Search for class I methanol maser emission in various types of objects in the interstellar medium

Observations of various types of objects in the northern sky were obtained at 44 GHz in the 7₀-6₁ A ⁺ methanol line on the 20-m Onsala radio telescope (Sweden), in order to search for Class I methanol maser emission in the interstellar medium: regions of formation of high-mass stars, dust rings around HII regions, and protostellar candidates associated with powerful molecular outflows and Galactic HII regions. Seven new Class Imethanolmasers have been discovered toward regions of formation of highmass stars, and the existence of two previously observed masers confirmed. The following conclusions are drawn: (1) neither the association of a bipolar outflow manifest in the wings of CO lines with a highmass protostellar object (HMPO) nor the presence of thermal emission in lines of complex molecules are sufficient conditions for the detection of Class I methanol emission; no association with HMPOs radiating at 44 GHz was found for EGOs (a new class of object tracing bipolar outflows); (2) the existence of H₂O masers and Class II methanol masers in the region of aHMPOenhances the probability of detecting Class I methanol emission toward the HMPO; Class II methanol masers with stronger line fluxes are associated with Class I methanol masers.     

A magnetized disk around an O star in W75N. A VLBI map of the OH maser

W75N is a star-forming region containing ultracompact H II regions as well as OH, H₂O, and methanol masers. The VLBA maps obtained show that the masers are located in a thin disk rotating around an O star, which is the exciting star for the ultracompact H II region VLA1. A separate group of maser spots is associated with the ultracompact H II region VLA2. The radial velocity of the maser spots varies across the disk from 3.7 to 10.9 km/s. The disk diameter is 4000 AU. The maser spots revolve in Keplerian orbits around the O9 star.     

Structure of the class I methanol masers OMC-2 and NGC 2264

Results of interferometric observations of the class I methanol masers OMC-2 and NGC 2264 in the 7₀-6₁ A ⁺ and 8₀-7₁ A ⁺ lines at 44 and 95 GHz, respectively, are presented. The maser spots are distributed along the arcs bent toward infrared sources, which are young stellar objects. The distributions of the maser spots at 44 and 95 GHz are virtually identical, and the fluxes from the brightest spots are similar. The measured sizes of the maser spots at 44 GHz are, on average, about 50 AU. The brightness temperature of the strongest components at 44 GHz is 1.7 × 10⁷ K and 3.9 × 10⁷ K for OMC-2 and NGC 2264, respectively. A simple model for the excitation of Class I methanol masers is proposed; it yields an estimate of the limiting brightness temperature of the emission. The model is based solely on the properties of the methanol molecule without invoking the physical parameters of the medium. Using it, we showed that the emission opening angles for NGC 2264 and OMC-2 do not exceed 3° and 4.5°, respectively. The depth of the masing region is about 1000 AU. The emission directivity is naturally realized in the model of of maser consisting of a thermalized core and a thin inverted envelope, probably, with an enhanced methanol abundance. The maser emission has the greatest intensity in the direction tangential to the envelope. The size of the masing envelope estimated from the measured depth and spot extens is ～2 × 10⁴ AU, or 0.15 pc. This size is close to the sizes of the dense molecular cores surrounding the young stellar objects IRS 4 in OMC-2 and IRS 1 in NGC 2264.     

Methanol maser groups and class I emission: Flux density distribution

A search for a relationship between class I and class II methanol maser flux densities has been carried out. A large sample of mixed-type sources has been studied, with each source in the sample radiating as a class I and class II maser simultaneously. In methanol maser groups for which the positions of prominent spectral features at different radial velocities coincide at different frequencies, the fluxes are anticorrelated, and are related as log S _6.7+12.2 = (?1.68 ± 0.38) × log S ₄₄ + (4.01 ± 0.60). For group I, which includes sources with preferred pumping for masers emitting at 6.7 GHz, the relationship between the 6.7 GHz masers and 44 GHz masers is less steep than for group II, which contains sources with normal pumping of class II masers. This implies that class I methanol masers that correspond to group I are suppressed more strongly.     

