arXiv subjects

Myungshin Im

Publications and source records attributed to Myungshin Im.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

arXiv2017

Distance and properties of NGC 4993 as the host galaxy of a gravitational wave source, GW170817

Recently, the optical counterpart of a gravitational wave source GW170817 has been identified in NGC 4993 galaxy. Together with evidence from observations in electromagnetic waves, the event has been suggested as a result of a merger of two neutron stars. We analyze the multi-wavelength data to characterize the host galaxy property and its distance to examine if the properties of NGC 4993 are consistent with this picture. Our analysis shows that NGC 4993 is a bulge-dominated galaxy with reff ~ 2-3 kpc and the Sersic index of n = 3-4 for the bulge component. The spectral energy distribution from 0.15 to 24 micron indicates that this galaxy has no significant ongoing star formation, the mean stellar mass of (0.3 - 1.2) times 10^11 Msun,the mean stellar age greater than ~3 Gyr, and the metallicity of about 20% to 100% of solar abundance. Optical images reveal dust lanes and extended features that suggest a past merging activity. Overall, NGC 4993 has characteristics of normal, but slightly disturbed elliptical galaxies. Furthermore, we derive the distance to NGC 4993 with the fundamental plane relation using 17 parameter sets of 7 different filters and the central stellar velocity dispersion from literature, finding an angular diameter distance of 37.7 +- 8.7 Mpc. NGC 4993 is similar to some host galaxies of short gamma-ray bursts but much different from those of long gamma-ray bursts, supporting the picture of GW170817 as a result of a merger of two NSs.

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arXiv2017

Stellar Photometric Structures of the Host Galaxies of Nearby Type 1 Active Galactic Nuclei

We present detailed image analysis of rest-frame optical images of 235 low-redshift ($z \leq$ 0.35) type 1 active galactic nuclei (AGNs) observed with the Hubble Space Telescope. The high-resolution images enable us to perform rigorous two-dimensional image modeling to decouple the luminous central point source from the host galaxy, which, when warranted, is further decomposed into its principal structural components (bulge, bar, and disk). In many cases, care must be taken to account for structural complexities such as spiral arms, tidal features, and overlapping or interacting companion galaxies. We employ Fourier modes to characterize the degree of asymmetry of the light distribution of the stars, as a quantitative measure of morphological distortion due to interactions or mergers. We examine the dependence of the physical parameters of the host galaxies on the properties of the AGNs, namely radio-loudness and the width of the broad emission lines. In accordance with previous studies, narrow-line (H$β$ FWHM $\leq 2000$ km~s$^{-1}$) type 1 AGNs, in contrast to their broad-line (H$β$ FWHM $> 2000$ km~s$^{-1}$) counterparts, are preferentially hosted in later type, lower luminosity galaxies, which have a higher incidence of pseudo-bulges, are more frequently barred, and are less morphologically disturbed. This suggests narrow-line type 1 AGNs experienced a more quiescent evolutionary history driven primarily by internal secular evolution instead of external dynamical perturbations. The fraction of AGN hosts showing merger signatures is larger for more luminous sources. Radio-loud AGNs generally preferentially live in earlier type (bulge-dominated), more massive hosts, although a minority of them appears to contain a significant disk component. We do not find convincing evidence for enhanced merger signatures in the radio-loud population.

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arXiv2017

Minor Contribution of Quasars to Ionizing Photon Budget at z~6: Update on Quasar Luminosity Function at the Faint-end with Subaru/Suprime-Cam

