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1.
A statistical estimate of the number of 6.7-GHz methanol masers in the Milky Way and their lifetime is presented. The estimate is based on the currently known number of masers, a realistic correction for sensitivity effects and generally accepted Galactic star formation rates and initial mass functions. The analysis suggests that the minimum number of masers in the Galaxy is of the order of 850 while a more realistic estimate of the total number of masers is of the order of 1200 ± 84. The lifetime is estimated to be between  2.5 × 104  and  4.5 × 104 yr  , with the variation being due to the use of different initial mass functions. The estimated lifetime agrees with that found from independent studies and agrees remarkably well with the time-scale for the chemical evolution of methanol in hot cores as well as with the dynamical time-scales of molecular outflows associated with high-mass star formation regions. It is shown that the hypothesis of the masers being associated with propagating planar shocks in cores or clumps results in lifetimes for the masers that are smaller by a factor of 2 or more compared with the lifetime of methanol masers as estimated here.  相似文献   

2.
We investigate the possibility of interstellar masers in transitions of the methanol isotopomers CH3OD, 13CH3OH and CH318OH, and of CH3SH. The model used, in which masers are pumped through the first and second torsionally excited states by IR radiation, has accounted successfully for the Class II masers in main species methanol, 12CH316OH. Several potential maser candidates are identified for CH3OD, their detectability depending on the enrichment of this species in star-forming regions. In 13CH3OH and CH318OH the best maser candidates are direct counterparts of the well-known 6.7- and 12.2-GHz methanol masers, but the lower interstellar abundance of these substituted species means that the expected brightness is greatly reduced. The maser candidates in CH3SH are also weak. By comparing these species we find that the large b -component of the dipole moment in methanol plays a significant role in its propensity to form masers, as does the strong torsion–rotation interaction due to the light hydroxyl frame. Thus the exceptional brightness of interstellar methanol masers is due to a favourable combination of molecular properties as well as high interstellar abundance.  相似文献   

3.
The University of Tasmania Mt Pleasant 26-m and Ceduna 30-m radio telescopes have been used to search for 6.7-GHz class II methanol masers towards 200 GLIMPSE ( The Galactic Legacy Infrared Mid-Plane Survey Extraordinaire ) sources. The target regions were selected on the basis of their mid-infrared colours as being likely to be young high-mass star formation regions and are either bright at 8.0 μm, or have extreme [3.6]–[4.5] colour. Methanol masers were detected towards 38 sites, nine of these being new detections. The prediction was that approximately 20 new 6.7-GHz methanol masers would be detected within 3.5 arcmin of the target GLIMPSE sources, but this is the case for only six of the new detections. A number of possible reasons for the discrepancy between the predicted and actual number of new detections have been investigated. It was not possible to draw any firm conclusions as to the cause, but it may be because many of the target sources are at an evolutionary phase prior to that associated with 6.7-GHz methanol masers. Through comparison of the spectra collected as part of this search with those in the literature, the average lifetime of individual 6.7-GHz methanol maser spectral features is estimated to be around 150 yr, much longer than is observed for 22-GHz water masers.  相似文献   

4.
We present a fully sampled C18O (1–0) map towards the southern giant molecular cloud (GMC) associated with the H  ii region RCW 106, and use it in combination with previous 13CO (1–0) mapping to estimate the gas column density as a function of position and velocity. We find localized regions of significant 13CO optical depth in the northern part of the cloud, with several of the high-opacity clouds in this region likely associated with a limb-brightened shell around the H  ii region G333.6−0.2. Optical depth corrections broaden the distribution of column densities in the cloud, yielding a lognormal distribution as predicted by simulations of turbulence. Decomposing the 13CO and C18O data cubes into clumps, we find relatively weak correlations between size and linewidth, and a more sensitive dependence of luminosity on size than would be predicted by a constant average column density. The clump mass spectrum has a slope near −1.7, consistent with previous studies. The most massive clumps appear to have gravitational binding energies well in excess of virial equilibrium; we discuss possible explanations, which include magnetic support and neglect of time-varying surface terms in the virial theorem. Unlike molecular clouds as a whole, the clumps within the RCW 106 GMC, while elongated, appear to show random orientations with respect to the Galactic plane.  相似文献   