Observations of Extended Green Objects in the 1.35-cm H<Subscript>2</Subscript>O Line on the 22-m Pushchino Radio Telescope

Observations of H₂O maser sources at 1.35 cm associated with extended regions of 4.5-µm emission (indicated as “green” on Spitzer survey maps—so-called Extended Green Objects, EGOs) are reported. EGOs are considered as characteristic signposts of regions of formation of massive stars, which host high-velocity outflows, as well as methanol, water, and hydroxyl masers. The observations were carried out in January–May 2015 on the 22-meter radio telescope of the Pushchino Radio Astronomy Observatory. The sample studied includes 24 EGOs north of declination -29° taken from the Spitzer GLIMPSE survey, together with one of the brightest Class I methanol masers G6.05-1.45 (M8E) and the Class I methanol maser in an IRDC G359.94+0.17. H₂O maser emission was detected toward 11 of the EGOs: G11.94-0.62, G14.33-0.64, G16.59-0.06, G23.01-0.41, G24.943+0.074, G28.83-0.25, G34.3+0.2, G34.403+0.233, G35.20-0.74, G45.47+0.07, and G49.267-0.337. These including the well known H₂O maser in the W44 region, G34.3+0.2. H₂O emission from G28.83-0.25 was detected for the first time, at 77.6 km/s, with a flux density of 19 Jy in January and 16 Jy in February 2015. The source was probably caught at an early stage of the propagation of a shock wave. The Class I methanol masers G359.94+0.17 and G6.05-1.45 (M8E) and 13 of the EGOs were not detected in the H₂O line, with 3s upper limits of ~6-7 Jy. Spectra and maser-emission parameters are given for the detected H₂Omasers, for some of which strong variability of the H₂O maser emission was observed. The detected H₂Omasers, together with the Class I methanol masers and extended 4.5-µm emission, are associated with a very early stage in the development of young stellar objects in the regions of the EGOs. However, this sample of EGOs is not uniform. The presence of 44-GHz Class I methanol masers together with EGOs cannot be considered the only sign of early stages of star formation.     

A general catalog of class I methanol masers

A catalog of class I methanol masers discovered so far in the Southern and Northern hemispheres is presented. The catalog contains 160 sources. A statistical analysis shows that, within 2’ of the telescope pointing (which corresponds approximately to the field of view of single antennas used in search surveys), 50% of class I methanol masers are associated with objects characteristic of active starforming regions: IRAS sources, ultracompact HII regions, and dense gas—dust clouds, as well as OH and H₂O interstellar masers. At the same time, bipolar outflows (which could play an active part in pumping the methanol masers) are associated with fewer than 25% of class I methanol masers. In 72% of cases, class I methanol masers are associated with class II methanol maser sources. These results suggest that methanol maser condensations are more appropriately classified by the transition type (that is, the pumping mechanism) than their association with other astronomical objects.     

Masers in the cool molecular cloud L 379

We present the results of monitoring the H₂O masers in the IR sources IRAS 18265-1517 and IRAS 18277-1516 associated with the cool molecular cloud L 379, which contains high-velocity bipolar molecular jets. The sources were observed in the 1.35 cm H₂O line using the 22-m radio telescope of the Pushchino Radio Astronomy Observatory (Russia) during 1991–2004. We detected H₂O maser emission from IRAS 18265-1517 at radial velocities of 17.8 and 18.4 km/s, virtually coincident with the velocity of the molecular cloud derived from CO-line observations (18.4 km/s). The maser emission towards the other source, IRAS 18277-1516, was at higher velocities than the central velocity of the CO molecular cloud. The H₂O maser spots are most likely associated with a redshifted region of CO emission. Cyclic variability of the integrated H₂O maser emission that may be related to cyclic activity of the central star was detected for IRAS 18277-1516. The strongest and most long-lived component (V_LSR ≈ 20.6 km/s) displays a radial-velocity drift, which could be due to deceleration of a dense clump of matter (maser condensation) in the circumstellar medium during the descending branch of a strong flare. We found numerous emission features for both IRAS 18265-1517 and IRAS 18277-1516, providing evidence for fragmentation of the medium surrounding their central objects.     