We constrain the quasar contribution to cosmic reionization based on our deep optical survey of z~6 quasars down to z_R=24.15 using Subaru/Suprime-Cam in three UKIDSS-DXS fields covering 6.5 deg^2. In Kashikawa et al. (2015), we select 17 quasar candidates and report our initial discovery of two low-luminosity quasars (M_1450~ -23) from seven targets, one of which might be a Lyman alpha emitting galaxy. From an additional optical spectroscopy, none of the four candidates out of the remaining ten turn out to be genuine quasars. Moreover, the deeper optical photometry provided by the Hyper Suprime-Cam Subaru Strategic Program (HSC-SSP) shows that, unlike the two already-known quasars, the i-z and z-y colors of the last six candidates are consistent with M- or L-type brown dwarfs. Therefore, the quasar luminosity function (QLF) in the previous paper is confirmed. Compiling QLF measurements from the literature over a wide magnitude range, including an extremely faint AGN candidate from Parsa et al. (2017}, to fit them with a double power-law, we find that the best-fit faint-end slope is alpha=-2.04^+0.33_-0.18 (-1.98^+0.48_-0.21) and characteristic magnitude is M_1450^*=-25.8^+1.1_-1.9 (-25.7^+1.0_-1.8) in the case of two (one) quasar detection. Our result suggests that, if the QLF is integrated down to M_1450=-18, quasars produce ~1-12% of the ionizing photons required to ionize the whole universe at z~6 with 2sigma confidence level, assuming that the escape fraction is f_esc=1 and the IGM clumpy factor is C=3. Even when the systematic uncertainties are taken into account, our result supports the scenario that quasars are the minor contributors of reionization.

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arXiv2017

Seoul National University Camera II (SNUCAM-II): The New SED Camera for the Lee Sang Gak Telescope (LSGT)

We present the characteristics and the performance of the new CCD camera system, SNUCAM-II (Seoul National University CAMera system II) that was installed on the Lee Sang Gak Telescope (LSGT) at the Siding Spring Observatory in 2016. SNUCAM-II consists of a deep depletion chip covering a wide wavelength from 0.3 μm to 1.1 μm with high sensitivity (QE at > 80% over 0.4 to 0.9 μm). It is equipped with the SDSS ugriz filters and 13 medium band width (50 nm) filters, enabling us to study spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of diverse objects from extragalactic sources to solar system objects. On LSGT, SNUCAM-II offers 15.7 {\times} 15.7 arcmin field-of-view (FOV) at a pixel scale of 0.92 arcsec and a limiting magnitude of g = 19.91 AB mag and z=18.20 AB mag at 5σ with 180 sec exposure time for point source detection.

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arXiv2017

Ionized Gas Kinematics around an Ultra-luminous X-ray Source in NGC 5252 : Additional Evidence for an Off-nuclear AGN

The Seyfert 2 galaxy NGC 5252 contains a recently identified ultra-luminous X-ray (ULX) source that has been suggested to be a possible candidate off-nuclear low-mass active galactic nucleus. We present follow-up optical integral-field unit observations obtained using GMOS on the Gemini-North telescope. In addition to confirming that the ionized gas in the vicinity of the ULX is kinematically associated with NGC 5252, the new observations reveal ordered motions consistent with rotation around the ULX. The close coincidence of the excitation source of the line-emitting gas with the position of the ULX further suggests that ULX itself is directly responsible for the ionization of the gas. The spatially resolved measurements of [N II] $λ$ 6584/H$α$ surrounding the ULX indicate a low gas-phase metallicity, consistent with those of other known low-mass active galaxies but not that of its more massive host galaxy. These findings strengthen the proposition that the ULX is not a background source, but rather that it is the nucleus of a small, low-mass galaxy accreted by NGC 5252.

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arXiv2017

The Infrared Medium-deep Survey. III. Survey of Luminous Quasars at 4.7 $\leq$ z $\leq$ 5.4

We present our first results of the survey for high redshift quasars at $5 \lesssim {\rm z} \lesssim 5.7$. The search for quasars in this redshift range has been known to be challenging due to limitations of filter sets used in previous studies. We conducted a quasar survey for two specific redshift ranges, 4.60 $\leq$ z $\leq$ 5.40 and 5.50 $\leq$ z $\leq$ 6.05, using multi-wavelength data that include observations using custom-designed filters, $is$ and $iz$. Using these filters and a new selection technique, we were able to reduce the fraction of interlopers. Through optical spectroscopy, we confirmed seven quasars at 4.7 $\leq$ z $\leq$ 5.4 with $-27.4 < M_{1450} < -26.4$ which were discovered independently by another group recently. We estimated black hole masses and Eddington ratios of four of these quasars from optical and near-infrared spectra, and found that these quasars are undergoing nearly Eddington-limited accretion which is consistent with the rapid growth of supermassive black holes in luminous quasars at z $\sim$ 5.