5.
We present submillimetre observations of the   J = 3 → 2  rotational transition of 12CO, 13CO and C18O across over 600 arcmin2 of the Perseus molecular cloud, undertaken with the Heterodyne Array Receiver Programme (HARP), a new array spectrograph on the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope. The data encompass four regions of the cloud, containing the largest clusters of dust continuum condensations: NGC 1333, IC348, L1448 and L1455. A new procedure to remove striping artefacts from the raw HARP data is introduced. We compare the maps to those of the dust continuum emission mapped with the Submillimetre Common-User Bolometer Array (SCUBA; Hatchell et al.) and the positions of starless and protostellar cores (Hatchell et al.). No straightforward correlation is found between the masses of each region derived from the HARP CO and SCUBA data, underlining the care that must be exercised when comparing masses of the same object derived from different tracers. From the 13CO/C18O line ratio the relative abundance of the two species  ([13CO]/[C18O]∼ 7)  and their opacities (typically τ is 0.02–0.22 and 0.15–1.52 for the C18O and 13CO gas, respectively) are calculated. C18O is optically thin nearly everywhere, increasing in opacity towards star-forming cores but not beyond  τ18∼ 0.9  . Assuming the 12CO gas is optically thick, we compute its excitation temperature, T ex (around 8–30 K), which has little correlation with estimates of the dust temperature.  相似文献   

6.
The Gould Belt Legacy Survey will survey nearby star-forming regions (within 500 pc), using Heterodyne Array Receiver Programme (HARP), Submillimetre Common-User Bolometer Array 2 and Polarimeter 2 on the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope. This paper describes the initial data obtained using HARP to observe 12CO, 13CO and C18O   J = 3 → 2  towards two regions in Orion B, NGC 2024 and NGC 2071. We describe the physical characteristics of the two clouds, calculating temperatures and opacities utilizing all the three isotopologues. We find good agreement between temperatures calculated from CO and from dust emission in the dense, energetic regions. We determine the mass and energetics of the clouds, and of the high-velocity material seen in 12CO emission, and compare the relative energetics of the high- and low-velocity material in the two clouds. We present a clumpfind analysis of the 13CO condensations. The slope of the condensation mass functions, at the high-mass ends, is similar to the slope of the initial mass function.  相似文献   

7.
Phase-referenced observations of 13 star-forming regions in the  2Π1/2, J = 1/2  transition of rotationally excited OH at 4765 MHz have been carried out using MERLIN. Two of the regions were also observed at 4750 MHz and one at 4660 MHz. There were 10 maser detections at 4765 MHz and three non-detections. There were no detections at 4750 and 4660 MHz. The 4765-MHz masers have brightness temperatures of  ∼107 K  at MERLIN resolution (∼50 mas). Several cases of 4765-MHz masers overlapping in position and velocity with 1720- and 1665-MHz masers are reported. There are also isolated 4765-MHz masers with peak flux densities ≥30 times that of any ground-state counterpart. Most of the 4.7-GHz maser spots are unresolved at 50-mas angular resolution, but in four of the nearest sources the maser spots are resolved, indicating a characteristic size for 4765-MHz maser regions of ∼100 au. In W3(OH) we discovered that 20 per cent of the 4765-MHz emission comes from a narrow low-brightness filament that stretches north–south for ∼1.0 arcec (∼2200 au) between two previously known 4765-MHz maser spots. The filament appears in projection against the H  ii region and has a brightness temperature of  ∼4 × 105 K  . There are matching absorption features in mainline transitions of highly excited OH. The filament may trace a shock front in a rotating disc.  相似文献   

8.
Whether or not supernovae contribute significantly to the overall dust budget is a controversial subject. Submillimetre (sub-mm) observations, sensitive to cold dust, have shown an excess at 450 and 850 μm in young remnants Cassiopeia A (Cas A) and Kepler. Some of the sub-mm emission from Cas A has been shown to be contaminated by unrelated material along the line of sight. In this paper, we explore the emission from material towards Kepler using sub-mm continuum imaging and spectroscopic observations of atomic and molecular gas, via H  i , 12CO( J = 2–1) and 13CO( J = 2–1). We detect weak CO emission (peak   T *A  = 0.2–1 K, 1–2 km s−1 full width at half-maximum) from diffuse, optically thin gas at the locations of some of the sub-mm clumps. The contribution to the sub-mm emission from foreground molecular and atomic clouds is negligible. The revised dust mass for Kepler's remnant is  0.1–1.2 M⊙  , about half of the quoted values in the original study by Morgan et al., but still sufficient to explain the origin of dust at high redshifts.  相似文献   

