Published in the World-Famous Science Journal "Nature" on August 24th The Center for Space Astrophysics led by the research teams of Professor Lee Suk-Young and Professor Lee, Young-Wook of Yonsei University has revealed that the elliptical galaxy continues to create stars even today, and that the black hole is influencing the process. The research results, which have refuted the preexisting theory that the elliptical galaxy created stars only in the early periods, has been published in "Nature"under the title "Suppression of star formation in early-type galaxies by feedback from supermassive black holes" on August 24th.

Unraveling the Old Mystery of the Elliptical Galaxy Advance in Investigating The Origin of the Elliptical Galaxy Until now, scientists have believed that the elliptical galaxy created stars only during the early periods. Therefore, it has been a great mystery why the elliptical galaxy appears to not create stars unlike the spiral galaxy which continues to do so, and which processes cause this phenomenon. Yonsei University’s research team has completely rebutted the preexisting theory by proving that parts of the elliptical galaxy are still creating stars and that there is a higher probability that stars will be formed if the orbit is smaller. Furthermore, through research on the elliptical galaxy and the black hole, the research team successfully revealed the fact that the black hole is heavily involved in the star formation and that the black hole’s enlargement process differs according to the size of the elliptical galaxy. According to the galaxy formation theory, the massive elliptical galaxy is formed through the process of clashing with neighboring smaller galaxies. Hence, it is presumed that the gases which are generated through this process gather at the center of the galaxy, decreasing the temperature and ultimately being used for the creation of new stars. In addition, it is generally known that large galaxies have large black holes, and that supermassive black holes emit immense amounts of energy. If the creation of stars in the elliptical galaxies has stopped, there must be a massive energy force that is suppressing it. The research results have revealed that this massive force is the energy of the black hole. Based on the facts that parts of the elliptical galaxy still create stars and that smaller galaxies create more stars, they unmasked that small galaxies have more freedom in creating stars due to the weaker suppression effect resulting from small-scale radiation of the black hole, while the large galaxies are greatly restrained in their ability to create stars due to the large suppression effect of the large-scale radiation of the black hole. Moreover, they realized the fact that a black hole in a large elliptical galaxy is possible only when there is a merge between galaxies that already possess black holes. This also will have a ripple effect because it verifies Modern cosmology which suggests the merging theory. Professor Lee, Suk-Young commented that "It is academically meaningful because we have completely refuted the common belief that elliptical galaxies no longer create stars, and have revealed that the black hole which only comprises 0.2% of the mass of the elliptical galaxy determines the evolution of the entire galaxy." The Center for Space Astrophysics Achieves World-Class Competitiveness Yonsei University’s Center for Space Astrophysics is being recognized for its world-class research competitiveness as it has published several theses in prestigious science journals such as "Nature" and "Science." On November 4th, 1999 the Center revealed for this first time on "Nature" that globular cluster Omega Centaurus is a smaller galaxy that clashed with the Cenaturus Galaxy. These research results were evaluated as having greatly aided in the development of research on the Centaurus Galaxy. On July 26th, 2002 the Center published in "Science" a thesis that clarified the origin of the Centaurus Galaxy’s globular cluster’s "Oosterhoff Dichotomy" which contributed to research on the age and evolution of the Centaurus Galaxy. Furthermore on February 24th of this year, the Center published in "Science" some decisive clues in exposing the galaxy process and time period which were found through research on the color distribution of globular clusters in the elliptical galaxy. UV Space Telescope Program (GALEX)’s First "Nature" Achievement The research achievements are a result of GALEX. GALEX is an international joint UV Space Telescope Program which is led by NASA and Caltech, and participated by official partners such as Marseille Laboratory of Astrophysics and Yonsei University’s Center for Space Astrophysics which is sponsored by the Creative Research Initiative Program of the Ministry of Science and Technology. It was successfully launched in April of 2003, receiving the most praise of all the projects in NASA and has been extended to 2011. The research results on the effects that the black hole has in star creation within the elliptical galaxy is an achievement of GALEX which was led by the Yonsei University research team. Also, it is the first time that the research results of the GALEX project have been published in "Nature."