A statistical analysis of methanol maser groups

An analysis of the flux densities of the 5₁-6₀ A ⁺ (6.7 GHz) and 2₀-3_?1 E (12.2 GHz) class II methanol maser lines in a large and homogeneous sample of maser sources has been carried out. For convenience, the maser lines were divided into three groups: group I contains spectral features for the lines most prominent in the 5₁-6₀ A ⁺ (6.7 GHz) transition, group II contains spectral features for the lines strongest in the 2₀-3_?1 E (12.2 GHz) transition, group III contains spectral features for which the velocities of the emission maxima of the two lines coincide. The same dependence was found for group II and group III: log S _6.7=(0.79±0.05)×log S _12.2+(0.79±0.05). The spectral features in group I do not obey this relation, and deviations from a linear dependence are considerably greater. It is suggested that methanol class II masers be divided into a subclass IIa, which has special conditions favoring 6.7 GHz masers, and a subclass IIb, which is comprised of the 12.2 GHz masers and those 6.7 GHz masers that necessarily accompany them under the same conditions.     

Long-term monitoring of the W44C (G 34.3+0.15) maser in the 1.35 cm water vapor and 18 cm hydroxyl lines

Results of monitoring the H₂O and OH masers in W44C, located near the cometary HII region G34.3+0.15, are reported. Observations in the water-vapor line at λ = 1.35 cm were carried out on the 22-meter radio telescope of the Pushchino Radio Astronomy Observatory (Russia) from November 1979 to March 2011, and in the hydroxyl lines at λ = 18 cm on the large Nançay radio telescope (France). Activity maxima and minima of the water maser alternated. The average period of the activity is ～ 14 years, consistent with results obtained earlier for a number of other sources associated with regions of active star formation. In periods of enhanced maser activity, two series of strong H₂O maser flares were observed, which were related to two different clusters of maser spots located at the front of a shock at the periphery of the ultracompact region UH II. These series of flares may be associated with cyclic activity of the protostellar object in UH II. In the remaining time intervals, there were mainly short-lived flares of single features. The Stokes parameters for the observations in the hydroxyl lines were determined. Zeeman splitting was observed in the profile of the 1667 MHz OH main line at a velocity of 58.5 km/s, and was used to estimate the intensity of the line-of-sight component of the magnetic field (1.2 mG).     

Evolution of the H<Subscript>2</Subscript>O and OH Maser Emission in W75 N

The results of a study of H₂O and OH maser emission in the complex region of active star formation W75 N are presented. Observations were obtained using the 22-m radio telescope of the Pushchino Radio Astronomy Observatory (Russia) and the Nan3ay radio telescope (France). Flaring H₂O maser features may be identified with maser spots associated with the sources VLA 1 and VLA 2. Themain H₂O flares occurred in VLA 1. The flare emission was associated with either maser clusters having closely spaced radial velocities and sizes up to ~2 AU or individual features. The maser emission is generated in a medium where turbulence on various scales is present. Analysis of the line shapes during flare maxima does not indicate the presence of the simplest structures—homogeneous maser condensations. Strong variability of the OH maser emission was observed. Zeeman splitting of the 1665-MHz line was detected for several features of the same cluster at a radial velocity of +5.5 km/s. The mean line-of-sight magnetic field in this cluster is ~0.5 mG, directed away from the observer. Flares of the OH masers may be due to gas compression at a shock or MHD wave front.     

VLA observations of class I methanol masers in the region of low-mass star formation L1157

We present the results of VLA observations of a maser candidate in the low-mass star formation region L1157 in the 7₀-6₁ A ⁺ transition at 44 GHz. The line is emitted by a compact, undoubtedly maser source associated with clump B0a, which is seen in maps of L1157 in thermal lines of methanol and other molecules. A much weaker compact source is associated with clump B1a, which is brighter than B0a in thermal methanol lines. The newly detected masers may form in thin layers of turbulent post-shock gas. In this case, the maser emission may be beamed, so that only an observer located in or near the planes of the layers can observe strong masers. On the other hand, the maser lines are double with a “red” asymmetry, indicating that the masers may form in collapsing clumps. A detailed analysis of collapsing-cloud maser models and their applicability to the masers in L1157 will be developed in subsequent papers.     

