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 present analysis results of the energy spectra of MCG-2-58-22 associated with occasional flares which appear in a long-term X-ray light curve. We measure an intrinsic power-law slope of this object to be Γ =1.74 ± 0.02 in the energy range of ~ 1 -5 keV and find that this slope is little affected by flares. We confirm that there exists a broad excess emission above 5 keV to the power-law continuum. The excess emission is less variable compared with a flux variation of flare and tends to be relatively weak during flares. A soft X-ray spectrum is also found to change, implying the presence of a variable soft component. We discuss the implications of these spectral variations.

We present a photometric study of galaxies in the central regions of six nearby galaxy clusters at redshift z=0.0231~0.0951. We have derived BVI photometry of the galaxies from the CCD images obtained at the Bohyunsan Optical Astronomical Observatory (BOAO) in Korea, and JHKs photometry of the bright galaxies from the 2MASS extended source catalog. Comparing the galaxy photometry results with the simple stellar population model of Bruzual & Charlot (2003) in the optical & NIR color-color diagrams, we have estimated the ages and metallicities of early type galaxies. We have found that the observed galaxies had recent star-formation mostly 5 ~ 7 Gyrs ago but the spread in age estimation is rather large. The average metallicities are [Fe/H]=0.l~0.5 dex. These results support the hypothesis that large early type galaxies in clusters are formed via hierarchical merging of smaller galaxies.

This paper summarizes the recent progress made by our group at Seoul National University on studies of the evolution and formation of distant galaxies. Various research projects are currently underway, which include: (i) the number density of distant early-type galaxies (z < 1); (ii) the optical-NIR color gradient of nearby early-type galaxies; (iii) J - K-selected Extremely Red Objects (EROs) in field (CDF-S) and the cluster environment; and (iv) the Lyman-break galaxies in the Spitzer First Look Survey (FLS) field. These works will constrain the mass evolution and the star formation history of galaxies in different environments, and the results will serve as useful contraints on galaxy formation models.

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.

Clusters of galaxies are filled with X-ray emitted hot gas with the temperature of T ${\~}$ 수식 이미지2-10 keV. Recent X-ray observations have been revealing unexpectedly that many cluster cores have complicated, peculiar X-ray structures, which imply dynamical motion of the hot gas. Moreover, X-ray spectra indicate that radiative cooling of the cool gas is suppressed by unknown heating mechanisms (the 'cooling flow problem'). Here we propose a novel mechanism reproducing both the inhomogeneous structures and dynamics of the hot gas in the cluster cores, based on state-of-the-art hydrodynamic simulations. We showed that acoustic-gravity waves, which are naturally expected during the process of hierarchical structure formation of the universe, surge in the X-ray hot gas, causing a serous impact on the core. This reminds us of tsunamis on the ocean surging into an distant island. We found that the waves create fully-developed, stable turbulence, which reproduces the complicated structures in the core. Moreover, if the wave amplitude is large enough, they can suppress the cooling of the core. The turbulence could be detected in near-future space X-ray missions such as ASTRO-E2.

The existence and extent of non-thermal phenomena in galaxy clusters is now well established. A key question in our understanding of these phenomena is the origin of the relativistic electrons which may be constrained by the modelling of the fine radio properties of radio halos and of their statistics. In this paper we argue that present data favour a scenario in which the emitting electrons in the intracluster medium (ICM) are reaccelerated in situ on their way out. An overview of turbulent-particle acceleration models is given focussing on recent time-dependent calculations which include a full coupling between particles and MHD waves.

There have been many speculations about the presence of cosmic ray protons (CRps) in galaxy clusters over the past two decades. However, no direct evidence such as the characteristic γ-ray signature of decaying pions has been found so far. These pions would be a direct tracer of hadronic CRp interactions with the ambient thermal gas also yielding observable synchrotron and inverse Compton emission by additionally produced secondary electrons. The obvious question concerns the type of galaxy clusters most likely to yield a signal: Particularly suited sites should be cluster cooling cores due to their high gas and magnetic energy densities. We studied a nearby sample of clusters evincing cooling cores in order to place stringent limits on the cluster CRp population by using non-detections of EGRET. In this context, we examined the possibility of a hadronic origin of Coma-sized radio halos as well as radio mini-halos. Especially for mini-halos, strong clues are provided by the very plausible small amount of required CRp energy density and a matching radio profile. Introducing the hadronic minimum energy criterion, we show that the energetically favored CRp energy density is constrained to 2%± 1% of the thermal energy density in Perseus. We also studied the CRp population within the cooling core region of Virgo using the TeV γ-ray detection of M 87 by HEGRA. Both the expected radial γ-ray profile and the required amount of CRp support this hadronic scenario.

Galaxy clusters as the densest and most prominent regions within the large-scale structure can be used as well characterizable laboratories to study astrophysical processes on the largest scales. X-ray observations provide currently the best way to determine the physical properties of galaxy clusters and the environmental parameters that describe them as laboratories. We illustrate this use of galaxy clusters and the precision of our understanding of them as laboratory environments with several examples. Their application to determine the matter composition of the Universe shows good agreement with results from other methods and is therefore a good test of our understanding. We test the reliability of mass measurements and illustrate the use of X-ray diagnostics to study the dynamical state of clusters. We discuss further studies on turbulence in the cluster ICM, the interaction of central AGN with the radiatively cooling plasma in cluster cooling cores and the lessons learned from the ICM enrichment by heavy elements.

The presence of magnetic fields in the intracluster medium in clusters of galaxies has been revealed through several different observational techniques. These fields may be dynamically important in clusters as they will provide additional pressure support to the intracluster medium as well as inhibit transport mechanisms such as thermal conduction. Here, we review the current observational state of Faraday rotation measure studies of the cluster fields. The fields are generally found to be a few to 10 $\mu$ 수식 이미지G in non-cooling core clusters and ordered on scales of 10 - 20 kpc. Studies of sources at large impact parameters show that the magnetic fields extend from cluster cores to radii of at least 500 kpc. In central regions of cooling core systems the field strengths are often somewhat higher (10 - 40 μG) and appear to be ordered on smaller scales of a few to 10 kpc. We also review some of the recent work on interpreting Faraday rotation measure observations through theory and numerical simulations. These techniques allow us to build up a much more detailed view of the strength and topology of the fields.