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arXiv2017

The Most Massive Active Galactic Nuclei at $1\lesssim z \lesssim 2$

We obtained near-infrared spectra of 26 SDSS quasars at $0.7<z<2.5$ with reported rest-frame ultraviolet $M_{\rm BH} \sim 10^{10}M_{\odot}$ to critically examine the systematic effects involved with their mass estimations. We find that AGNs heavier than $10^{10}M_{\odot}$ often display double-peaked H$α$ emission, extremely broad FeII complex emission around MgII, and highly blueshifted and broadened CIV emission. The weight of this evidence, combined with previous studies, cautions against the use of $M_{\rm BH}$ values based on any emission line with a width over 8000 km/s. Also, the $M_{\rm BH}$ estimations are not positively biased along the presence of ionized narrow line outflows, anisotropic radiation, or the use of line FWHM instead of $σ$ for our sample, and unbiased with variability, scatter in broad line equivalent width, or obscuration for general type-1 quasars. Removing the systematically uncertain $M_{\rm BH}$ values, $\sim10^{10}M_{\odot}$ BHs in $1\lesssim z \lesssim 2$ AGNs can still be explained by anisotropic motion of the broad line region from $\sim10^{9.5}M_{\odot}$ BHs, although current observations support they are intrinsically most massive, and overmassive to the host's bulge mass.

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arXiv2016

Massive Galaxies are Larger in Dense Environments: Environmental Dependence of Mass-Size Relation of Early-Type Galaxies

Under the $Λ$ cold dark matter ($Λ$CDM) cosmological models, massive galaxies are expected to be larger in denser environments through frequent hierarchical mergers with other galaxies. Yet, observational studies of low-redshift early-type galaxies have shown no such trend, standing as a puzzle to solve during the past decade. We analyzed 73,116 early-type galaxies at $0.1\leq z < 0.15$, adopting a robust nonparametric size measurement technique and extending the analysis to many massive galaxies. We find for the first time that local early-type galaxies heavier than $10^{11.2}M_{\odot}$ show a clear environmental dependence in mass-size relation, in such a way that galaxies are as much as 20-40% larger in densest environments than in underdense environments. Splitting the sample into the brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs) and non-BCGs does not affect the result. This result agrees with the $Λ$CDM cosmological simulations and suggests that mergers played a significant role in the growth of massive galaxies in dense environments as expected in theory.

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arXiv2016

ALMA and RATIR observations of GRB131030A

We report on the first open-use based Atacama Large Millimeter/submm Array (ALMA) 345-GHz observation for the late afterglow phase of GRB131030A. The ALMA observation constrained a deep limit at 17.1 d for the afterglow and host galaxy. We also identified a faint submillimeter source (ALMAJ2300-0522) near the GRB131030A position. The deep limit at 345 GHz and multifrequency observations obtained using {\it Swift} and RATIR yielded forward shock modeling with a two-dimensional relativistic hydrodynamic jet simulation and described X-ray excess in the afterglow. The excess was inconsistent with the synchrotron self-inverse Compton radiation from the forward shock. The host galaxy of GRB131030A and optical counterpart of ALMAJ2300-0522 were also identified in the SUBARU image. Based on the deep ALMA limit for the host galaxy, the 3-$σ$ upper limits of IR luminosity and the star formation rate (SFR) is estimated as $L_{IR}<1.11\times10^{11} L_{\odot}$ and SFR$<18.7$ ($M_{\odot}$~yr$^{-1}$), respectively. Although the separation angle from the burst location (3.5 arcsec) was rather large, ALMAJ2300-0522 may be one component of the GRB131030A host galaxy, according to previous host galaxy cases.