9.
The central arcminute of the Perseus cooling flow galaxy, NGC 1275, has been mapped with the JCMT in 12CO(2–1) at 21-arcsec resolution, with detections out to at least 36 arcsec (12 kpc). Within the limits of the resolution and coverage, the distribution of gas appears to be roughly east–west, consistent with previous observations of CO, X-ray, Hα and dust emission. The total detected molecular hydrogen mass is ∼ 1.6 × 1010 M⊙, using a Galactic conversion factor. The inner central rotating disc is apparent in the data, but the overall distribution is not one of rotation. Rather, the line profiles are bluewards-asymmetric, consistent with previous observations in H  i and [O  iii ]. We suggest that the blueshift may be due to an acquired mean velocity of ∼ 150 km s−1 imparted by the radio jet in the advancing direction. Within the uncertainties of the analysis, the available radio energy appears to be sufficient, and the interpretation is consistent with that of Bo¨hringer et al. for displaced X-ray emission. We have also made the first observations of 13CO(2–1) and 12CO(3–2) emission from the central 21-arcsec region of NGC 1275 and combined these data with IRAM data supplied by Reuter et al. to form line ratios over equivalent, well-sampled regions. An LVG radiative transfer analysis indicates that the line ratios are not well reproduced by single values of kinetic temperature, molecular hydrogen density and abundance per unit velocity gradient. At least two temperatures are suggested by a simple two-component LVG model, possibly reflecting a temperature gradient in this region.  相似文献   

10.
Class II methanol masers are found in close association with OH main-line masers in many star-forming regions, where both are believed to flag the early stages in the evolution of a massive star. We have studied the formation of masers in methanol and OH under identical model conditions for the first time. Infrared pumping by radiation from warm dust at temperatures >100 K can account for the known maser lines in both molecules, many of which develop simultaneously under a range of conditions. The masers form most readily in cooler gas (<100 K) of moderately high density  (105–108 cm-3)  , although higher gas temperatures and/or lower densities are also compatible with maser action. The agreement between the current model (developed for methanol) and the established OH maser trends is very encouraging, and we anticipate that further tuning of the model will further improve such agreement.
We find the gas-phase molecular abundance to be the key determinant of observable maser activity for both molecules. Sources exhibiting both 6668-MHz methanol and 1665-MHz OH masers have a typical flux density ratio of 16; our model suggests that this may be a consequence of maser saturation. We find that the 1665-MHz maser approaches the saturated limit for OH abundances >10−7.3, while the 6668-MHz maser requires a greater methanol abundance >10−6. OH-favoured sources are likely to be less abundant in methanol, while methanol-favoured sources may be less abundant in OH or experiencing warm (>125 K), dense (∼107 cm−3) conditions. These abundance requirements offer the possibility of tying the appearance of masers to the age of the new-born star via models of gas-phase chemical evolution following the evaporation of icy grain mantles.  相似文献   

11.
Positions with subarcsecond accuracy have been measured for seven 22-GHz H2O masers associated with H  ii regions in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC); two of the masers are new detections. Initial position measurements were obtained with the 70-m antenna of the Canberra NASA Deep Space Network during a period of more than two years in which the antenna was used to monitor the maser emission. The positions were further improved using 22-GHz observations involving three antennas of the Australia Telescope Compact Array.
The positions have been compared with those of 1.6-GHz continuum emission and other LMC masers (of OH and CH3OH). The H2O maser positions range from within 1 arcsec (270 mpc) of the centre of a compact H  ii component to beyond the boundary of significant continuum emission. Three of the four masers located near continuum peaks are close to OH masers. In two cases the positional agreement is better than 0.2 arcsec (53 mpc); in the third case the agreement is worse (0.9 arcsec) but the positions of the individual H2O features appear to be spread over more than 1 arcsec. The velocities of the OH masers are within the spread of the H2O velocities. The three H2O masers offset from continuum centres are located  3–7 arcsec  from optical or infrared phenomena probably associated with very early stages of star formation; no other molecular masers are known in these directions.  相似文献   

12.
The Australia Telescope National Facility Mopra millimetre telescope has been used to search for 95.1-GHz class I methanol masers towards 62 6.6-GHz class II methanol masers. A total of 26 95.1-GHz masers were detected, 18 of these being new discoveries. Combining the results of this search with observations reported in the literature, a near complete sample of 66 6.6-GHz class II methanol masers has been searched in the 95.1-GHz transition, with detections towards 38 per cent (25 detections; not all of the sources studied in this paper qualify for the complete sample, and some of the sources in the sample were not observed in the present observations).
There is no evidence of an anticorrelation between either the velocity range, or peak flux density of the class I and II transitions, contrary to suggestions from previous studies. The majority of class I methanol maser sources have a velocity range that partly overlaps with the class II maser transitions. The presence of a class I methanol maser associated with a class II maser source is not correlated with the presence (or absence) of main-line OH or water masers. Investigations of the properties of the infrared emission associated with the maser sources shows no significant difference between those class II methanol masers with an associated class I maser and those without. This may be consistent with the hypothesis that the objects responsible for driving class I methanol masers are generally not those that produce main-line OH, water or class II methanol masers.  相似文献   

