arXiv subjects

Young-Soo Jo

Publications and source records attributed to Young-Soo Jo.

15 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

The SPHEREx Instrument: Calibration, testing and performance measurements of the NIR spectroscopic surveyor from the laboratory to in-orbit commissioning

The SPHEREx near-infrared space telescope is an all-sky spectroscopic survey mission launched on March 12th, 2025 UTC. In addition to providing the community with a spectral database applicable to a wide range of investigations, it is optimized to address three core science goals: to survey the large scale structure of the Universe for signatures of non-Gaussianity during inflation; to conduct intensity mapping studies of the extragalactic background light for probing the history of galaxy evolution; and to survey the plane of the Milky Way for the prevalence and distribution of water and other biogenic ices. Each of these science goals imposes unique requirements on the performance of the instrument. We detail the design and testing strategies and report the performance results for the full instrument test campaign, ranging from component-level screening to in-orbit tests during the commissioning phase. The instrument, currently operating in full science survey mode, meets all of its driving requirements including optical performance, point source sensitivity, thermal stability and correlated noise minimization.

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arXiv2026

The SPHEREx Image and Spectrophotometry Processing Pipeline

In this paper, we describe the SPHEREx image and spectrophotometry data processing pipeline, an infrastructure and software system designed to produce calibrated spectral images and photometric measurements for NASA's SPHEREx mission. SPHEREx is carrying out a series of four all-sky spectrophotometric surveys at 6.15 arcsecond resolution in 102 spectral channels spanning 0.75 to 5 microns. The pipeline which will deliver the flux- and wavelength-calibrated data products deriving from these surveys has been developed and is operated by the SPHEREx Science Data Center at Caltech/IPAC in collaboration with the SPHEREx Science Team. Here we describe the framework and modules used in the pipeline, along with the data products, which are available at the NASA/IPAC Infrared Science Archive.

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arXiv2025

The SPHEREx Satellite Mission

SPHEREx, a NASA explorer satellite launched on 11 March 2025, is carrying out the first all-sky near-infrared spectral survey. The satellite observes in 102 spectral bands from 0.75 to 5.0 um with a resolving power ranging from 35 to 130 in 6.2 arcsecond pixels. The observatory obtains a 5-sigma depth of 19.5 - 19.9 AB mag for 0.75 to 3.8 um and 17.8 - 18.8 AB mag for 3.8 to 5.0 um after mapping the full sky four times over two years. Scientifically, SPHEREx will produce a large galaxy redshift survey over the full sky, intended to constrain the amplitude of inflationary non-Gaussianity. The observations will produce two deep spectral maps near the ecliptic poles that will use intensity mapping to probe the evolution of galaxies over cosmic history. By mapping the depth of infrared absorption features over the Galactic plane, SPHEREx will comprehensively survey the abundance and composition of water and other biogenic ice species in the interstellar medium. The initial data are rapidly released in the form of spectral images to the public. The project will release specialized data products over the life of the mission as the surveys proceed. The science team will also produce specialized spectral catalogs on planet-bearing and low-mass stars, solar system objects, and galaxy clusters 3 years after launch. We describe the design of the instrument and spacecraft, which flow from the core science requirements. Finally, we present an initial evaluation of the in-flight performance and key characteristics.

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arXiv2025

Modeling the Optical Colors of Galactic Cirrus Clouds in the Stripe 82 Region

Observations have shown that the optical colors of Galactic cirrus clouds differ significantly from those of extragalactic sources; thus, they can be used to distinguish Galactic cirrus from extragalactic low surface brightness (LSB) features. To understand these properties, we calculate radiative transfer models in dust clouds, where photons are incident from the ambient interstellar medium (ISM). Dust clouds are modeled to mimic a turbulent medium using a fractional Brownian motion algorithm, resulting in a lognormal density distribution and a power-law power spectral density that are appropriate for the ISM. The results are compared with optical observations of cirrus clouds in the Stripe 82 region. The observed color--color ($g-r$, $r-i$, and $i-z$) diagrams of the cirrus clouds can be reproduced by scattered light if the interstellar radiation field (ISRF) of Mathis et al. (as updated by Draine) is modified, either by reducing the intensities in the $i$ and $z$ bands or by enhancing those in the $g$ and $r$ bands. Similar results can also be obtained by adjusting the scattering albedos at the corresponding wavelengths. This demonstrates that the color--color diagrams are effective not only for identifying extragalactic LSB features but also for studying the ISRF and the properties of interstellar dust.

