripping. This study suggests that ICM pressure can modify the physical and chemical properties of the molecular gas sig- nificantly even if stripping does not take place. We discuss how this affects the star formation rate and galaxy evolution in the cluster environment.
Galaxies can be "pre-processed" in the low-density outskirts by ambient medium in the filaments or tidal interactions with other galaxies while falling into the cluster. In order to probe how early on and by which mechanisms galaxies can be affected before they enter high-density cluster environments, we are carry- ing out an atomic hydrogen (H i) imaging study of a sample of galaxies selected from three filamentary structures around the Virgo cluster. Our sample consists of 14 late-type galaxies, which are potentially interacting with their surroundings. The Hi observations have been done using the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope, the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope, and the Jansky Very Large Array with column density sensitivity of ≈ 3-5 X 1019 cm-2 in 3σ per channel, which is low enough to detect faint Hi features in the outer disks of galaxies. In this work, we present the Hi data of two galaxies that were observed with GMRT. We examine the Hi morphology and kinematics to find the evidence for gas-gas and/or tidal interactions, and discuss which mechanism(s) could be responsible for pre-processing in these cases.
Starburst galaxies have strong star formation activity and generate large scale out ows which eject a huge amount of gas mass. This process affects galaxy activity, and therefore, the detailed study of nearby starburst galaxies could provide valuable information for the study of distant ones. So far there have been only a few studies of galactic-scale molecular out ows due to the sensitivity limitation of telescopes. Our study provides two nearby examples, NGC 2146 and NGC 3628. We used Nobeyama Millimeter Array (NMA) CO(1-0) data, Chandra soft X-ray data, and NMA 3 mm data to study the kinematics of molecular outflows, their interaction with ionized outflows, and the star forming activity in the starburst region. We found that the gas ejected through molecular outflows is much more significant than that used to form stars.
The galaxy cluster is an important object for investigating the large scale structure and evolution of galaxies. Recent wide and deep near-IR surveys provide an opportunity to search for galaxy clusters in the high redshift universe. We have identified candidate clusters of 0.8< z <1.2 from the 25 deg2 SA22 field using an optical-near-IR dataset from merged UKIDSS DXS, IMS and CFHTLS catalogs. Using these candidates, we investigate the star forming activity of member galaxies. Consequently, at z ~1, the star forming activity of cluster galaxies is not distinguishable from those of field galaxies, which is different from members in local clusters. This means the environmental effect becomes more important for M* > 1010M⊙ galaxies at z <1.
This work aims to study the evolution of galaxies, located in the dense environment of the NGC 4095 compact group, which have recession velocities 6,000 < v (km s-1) < 8,000. Imaging observations for BV Rc broad-band, and [S ii] and red-continuum narrow-band were carried out with the 2.4 m Thai National Telescope (TNT) at Doi Inthanon, Chiang Mai, Thailand. The sample contains 13 galaxies, consisting of 8 spirals, 4 ellipticals and 1 irregular morphological type. Late type galaxies tend to be bluer than early type galaxies. The results show that most of the late type galaxies have ongoing star formation activity, which could be triggered by galaxy-galaxy or tidal interactions, and that young massive stars in these galaxies cause their colors to be bluer than the early type galaxies.
Star formation activities dominate the evolution of galaxies. Elliptical galaxies are believed to be old galaxies in the Hubble sequence, and elliptical galaxies at different evolution epochs might have different star formation activities and/or morphologies. We investigate the connection between star formation rates and the morphology of elliptical galaxies. With the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) and the Galaxy Zoo, we select a sample of elliptical galaxies by morphology and consider their infrared emission as an index of star formation rate to study the relation between the star formation rates and their morphological properties, such as ellipticities. In addition, we select some nearby spiral galaxies with very low MIR emission to probe the mechanisms of these red spiral galaxies. We display our preliminary results and discuss their implication on the evolution of galaxies in this poster.
We investigate Hi data for a pair of blue compact dwarf galaxies (BCDs), ESO 435-IG20 and ESO 435-IG16, obtained with the Australia Telescope Compact Array. The outer Hi disk is highly disturbed and asymmetric in both galaxies showing a gas tail and/or a broad/extended gas disk on only one side. Based on their low-density surroundings and small projected distance (<80 kpc) at a similar redshift, we conclude that tidal interaction between these two BCDs is responsible for the morphological and kinematical peculiarities in Hi. We also investigate their star formation rates using Hα and UV imaging data to probe their interaction history.