13.
Class II methanol masers are believed to be associated with high-mass star formation. Recent observations by Walsh et al. and Phillips et al. reported a very low detection rate of radio continuum emission toward a large sample of 6.7-GHz methanol masers. These results raise questions about the evolutionary phase and/or the mass range of the exciting stars of the masers. Here we report the results of a VLA search for 8.4-GHz continuum emission from the area around five Class II methanol masers, four of which were not detected by Walsh et al. at 8.6 GHz. Radio continuum emission was detected in all five fields although only two of the nine maser spot groups in the five fields were found to be superimposed on radio continuum sources that appear to be ultra-compact H  ii (UCH  ii ) regions. This suggests that continuum counterparts for some masers might be found in further surveys for which the sensitivity level is lower than  1 mJy beam−1  . Considering our results as well as observations from other studies of methanol masers we conclude that masers without radio continuum counterparts are most likely associated with high-mass stars in a very early evolutionary stage, either prior to the formation of a UCH  ii region or when the H  ii region is still optically thick at centimetre wavelengths. With one exception all maser spot groups in the five fields were found to be associated with mid-infrared objects detected in the Midcourse Space Experiment survey.  相似文献   

14.
We present the light curves of the 6.7 and 12.2 GHz methanol masers in the star-forming region G9.62+0.20E for a time-span of more than 2600 d. The earlier reported period of 244 d is confirmed. The results of monitoring the 107 GHz methanol maser for two flares are also presented. The results show that flaring occurs in all three masing transitions. It is shown that the average flare profiles of the three masing transitions are similar. The 12.2 GHz masers are the most variable of the three masers with the largest relative amplitude having a value of 2.4. The flux densities for the different masing transitions are found to return to the same level during the low phase of the masers, suggesting that the source of the periodic flaring is situated outside the masing region, and that the physical conditions in the masing region are relatively stable. On the basis of the shape of the light curve we excluded stellar pulsations as the underlying mechanism for the periodicity. It is argued that a colliding wind binary can account for the observed periodicity and provide a mechanism to qualitatively explain periodicity in the seed photon flux and/or the pumping radiation field. It is also argued that the dust cooling time is too short to explain the decay time of about 100 d of the maser flare. A further analysis has shown that for the intervals from days 48 to 66 and from days 67 to 135 the decay of the maser light curve can be interpreted as due to the recombination of a thermal hydrogen plasma with densities of approximately  1.6 × 106 cm−3  and  6.0 × 105 cm−3  , respectively.  相似文献   

15.
We have used the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) to make high-resolution images of the 6.7-GHz 51 → 60A+ maser transition of methanol towards 33 sources in the Galactic plane. Including the results from 12 methanol sources in the literature, we find that 17 out of 45 sources have curved or linear morphology. Most of the 17 have a velocity gradient along the line, which is consistent with masers lying in an edge-on circumstellar disc surrounding a massive star. We also made simultaneous continuum observations of the sources at 8.6 GHz, in order to image any associated H  ii region. 25 of the sources are associated with an ultracompact H  ii region, with a detection limit of ∼0.5 mJy beam−1. We argue that the methanol sources without an associated H  ii region represent less massive embedded stars, not an earlier stage in the lifetime of the star, as previously suggested.  相似文献   

16.
CO isotopes are able to probe the different components in protostellar clouds. These components, core, envelope and outflow have distinct physical conditions, and sometimes more than one component contributes to the observed line profile. In this study, we determine how CO isotope abundances are altered by the physical conditions in the different components. We use a 3D molecular line transport code to simulate the emission of four CO isotopomers, 12CO   J = 2 → 1, 13CO J = 2 → 1  , C18O   J = 2 → 1  and C17O   J = 2 → 1  from the Class 0/1 object L483, which contains a cold quiescent core, an infalling envelope and a clear outflow. Our models replicate James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT) line observations with the inclusion of freeze-out, a density profile and infall. Our model profiles of 12CO and 13CO have a large linewidth due to a high-velocity jet. These profiles replicate the process of more abundant material being susceptible to a jet. C18O and C17O do not display such a large linewidth as they trace denser quiescent material deep in the cloud.  相似文献   