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arXiv2016

Development of SED Camera for Quasars in Early Universe (SQUEAN)

We describe the characteristics and performance of a camera system, Spectral energy distribution Camera for Quasars in Early Universe (SQUEAN). It was developed to measure SEDs of high redshift quasar candidates (z $\gtrsim$ 5) and other targets, e.g., young stellar objects, supernovae, and gamma-ray bursts, and to trace the time variability of SEDs of objects such as active galactic nuclei (AGNs). SQUEAN consists of an on-axis focal plane camera module, an auto-guiding system, and mechanical supporting structures. The science camera module is composed of a focal reducer, a customizable filter wheel, and a CCD camera on the focal plane. The filter wheel uses filter cartridges that can house filters with different shapes and sizes, enabling the filter wheel to hold twenty filters of 50 mm $\times$ 50 mm size, ten filters of 86 mm $\times$ 86 mm size, or many other combinations. The initial filter mask was applied to calibrate the filter wheel with high accuracy and we verified that the filter position is repeatable at much less than one pixel accuracy. We installed and tested 50 nm medium bandwidth filters of 600 -- 1,050 nm and other filters at the commissioning observation in 2015 February. We found that SQUEAN can reach limiting magnitudes of 23.3 - 25.3 AB mag at 5-$σ$ in a 1-hour total integration time. - 25.3 AB mag at 5-$σ$ in a 1-hour total integration time.

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arXiv2016

The Infrared Medium-Deep Survey. V. A New Selection Strategy for Quasars at z > 5 based on Medium-Band Observation with SQUEAN

Multiple color selection techniques have been successful in identifying quasars from wide-field broad-band imaging survey data. Among the quasars that have been discovered so far, however, there is a redshift gap at $5 \lesssim {\rm z} \lesssim 5.7$ due to the limitations of filter sets in previous studies. In this work, we present a new selection technique of high redshift quasars using a sequence of medium-band filters: nine filters with central wavelengths from 625 to 1025 nm and bandwidths of 50 nm. Photometry with these medium-bands traces the spectral energy distribution (SED) of a source, similar to spectroscopy with resolution R $\sim$ 15. By conducting medium-band observations of high redshift quasars at 4.7 $\leq$ z $\leq$ 6.0 and brown dwarfs (the main contaminants in high redshift quasar selection) using the SED camera for QUasars in EArly uNiverse (SQUEAN) on the 2.1-m telescope at the McDonald Observatory, we show that these medium-band filters are superior to multi-color broad-band color section in separating high redshift quasars from brown dwarfs. In addition, we show that redshifts of high redshift quasars can be determined to an accuracy of $Δ{\rm z}/(1+{\rm z}) = 0.002$ -- $0.026$. The selection technique can be extended to z $\sim$ 7, suggesting that the medium-band observation can be powerful in identifying quasars even at the re-ionization epoch.

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arXiv2015

Massive Structures of Galaxies at High Redshifts in the Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey Fields

If the Universe is dominated by cold dark matter and dark energy as in the currently popular LCDM cosmology, it is expected that large scale structures form gradually, with galaxy clusters of mass M > ~10^14 Msun appearing at around 6 Gyrs after the Big Bang (z ~ 1). Here, we report the discovery of 59 massive structures of galaxies with masses greater than a few x 10^13 Msun at redshifts between z=0.6 and 4.5 in the Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey fields. The massive structures are identified by running top-hat filters on the two dimensional spatial distribution of magnitude-limited samples of galaxies using a combination of spectroscopic and photometric redshifts. We analyze the Millennium simulation data in a similar way to the analysis of the observational data in order to test the LCDM cosmology. We find that there are too many massive structures (M > 7 x 10^13 Msun) observed at z > 2 in comparison with the simulation predictions by a factor of a few, giving a probability of < 1/2500 of the observed data being consistent with the simulation. Our result suggests that massive structures have emerged early, but the reason for the discrepancy with the simulation is unclear. It could be due to the limitation of the simulation such as the lack of key, unrecognized ingredients (strong non-Gaussianity or other baryonic physics), or simply a difficulty in the halo mass estimation from observation, or a fundamental problem of the LCDM cosmology. On the other hand, the over-abundance of massive structures at high redshifts does not favor heavy neutrino mass of ~ 0.3 eV or larger, as heavy neutrinos make the discrepancy between the observation and the simulation more pronounced by a factor of 3 or more.