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arXiv2025

A Nearby Dark Molecular Cloud in the Local Bubble Revealed via H$_2$ Fluorescence

A longstanding prediction in interstellar theory posits that significant quantities of molecular gas, crucial for star formation, may be undetected due to being ``dark" in commonly used molecular gas tracers, such as carbon monoxide. We report the discovery of Eos, the closest dark molecular cloud, located just 94 parsecs from the Sun. This cloud is the first molecular cloud ever to be identified using H$_2$ far ultra-violet (FUV) fluorescent line emission, which traces molecular gas at the boundary layers of star-forming and supernova remnant regions. The cloud edge is outlined along the high-latitude side of the North Polar Spur, a prominent x-ray/radio structure. Our distance estimate utilizes 3D dust maps, the absorption of the soft X-ray background, and hot gas tracers such as O\,{\sc vi}; these place the cloud at a distance consistent with the Local Bubble's surface. Using high-latitude CO maps we note a small amount (M$_{\rm{H}_2}\approx$20-40\,M$_\odot$) of CO-bright cold molecular gas, in contrast with the much larger estimate of the cloud's true molecular mass (M$_{\rm{H}_2}\approx3.4\times 10^3$\,M$_\odot$), indicating most of the cloud is CO-dark. Combining observational data with novel analytical models and simulations, we predict this cloud will photoevaporate in 5.7 million years, placing key constraints on the role of stellar feedback in shaping the closest star-forming regions to the Sun.

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arXiv2021

The evolution of merger fraction of galaxies at z < 0.6 depending on the star formation mode in the AKARI NEP Wide field

We study the galaxy merger fraction and its dependence on star formation mode in the5.4 square degrees of the North Ecliptic Pole-Wide field. We select 6352 galaxies withAKARI 9μm detections, and identify mergers among them using the Gini coefficientand M20derived from the Subaru/HSC optical images. We obtain the total infraredluminosity and star formation rate of galaxies using the spectral energy distributiontemplates based on one band, AKARI 9μm. We classify galaxies into three differentstar formation modes (i.e. starbursts, main sequence, and quiescent galaxies) andcalculate the merger fractions for each. We find that the merger fractions of galaxiesincrease with redshift atz<0.6. The merger fractions of starbursts are higher thanthose of main sequence and quiescent galaxies in all redshift bins. We also examinethe merger fractions of far-infrared detected galaxies which have at least one detectionfromHerschel/SPIRE. We find thatHerscheldetected galaxies have higher mergerfraction compared to non-Herscheldetected galaxies, and bothHerscheldetected andnon-Herscheldetected galaxies show clearly different merger fractions depending onthe star formation modes.

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arXiv2021

Construction of a far ultraviolet all sky map from an incomplete survey: Application of a deep learning algorithm

We constructed a far ultraviolet (FUV) all sky map based on observations from the Far Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph (FIMS) aboard the Korean microsatellite STSAT-1. For the ~20% of the sky not covered by FIMS observations, predictions from a deep artificial neural network were used. Seven datasets were chosen for input parameters, including five all sky maps of H-alpha, E(B-V), N(HI), and two X-ray bands, with Galactic longitudes and latitudes. 70% of the pixels of the observed FIMS dataset were randomly selected for training as target parameters and the remaining 30% were used for validation. A simple four-layer neural network architecture, which consisted of three convolution layers and a dense layer at the end, was adopted, with an individual activation function for each convolution layer; each convolution layer was followed by a dropout layer. The predicted FUV intensities exhibited good agreement with Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) observations made in a similar FUV wavelength band for high Galactic latitudes. As a sample application of the constructed map, a dust scattering simulation was conducted with model optical parameters and a Galactic dust model for a region that included observed and predicted pixels. Overall, FUV intensities in the observed and predicted regions were reproduced well.

