UBVIJHK photometry of the open cluster NGC 2194 are presented. Color-Magnitude diagrams of this cluster show well-defined main sequence and red giant clump. The main sequence also contains clear evidence of binary populations. Based on color-color diagrams, absolute magnitude of red giant clump, ZAMS fitting, and comparisons of observed color-magnitude diagrams with theoretical models, we derive following parameters for the cluster; reddening E(B-V)=0.44±0.04, age of log t ~8.8, and finally distance of (m-M)0=12.20±0.18.

Self-referencing method in revised-OTFTOOL is a new method in On-The-Fly(OTF) observation mode. It uses the source free regions of the observed frame as references instead of the OFFs references. We already analyzed and discussed its proprieties and advantages in the previous paper. In this paper, we make a statistical study about the self-referencing method by applying it to OTF mapping data of 27 Virgo spiral galaxies. We found that the self-referencing method solves the crooked baseline problem for every datacube. It straightens the baseline, and conserves the emissions. Compared with other data processing, the median filtering task 'mwflt' in AIPS, to use self-referencing method is more effective and safe not only to straighten the baseline but also to conserve the emission. For the strong CO galaxies, the data obtained by self-referencing method shows scarcely any difference from those reduced by conventional OFFs references and AIPS median filtering in the range of uncertainties. Undetected CO emissions in datacubes of conventional OFFs references are also not detected in those of self-referencing method. The self-referencing method is expected to save the observing time and simplify data reduction processes. Besides this, using self-referencing method will offer emission-free references more safely.

We present a photometric study of the star cluster system in the merging galaxy NGC 1487, based on the BI photometry obtained from the F450W and F814W images in the HST /WFPC2 archive data. We have found about 560 star cluster candidates in NGC 1487, using the morphological parameters of the objects. We have investigated several photometric characteristics of the clusters: color-magnitude diagrams (CMDs), color distribution, spatial distribution, age, size and luminosity function. The CMD of the bright clusters with 18.5 < B < 24 mag in NGC 1487 shows three major populations of clusters: a blue cluster population with (B-I) ≤ 0.45, an intermediate-color cluster population with 0.45<(B-I) ≤ 1.55, and a red cluster population with (B - I) > 1.55. The intermediate-color population is the most dominant among the three populations. The brightest clusters in the blue and intermediate- color populations are as bright as B ≈18 mag (MB ≈ -12 mag), which are three magnitudes brighter than those in the red population. The blue and intermediate-color clusters are strongly concentrated on the bright condensations, while the red clusters are relatively more scattered over the galaxy. The CMD of these clusters is found to be remarkably similar to that of the clusters in the famous interacting system M51. From this we suggest that the intermediate-color clusters were, probably, formed during the merging process which occurred about 500 Myrs ago.

We have analysed near-infrared JHKL observations of the members of the ≈9 Myr-old η Chamaeleontis cluster. Using (J - H)/(K - L) and (H - K)/(K - L) IR colour-colour diagrams for the brightest 15 members of the cluster, we find the fraction of stellar systems with near-IR excess emission was 0.60 ± 0.13 (2σ). For the CTT and WTT star population, we also find a strong correlation between the IR excess and Ha emission which is also known as an accretion indicator. The (K - L) excess of these stars appears to indicate a wide range of star-disk activity; from a CTT star with high levels of accretion, to CTT - WTT transitional objects with evidence for some on-going accretion, and WTT stars with weak or absent IR excesses. Among the brightest 15 members, four stars (RECX 5, 9, 11 and ECHA J0843.3-7905) with IR excesses Δ(K - L) > 0.4 mag and strong or variable optical emission were identified as likely experiencing on-going mass accretion from their circumstellar disks which we confirmed their accretion disks from the optical high-resolution echelle spectroscopic study. The result-ing accretion fraction of 0.27 ± 0.13 (2σ) suggests that the accretion phase, in addition to the disks themselves, can endure for at least ~ 10 Myr.

We study the influence of rotation on the dynamical evolution of collisional single-mass stellar clusters up to core-collapse by using N-body simulations. Rotating King models which are characterized by dimensionless central potential parameter Wo and the rotation parameter Wo are used as initial models. Our results show that inner shells slowly contract until core-collapse phase is reached, followed by a slow expansion. Angular momentum is transported outward, while the core is rotating even faster than before, as predicted by gravogyro catastrophe theory. We confirm that rotation plays an important role in accelerating the dynamical evolution of stellar cluster, in particular in accelerating the core collapse.

Based on optical galaxy data, we executed a systematic search for galaxy clusters around the 15 steady unidentified EGRET GeV gamma-ray sources in high Galactic-latitude sky (|b| > 30). We found a strong correlation with 3.7σ level between close cluster pairs (merging cluster candidates) and the unidentified EGRET sources, though, in contrast, no correlation with single clusters. This result implies that merging clusters of galaxies are a possible candidate for the origin of high galactic-latitude, steady unidentified EGRET gamma-ray sources.

We present a set of high-resolution 3D MHD simulations exploring the evolution of light, supersonic jets in cluster environments. We model sets of high- and low-Mach jets entering both uniform surroundings and King-type atmospheres and propagating distances more than 100 times the initial jet radius. Through complimentary analyses of synthetic observations and energy flow, we explore the detailed interactions between these jets and their environments. We find that jet cocoon morphology is strongly influenced by the structure of the ambient medium. Jets moving into uniform atmospheres have more pronounced backflow than their non-uniform counterparts, and this difference is clearly reflected by morphological differences in the synthetic observations. Additionally, synthetic observations illustrate differences in the appearances of terminal hotspots and the x-ray and radio correlations between the high- and low-Mach runs. Exploration of energy flow in these systems illustrates the general conversion of kinetic to thermal and magnetic energy in all of our simulations. Specifically, we examine conversion of energy type and the spatial transport of energy to the ambient medium. Determination of the evolution of the energy distribution in these objects will enhance our understanding of the role of AGN feedback in cluster environments.

With the aim to investigate the statistical properties and the connection between thermal and non-thermal properties of the ICM in galaxy clusters, we have developed a statistical magneto-turbulent model which describes, at the same time, the evolution of the thermal and non-thermal emission from galaxy clusters. In particular, starting from the cosmological evolution of clusters, we follow cluster. mergers, calculate the spectrum of the magnetosonic waves generated in the ICM during these mergers, the evolution of relativistic electrons and the resulting synchrotron and Inverse Compton spectra. We show that the broad band (radio and hard x-ray) non-thermal spectral properties of galaxy clusters can be well accounted for by our model for viable values of the parameters (here we adopt a EdS cosmology).

We present results from an extensive synthetic observation analysis of numerically-simulated radio galaxy (RG) jets. This analysis is based on the first three-dimensional simulations to treat cosmic ray acceleration and transport self-consistently within a magnetohydrodynamical calculation. We use standard observational techniques to calculate both minimum-energy and inverse-Compton field values for our simulated objects. The latter technique provides meaningful information about the field. Minimum-energy calculations retrieve reasonable field estimates in regions physically close to the minimum-energy partitioning, though the technique is highly susceptible to deviations from the underlying assumptions. We also study the reliability of published rotation measure analysis techniques. We find that gradient alignment statistics accurately reflect the physical situation, and can uncover otherwise hidden information about the source. Furthermore, correlations between rotation measure (RM) and position angle (PA) can be significant even when the RM is completely dominated by an external cluster medium.