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arXiv2015

Discovery of A Faint Quasar at z~6 and Implications for Cosmic Reionization

Recent studies suggest that faint active galactic nuclei may be responsible for the reionization of the universe. Confirmation of this scenario requires spectroscopic identification of faint quasars ($M_{1450}>-24$ mag) at $z \gtrsim6$, but only a very small number of such quasars have been spectroscopically identified so far. Here, we report the discovery of a faint quasar IMS J220417.92+011144.8 at z~6 in a 12.5 deg$^{2}$ region of the SA22 field of the Infrared Medium-deep Survey (IMS). The spectrum of the quasar shows a sharp break at $\sim8443~\rmÅ$, with emission lines redshifted to $z=5.944 \pm 0.002$ and rest-frame ultraviolet continuum magnitude $M_{1450}=-23.59\pm0.10$ AB mag. The discovery of IMS J220417.92+011144.8 is consistent with the expected number of quasars at z~6 estimated from quasar luminosity functions based on previous observations of spectroscopically identified low-luminosity quasars . This suggests that the number of $M_{1450}\sim-23$ mag quasars at z~6 may not be high enough to fully account for the reionization of the universe. In addition, our study demonstrates that faint quasars in the early universe can be identified effectively with a moderately wide and deep near-infrared survey such as the IMS.

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arXiv2015

Accretion Rates of Red Quasars from the Hydrogen P$β$ line

Red quasars are thought to be an intermediate population between merger-driven star-forming galaxies in dust-enshrouded phase and normal quasars. If so, they are expected to have high accretion ratios, but their intrinsic dust extinction hampers reliable determination of Eddington ratios. Here, we compare the accretion rates of 16 red quasars at $z \sim 0.7$ to those of normal type 1 quasars at the same redshift range. The red quasars are selected by their red colors in optical through near-infrared (NIR) and radio detection. The accretion rates of the red quasars are derived from the P$β$ line in NIR spectra, which is obtained by the SpeX on the Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF) in order to avoid the effects of dust extinction. We find that the measured Eddington ratios ($L_{\rm bol}$/$L_{\rm Edd} \simeq 0.69$) of red quasars are significantly higher than those of normal type 1 quasars, which is consistent with a scenario in which red quasars are the intermediate population and the black holes of red quasars grow very rapidly during such a stage.

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arXiv2015

Lee Sang Gak Telescope (LSGT): A Remotely Operated Robotic Telescope for Education and Research at Seoul National University

We introduce the Lee Sang Gak Telescope (LSGT), a remotely operated, robotic 0.43-meter telescope. The telescope was installed at the Siding Spring Observatory, Australia, in 2014 October, to secure regular and exclusive access to the dark sky and excellent atmospheric conditions in the southern hemisphere from the Seoul National University (SNU) campus. Here, we describe the LSGT system and its performance, present example images from early observations, and discuss a future plan to upgrade the system. The use of the telescope includes (i) long-term monitoring observations of nearby galaxies, active galactic nuclei, and supernovae; (ii) rapid follow-up observations of transients such as gamma-ray bursts and gravitational wave sources; and (iii) observations for educational activities at SNU. Based on observations performed so far, we find that the telescope is capable of providing images to a depth of R=21.5 mag (point source detection) at 5-sigma with 15 min total integration time under good observing conditions.