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arXiv2019

Global distribution of far-ultraviolet emissions from highly ionized gas in the Milky Way

We present all-sky maps of two major FUV cooling lines, C IV and O VI, of highly ionized gas to investigate the nature of the transition-temperature gas. From the extinction-corrected line intensities of C IV and O VI, we calculated the gas temperature and the emission measure of the transition-temperature gas assuming isothermal plasma in the collisional ionization equilibrium. The gas temperature was found to be more or less uniform throughout the Galaxy with a value of (1.89 $\pm$ 0.06) $\times$ $10^5$ K. The emission measure of the transition-temperature gas is described well by a disk-like model in which the scale height of the electron density is $z_0=6_{-2}^{+3}$ kpc. The total mass of the transition-temperature gas is estimated to be approximately $6.4_{-2.8}^{+5.2}\times10^9 M_{\bigodot}$. We also calculated the volume-filling fraction of the transition-temperature gas, which was estimated to be $f=0.26\pm0.09$, and varies from $f\sim0.37$ in the inner Galaxy to $f\sim0.18$ in the outer Galaxy. The spatial distribution of C IV and O VI cannot be explained by a simple supernova remnant model or a three-phase model. The combined effects of supernova remnants and turbulent mixing layers can explain the intensity ratio of C IV and O VI. Thermal conduction front models and high-velocity cloud models are also consistent with our observation.

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arXiv2018

Comparison of the extraplanar H$α$ and UV emissions in the halos of nearby edge-on spiral galaxies

We compare vertical profiles of the extraplanar H$α$ emission to those of the UV emission for 38 nearby edge-on late-type galaxies. It is found that detection of the "diffuse" extraplanar dust (eDust), traced by the vertically extended, scattered UV starlight, always coincides with the presence of the extraplanar H$α$ emission. A strong correlation between the scale heights of the extraplanar H$α$ and UV emissions is also found; the scale height at H$α$ is found to be $\sim0.74$ of the scale height at FUV. Our results may indicate the multiphase nature of the diffuse ionized gas and dust in the galactic halos. The existence of eDust in galaxies where the extraplanar H$α$ emission is detected suggests that a larger portion of the extraplanar H$α$ emission than that predicted in previous studies may be caused by H$α$ photons that originate from H II regions in the galactic plane and are subsequently scattered by the eDust. This possibility raise a in studying the eDIG. We also find that the scale heights of the extraplanar emissions normalized to the galaxy size correlate well with the star formation rate surface density of the galaxies. The properties of eDust in our galaxies is on a continuation line of that found through previous observations of the extraplanar polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons emission in more active galaxies known to have galactic winds.

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arXiv2017

Far-ultraviolet fluorescent molecular hydrogen emission map of the Milky Way Galaxy

We present the far-ultraviolet (FUV) fluorescent molecular hydrogen (H_2) emission map of the Milky Way Galaxy obtained with FIMS/SPEAR covering ~76% of the sky. The extinction-corrected intensity of the fluorescent H_2 emission has a strong linear correlation with the well-known tracers of the cold interstellar medium (ISM), including color excess E(B-V), neutral hydrogen column density N(H I), and H_alpha emission. The all-sky H_2 column density map was also obtained using a simple photodissociation region model and interstellar radiation fields derived from UV star catalogs. We estimated the fraction of H2 (f_H2) and the gas-to-dust ratio (GDR) of the diffuse ISM. The f_H2 gradually increases from <1% at optically thin regions where E(B-V) < 0.1 to ~50% for E(B-V) = 3. The estimated GDR is ~5.1 x 10^21 atoms cm^-2 mag^-1, in agreement with the standard value of 5.8 x 10^21 atoms cm^-2 mag^-1.

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arXiv2015

Bright stars observed by FIMS/SPEAR

In this paper, we present a catalogue of the spectra of bright stars observed during the sky survey using the Far-Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph (FIMS), which was designed primarily to observe diffuse emissions. By carefully eliminating the contamination from the diffuse background, we obtain the spectra of 70 bright stars observed for the first time with a spectral resolution of 2--3 Å over the wavelength of 1370--1710 Å. The far-ultraviolet spectra of an additional 139 stars are also extracted with a better spectral resolution and/or higher reliability than those of the previous observations. The stellar spectral type of the stars presented in the catalogue spans from O9 to A3. The method of spectral extraction of the bright stars is validated by comparing the spectra of 323 stars with those of the International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) observations.

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arXiv2015

Is Dust Cloud around $λ$ Orionis a Ring or a Shell, or Both?