17.
The multi-element radio-linked interferometer network (MERLIN) measurements of 1665-, 1667- and 1720-MHz OH masers associated with NGC 7538 are presented. The masers are located at the centres of three bipolar molecular outflows associated with the infrared sources IRS 1, IRS 9 and IRS 11. The distribution of OH masers in IRS 1 is more extensive than previously reported and is displaced to the south of the methanol 6.7-GHz masers. The OH masers in IRS 9 have not previously been reported. Their distribution seems to be orthogonal to the direction of the outflow and to the distribution of H2O masers. The maser distribution in IRS 11 is parallel to the dust ridge and orthogonal to the outflow. Full polarization measurements of the OH maser emission show systematic differences between the three sources. IRS 1 has moderate polarization, with linear polarization vectors partially aligned with the bipolar outflow; IRS 9 exhibits larger polarization, but little linear component; IRS 11 shows the strongest polarization and has linear polarization vectors aligned parallel to the outflow. There is also evidence for a toroidal component of the magnetic field around the IRS 11 outflow, orthogonal to the outflow direction. It is suggested that the differences in polarization trace a possible evolutionary sequence from oldest (IRS 1) to youngest (IRS 11).  相似文献   

18.
We present single-baseline Multi-Element Radio-Linked Interferometer Network (MERLIN) measurements of excited OH 6.0-GHz masers and methanol 6.7-GHz masers for the source W3(OH). These allow us to compare the positions of individual maser spots of these two species to ∼15 mas accuracy for the first time, and to compare these with previously published positions of ground-state OH masers near 1.7 GHz and excited-state OH masers near 4.7 GHz. There is a strong association between OH 6035-MHz and 1665-MHz masers. OH and methanol have very similar distributions, but associations of individual masers are relatively rare: most methanol 6.7-GHz masers are within 100 mas of OH 6.0-GHz masers, but only four methanol masers are within 15 mas of an OH 6.0-GHz maser. There are no correspondences of either species with excited OH 4.7-GHz masers. Zeeman splitting of the 6.0-GHz OH lines indicates an ordered magnetic field ranging from 3.2 to 14.4 mG. The magnetic fields estimated from co-propagating masers such as 6035 and 1665 MHz are generally in good agreement with each other.  相似文献   

19.
Images of the 6.7-GHz methanol maser emission from W3(OH) made at 50- and 100-mas angular resolution with the Multi-Element Radio-Linked Interferometer Network (MERLIN) are presented. The masers lie across the western face of the ultracompact H  ii region in extended filaments which may trace large-scale shocks. There is a complex interrelation between the 6.7-GHz methanol masers and hydroxyl (OH) masers at 1.7 and 4.7 GHz. Together the two species trace an extended filamentary structure that stretches at least 3100 au across the face of the ultracompact H  ii region. The dominant 6.7-GHz methanol emission coincides with the radio continuum peak and is populated by masers with broad spectral lines. The 6.7-GHz methanol emission is elongated at position angle 50° with a strong velocity gradient, and bears many similarities to the methanol maser disc structure reported in NGC 7538. It is surrounded by arcs of ground state OH masers at 1.7 GHz and highly excited OH masers at 13.44 GHz, some of which have the brightest methanol masers at their focus. We suggest that this region hosts the excitation centre for the ultracompact H  ii region.  相似文献   

20.
We report high spatial and spectral resolution measurements of masers towards R Aqr and H1−36, both of which are examples of the sub-class of symbiotic stars that contain a long-period Mira-type variable. Our observations have resulted in the first detection of 321-GHz H2O maser action towards a symbiotic Mira — R Aqr. Comparison with simultaneous 22-GHz H2O maser data suggests that the masers do not have the same properties as those in the circumstellar envelopes of field Miras. R Aqr's 22-/321-GHz peak flux density and luminosity ratios are low, as is the line width ratio. Continuum and spectral-line maps indicate that the 22-GHz maser and free–free emission are aligned. Three mechanisms can reproduce the data with varying degrees of success. All three lead naturally to normal levels of maser emission in SiO and 321-GHz H2O and anomalously weak OH and 22-GHz H2O masers. In the most convincing model, UV radiation and a fast wind from the companion remove the Mira's envelope of dusty, molecular gas, leaving a relatively small cavity of dense, neutral material within a large, ionized nebula. Excitation temperatures suggest that 321-GHz masers are normally excited close to the Mira whilst 22-GHz masers are more remote; in R Aqr, therefore, the 22-GHz masers do not form under optimum conditions. Instead, we see weak and narrow lines that form closer to the Mira, consistent with our high-resolution maps.  相似文献   

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