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arXiv2015

The Very Early Light Curve of SN 2015F in NGC 2442: A Possible Detection of Shock-Heated Cooling Emission and Constraints on SN Ia Progenitor System

The main progenitor candidate of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) is white dwarfs in binary systems where the companion star is another white dwarf (double degenerate system) or a less evolved non-degenerate star with R* >~ 0.1 Rsun (single degenerate system), but no direct observational evidence exists that tells which progenitor system is more common. Recent studies suggest that the light curve of a supernova shortly after its explosion can be used to set a limit on the progenitor size, R*. Here, we report a high cadence monitoring observation of SN 2015F, a normal SN Ia, in the galaxy NGC 2442 starting about 84 days before the first light time. With our daily cadence data, we catch the emergence of the radioactively powered light curve, but more importantly detect with a > 97.4% confidence a possible dim precursor emission that appears at roughly 1.5 days before the rise of the radioactively powered emission. The signal is consistent with theoretical expectations for a progenitor system involving a companion star with R* = ~0.1 -- 1 Rsun or a prompt explosion of a double degenerate system, but inconsistent with a typically invoked size of white dwarf progenitor of R* ~ 0.01 Rsun. Upper limits on the precursor emission also constrain the progenitor size to be R* < 0.1 Rsun, and a companion star size of R* < ~1.0 Rsun, excluding a very large companion star in the progenitor system. Additionally, we find that the distance to SN 2015F is 23.9 +-0.4 Mpc.

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arXiv2015

Mid-Infrared Luminosity Function of Local Star-Forming Galaxies in the NEP-Wide Survey Field of AKARI

We present mid-infrared (MIR) luminosity functions (LFs) of local star-forming (SF) galaxies in the AKARI NEP-Wide Survey field. In order to derive more accurate luminosity function, we used spectroscopic sample only. Based on the NEP-Wide point source catalogue containing a large number of infrared (IR) sources distributed over the wide (5.4 sq. deg.) field, we incorporated the spectroscopic redshift data for about 1790 selected targets obtained by optical follow-up surveys with MMT/Hectospec and WIYN/Hydra. The AKARI continuous 2 to 24 micron wavelength coverage as well as photometric data from optical u band to NIR H-band with the spectroscopic redshifts for our sample galaxies enable us to derive accurate spectral energy distributions (SEDs) in the mid-infrared. We carried out SED fit analysis and employed 1/Vmax method to derive the MIR (8, 12, and 15 micron rest-frame) luminosity functions. We fit our 8 micron LFs to the double power-law with the power index of alpha= 1.53 and beta= 2.85 at the break luminosity. We made extensive comparisons with various MIR LFs from several literatures. Our results for local galaxies from the NEP region are generally consistent with other works for different fields over wide luminosity ranges. The comparisons with the results from the NEP-Deep data as well as other LFs imply the luminosity evolution from higher redshifts towards the present epoch.

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arXiv2015

Photometry Transformation from RGB Bayer Filter System to Johnson-Cousins BVR Filter System

The RGB Bayer filter system consists of a mosaic of R, G, and B filters on the grid of the photo sensors which typical commercial DSLR (Digital Single Lens Reflex) cameras and CCD cameras are equipped with. Lot of unique astronomical data obtained using an RGB Bayer filter system are available, including transient objects, e.g. supernovae, variable stars, and solar system bodies. The utilization of such data in scientific research requires that reliable photometric transformation methods are available between the systems. In this work, we develop a series of equations to convert the observed magnitudes in the RGB Bayer filter system ($R_B$, $G_B$, and $B_B$) into the Johnson-Cousins BVR filter system ($B_J$, $V_J$, and $R_C$). The new transformation equations derive the calculated magnitudes in the Johnson-Cousins filters ($B_{Jcal}$, $V_{Jcal}$, and $R_{Ccal}$) as functions of RGB magnitudes and colors. The mean differences between the transformed magnitudes and original magnitudes, i.e. the residuals, are $Δ(B_J-B_{Jcal})$ = 0.064 mag, $Δ(V_J-V_{Jcal})$ = 0.041 mag, and $Δ(R_C-R_{Ccal})$ = 0.039 mag. The calculated Johnson-Cousins magnitudes from the transformation equations show a good linear correlation with the observed Johnson-Cousins magnitudes.

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