Search for class I methanol maser emission toward several supernova remnants

Observations at 44 GHz in the 7₀−6₁ A ⁺ methanol line have been carried out on the 20-m telescope of the Onsala Space Observatory (Sweden) in the directions of the poorly studied region G27.4–0.2 and of several supernova remnants, at the coordinates of the OH(1720) maser satellite emission, with the aim of searching for Class I methanol maser emission in these sources. The region G27.4–0.2 has beenmapped, and contains maser sources and two supernova remnants with similar coordinates and radial velocities, which may accelerate condensation of the ambient gas-dust medium. This may play a role in enhancing the probability of methanol formation and maser emission. This is the first detection of 44 GHz maser emission in this source, and this maser is among the 10% of the strongest Class I methanol masers, within the uncertainties in the integrated flux (of a total of 198 currently knownmasers). A 27′ × 27′ region around the maser has been mapped at 44 GHz in steps of 1′. The 44-GHz emission forms only within the previously known maser region. Further studies in water lines are needed to estimate the influence of shocks from supernovae. No 44-GHz Class I methanol maser emission was detected at the 3σ level at the coordinates of the OH(1720) satellite emission in six supernova remnants; i.e., the presence of OH(1720) emission is not a sufficient condition for the detection of Class I methanol masers.     

Methanol and other molecular tracers of outflows and dense gas in the molecular cloud G345.01+1.79

The results of SEST millimeter observations of the molecular cloud G345.01+1.79 are presented. Spectra of CH₃OH, SO₂, SiO, HCO⁺, C¹⁸O, C³³S, C³⁴S, HCN, and DCN lines have been obtained. Mapping of the cloud in CH₃OH, SiO, and C³⁴S lines indicates that the maximum integrated intensity in the SiO and C³⁴S lines and in low-excitation CH₃OH transitions coincide with the northern group of methanol masers, while the corresponding maximum for high-excitation CH₃OH transitions coincides with the southern methanol-maser group. The physical parameters are estimated from the quasi-thermal CH₃OH lines under the large-velocity-gradient approximation, and their distribution on the sky derived. The density and temperature are higher toward the southern group of methanol masers than in the northern group. This may indicate that star formation is in an earlier stage of evolution in the northern than toward the southern group. A maser component can be distinguished in 14 (of 71) CH₃OH lines. We have detected for the first time weak, probably maser, emission in the CH₃OH lines at 148.11, 231.28, 165.05, 165.06, and 165.07 GHz. A blue wing is clearly visible in the CH₃OH, SiO, C¹⁸O, and SO₂ lines. The emission in this wing is probably associated with a compact source whose velocity is characteristic of the CH₃OH maser emission in the southern group of masers.     

Methanol radio emission at millimeter wavelengths: New masers at 1.3 and 2.8 millimeters

The results of a search for maser emission in the methanol lines 8_?1-7₀ E at 229.8 GHz, 3_?2-4_?1 E at 230.0 GHz, 0₀-1_?1 E at 108.9 GHz, and in the J ₁-J ₀ E series near 165 GHz in star-forming regions are reported. At least two masers and two candidates have been detected at 229.8 GHz. Thus, methanol masers have been detected in the 1-mm band for the first time. At 108.9 GHz, masers have been detected toward G345.01+1.79 and possibly toward M8E as well. Thermal emission was found toward 28 objects. The 229.8-GHz sources are class I masers, whereas the 108.9-GHz sources are class II masers. An analysis using a large velocity-gradient method shows that the 229.8-GHz masers can appear at densities of about 3×10⁴ cm^?3. The ratios of the flux densities in different class I lines toward DR 21(OH) and DR 21 West can be approximated in models with gas kinetic temperatures of about 50 K. Detection of the 108.9 GHz masers toward G345.01+1.79 and M8E may provide information about the geometry of these objects.     

The detection of new methanol masers in the 5−1–40 E line

Forty-eight objects were detected in the 5_?1–4₀ E methanol line at 84.5 GHz during a survey of Class I maser sources. Narrow maser features were found in 14 of these. Broad quasi-thermal lines were detected toward other sources. One of the objects with narrow features at 84.5 GHz, the young bipolar outflow L1157, was also observed in the 8₀–7₁ A ⁺ line at 95.2 GHz; a narrow line was detected at this frequency. Analysis showed that the broad lines are usually inverted. The quasi-thermal profiles imply that there are no more than a few line opacities. These results confirm the plausibility of models in which compact Class I masers appear in extended sources as a result of a preferential velocity field.     