The dust cloud around $λ$ Orionis is observed to be circularly symmetric with a large angular extent ($\approx$ 8 degrees). However, whether the three-dimensional (3D) structure of the cloud is shell- or ring-like has not yet been fully resolved. We study the 3D structure using a new approach that combines a 3D Monte Carlo radiative transfer model for ultraviolet (UV) scattered light and an inverse Abel transform, which gives a detailed 3D radial density profile from a two-dimensional column density map of a spherically symmetric cloud. By comparing the radiative transfer models for a spherical shell cloud and that for a ring cloud, we find that only the shell model can reproduce the radial profile of the scattered UV light, observed using the S2/68 UV observation, suggesting a dust shell structure. However, the inverse Abel transform applied to the column density data from the Pan-STARRS1 dust reddening map results in negative values at a certain radius range of the density profile, indicating the existence of additional, non-spherical clouds near the nebular boundary. The additional cloud component is assumed to be of toroidal ring shape; we subtracted from the column density to obtain a positive, radial density profile using the inverse Abel transform. The resulting density structure, composed of a toroidal ring and a spherical shell, is also found to give a good fit to the UV scattered light profile. We therefore conclude that the cloud around $λ$ Ori is composed of both ring and shell structures.

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arXiv2015

Far-ultraviolet study of the local supershell GSH 006-15+7

We have analyzed the archival data of FUV observations for the region of GSH 006-15+7, a large shell-like structure discovered by Moss et al. (2012) from the H I velocity maps. FUV emission is seen to be enhanced in the lower supershell region. The FUV emission is considered to come mainly from the scattering of interstellar photons by dust grains. A corresponding Monte Carlo simulation indicates that the distance to the supershell is 1300 +- 800 pc, which is similar to the previous estimation of 1500 +- 500 pc based on kinematic considerations. The spectrum at lower Galactic latitudes of the supershell exhibits molecular hydrogen fluorescence lines; a simulation model for this candidate photodissociation region (PDR) yields an H_2 column density of N(H_2) = 10^{18.0-20.0} cm^{-2} with a rather high total hydrogen density of n_H ~ 30 cm^{-3}.

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arXiv2013

Far-Ultraviolet Observations of the Spica Nebula and the Interaction Zone

We report the analysis results of far ultraviolet (FUV) observations, made for a broad region around $α$ Vir (Spica) including the interaction zone of Loop I and the Local Bubble. The whole region was optically thin and a general correlation was seen between the FUV continuum intensity and the dust extinction, except in the neighborhood of the bright central star, indicating the dust scattering nature of the FUV continuum. We performed Monte-Carlo radiative transfer simulations to obtain the optical parameters related to the dust scattering as well as the geometrical structure of the region. The albedo and asymmetry factor were found to be 0.38$\pm$0.06 and 0.46$\pm$0.06, respectively, in good agreement with the Milky Way dust grain models. The distance to and the thickness of the interaction zone were estimated to be 70$^{+4}_{-8}$ pc and 40$^{+8}_{-10}$ pc, respectively. The diffuse FUV continuum in the northern region above Spica was mostly the result of scattering of the starlight from Spica, while that in the southern region was mainly due to the background stars. The \ion{C}{4} $λλ$1548, 1551 emission was found throughout the whole region, in contrast to the \ion{Si}{2}* $λ$1532 emission which was bright only within the \ion{H}{2} region. This indicates that the \ion{C}{4} line arises mostly at the shell boundaries of the bubbles, with a larger portion likely from the Loop I than from the Local Bubble side, whereas the \ion{Si}{2}* line is from the photoionized Spica nebula.

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arXiv2012

Simulation Study of Dust-Scattered Far-Ultraviolet Emission in the Orion-Eridanus Superbubble

We present the results of dust scattering simulations carried out for the Orion Eridanus Superbubble region by comparing them with observations made in the far-ultraviolet. The albedo and the phase function asymmetry factor (g-factor) of interstellar grains were estimated, as were the distance and thickness of the dust layers. The results are as follows: 0.43$^{+0.02}_{-0.04}$ for the albedo and 0.45$^{+0.2}_{-0.2}$ for the g-factor, in good agreement with previous determinations and theoretical predictions. The distance of the assumed single dust layer, modeled for the Orion Molecular Cloud Complex, was estimated to be ~110 pc and the thickness ranged from ~130 at the core to ~50 pc at the boundary for the region of the present interest, implying that the dust cloud is located in front of the superbubble. The simulation result also indicates that a thin (~10 pc) dust shell surrounds the inner X-ray cavities of hot gas at a distance of ~70-90 pc.

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