A study of three massive star-forming regions in CS lines

We have mapped three star-forming regions (G265.14+1.45, G269.16?1.14, G291.27?0.71) in the CS(3–2) and C³⁴S(2–1) lines using the 15 m SEST telescope (Chile), and analyzed the relative positions of methanol and H₂O masers, IRAS sources, and emission maxima in the CS lines. In most cases, the maser positions are close to those of the IRAS sources. We compared the radial velocities of the maser sources and high-density CS cores, and estimated the CS column densities assuming LTE. The sizes, densities, and masses of the dense core are estimated; the masses obtained in the LTE approximation agree with the virial masses.     

Class I methanol masers in low-mass star-forming regions

Results of observations of Class I methanol masers in regions of low-mass star formation (MMIL) are summarized and analyzed. Four masers were detected at 44, 84, and 95 GHz towards “chemically active” bipolar outflows in the low-mass star-forming regions NGC1333 I4A, NGC 1333 I2A, HH 25, and L1157. Another maser was found at 36 GHz towards a similar outflow in NGC 2023. Thus, all the detected MMILs are associated with chemically active outflows. The brightness temperatures of the strongest 44-GHz maser spots in NGC 1333 I4A, HH 25, and L1157 exceed 2000 K, whereas the brightness temperature in NGC 1333 I2A is only 176 K, although a rotational-diagram analysis shows that this last source is also amaser. The flux densities of the newly detectedmasers are no higher than 18 Jy, and are much lower than those of strong masers in regions of high-mass star formation (MMIH). The MMIL luminosities match the maser luminosity-protostar luminosity relation established earlier for MMIHs. No MMIL variability was detected in 2004–2011. The radial velocities of the newly detected masers are close to the systemic velocities of the associated regions, except for NGC 2023, where the maser radial velocity is lower than the systemic velocity by approximately 3.5 km/s. Thus, the main MMILproperties are similar to those of MMIHs. MMILs are likely to be an extension of the MMIH population toward lower luminosities of both the masers and the associated young stellar objects. The results of VLA observations of MMILs can be explained using a turbulent-cloud model, which predicts that compact maser spots can arise in extended sources because the coherence lengths along some directions randomly appear to be longer than the mean coherence length in a turbulent velocity field. However, one must assume that the column density of methanol towardM1, the strongest maser in L1157, is appreciably higher than the mean column density of the clump B0a where the maser arises. The shape of the maser lines in L1157, forming double profiles with a red asymmetry, may indicate that the masers arise in collapsing clumps. However, although this model may be correct for L1157, it is specific to this source, since none of the other masers observed exhibited a double profile.     

A study of the region of massive star formation L379IRS1 in radio lines of methanol and other molecules

The results of spectral observations of the region of massive star formation L379IRS1 (IRAS18265–1517) are presented. The observations were carried out with the 30-m Pico Veleta radio telescope (Spain) at seven frequencies in the 1-mm, 2-mm, and 3-mm wavelength bands. Lines of 24 molecules were detected, from simple diatomic or triatomic species to complex eight- or nine-atom compounds such as CH₃OCHO or CH₃OCH₃. Rotation diagrams constructed from methanol andmethyl cyanide lines were used to determine the temperature of the quiescent gas in this region, which is about 40–50 K. In addition to this warm gas, there is a hot component that is revealed through high-energy lines of methanol and methyl cyanide, molecular lines arising in hot regions, and the presence of H₂O masers and Class II methanol masers at 6.7 GHz, which are also related to hot gas. One of the hot regions is probably a compact hot core, which is located near the southern submillimeter peak and is related to a group of methanol masers at 6.7 GHz. High-excitation lines at other positions may be associated with other hot cores or hot post-shock gas in the lobes of bipolar outflows. The rotation diagrams can be use to determine the column densities and abundances of methanol (10^?9) and methyl cyanide (about 10^?11) in the quiescent gas. The column densities of A- and E-methanol in L379IRS1 are essentually the same. The column densities of other observedmolecules were calculated assuming that the ratios of the molecular level abundances correspond to a temperature of 40 K. The molecular composition of the quiescent gas is close to that in another region of massive star formation, DR21(OH). The only appreciable difference is that the column density of SO₂ in L379IRS1 is at least a factor of 20 lower than the value in DR21(OH). The SO₂/CS and SO₂/OCS abundance ratios, which can be used as chemical clocks, are lower in L379IRS1 than in DR21(OH), suggesting that L379IRS1 is probably younger than DR21(OH).