Correlation between velocity separation of maser lines and period of associated star

We found the velocity separations of both OH and SiO maser lines are strongly correlated with the period of the associated variable star and this lends support to the model of expanding shell for masers. Using our statistical result, we calculated the rate of mass loss as caused by the driving of radiation pressure and our results are in agreement with observations. The variation of flow velocity with radial distance we derived predicts a position for the SiO shell that agrees with previous estimates based on independent, astrophysical considerations, and that could be checked by future microwave observations.     

Spatial and velocity structure of circumstellar water masers

We discuss the results of our study of water masers at 22 GHz with the Very Large Array. We conclude, from the anticorrelation between the intensity and linewidth of the maser features, that they are unsaturated; turbulence must exist in order to explain the large observed opacities. For most sources, we are able to place the masers on an expanding shell around the central star, finding that the overall sizes of the maser regions increase with mass loss rate. We compare the extent of the water maser emitting region with the region of dust formation.     

Evidence for the effect of the interstellar far UV-radiation on circumstellar shells

The interstellar UV field at 1565 Å is calculated around nearby OH/IR sources. The front-back asymmetry observed in the 1612 MHz maser line profile is well correlated with anisotropy of the interstellar UV flux. For some sources the spatial positions of the 1612 MHz masers are confined to the position angles for which stronger UV radiation occurs. These facts strongly support the theory of the photoproduction of OH from H₂O induced by ambient interstellar UV photons penetrating the circumstellar shell. A simple model of the 1612 MHz maser with OH photoproduction suggests that the influence of the UV field on the observed maser profiles is governed by the mass loss rate and the relative abundances of OH and H₂O molecules.     

Circumstellar envelopes and Asymptotic Giant Branch stars

Summary. Red giants are sometimes surrounded by envelopes, the result of the ejection of stellar matter at a large rate (/yr) and at a low velocity (10 km/s). In this review the envelopes are discussed and the relation between stars and envelope: what stars combine with what envelopes? The envelope emits radiation by various processes and has been detected at all wavelengths between the visual and the microwave range. I review the observations of continuum radiation emitted by dust particles and of rotational transitions of molecules, where these molecules have been excited by thermal or by non–thermal (“maser”) processes. I discuss mainly the oxygen–rich stars, those of spectral type M, and only briefly the closely related carbon–rich stars. By and large the density in the envelope is well described by spherically symmetric outflow at a constant velocity; on the time scale needed to flow from stellar surface to the outermost layers, i.e. yr, the loss of mass is sometimes interrupted suddenly after which the envelope becomes “detached” from the star. The temperature decreases when moving outward; heat input is by friction between dust particles and gas and cooling occurs by line radiation by various molecules, especially by HO. The molecular composition is determined by formation in an equilibrium process deep in the atmosphere and by destruction in the outer parts of the outflow by interstellar UV radiation (H, CO, HO) or by depletion due to condensation on dust grains (SiO); dust particles of silicate material solidify where the radiation temperature is decreased to about 1000 K, and this is at a few stellar radii. The various continuum spectra produced by the dust particles in different stars are well modelled by a simple model of the density and dust temperature distribution plus the assumption that the particles consist of “dirty silicate”, i.e. silicate with Fe and Al ions added. A large range of optical depths, , is observed: from 0.01 to 10. In envelopes with large optical depth the star itself can no longer be detected directly. Model calculations also show that the momentum in the outflow, i.e. is provided by radiation pressure on the dust particles followed by the complete transfer of this momentum to the gas. The mass–loss rate itself, , is not determined by radiation pressure but by dynamic processes in the region below the dust condensation layer. When is sufficiently large its measurement, that of the stellar luminosity, and that of the outflow velocity, , permit the determination of , i.e. the total outflow rate, without making assumptions about the abundance of the dust particles or of the molecular gases. Detached envelopes have been seen in a few cases. Thermal molecular radiation is faint compared to the maser emission but has been measured in distant stars, e.g. in stars near the galactic center. Different molecules outline different “spheres” around the star. The largest sphere (a radius of 0.1 pc) is outlined by an emission line belonging to the CO() transition. Higher rotational transitions of CO give smaller diameters. A comparison of CO () and () fluxes in stars with very thick envelopes leads to the conclusion that an abrupt decrease in the mass–loss rate occurred some ten thousand years ago. Three molecules produce each several maser lines: SiO, HO and OH. Several new HO lines have recently been discovered; their exploration has hardly been started. The high intensity of the maser lines makes interferometry possible and hence detailed mapping. The SiO lines are formed deep in the envelope, below the dust condensation layer. OH maser lines are produced farthest out, HO lines in between. The excitation mechanisms for most maser lines is understood globally, but detailed models are lacking, largely because the problem is non–linear and the solution of the radiative transfer equation requires a highly anisotropic geometry. The geometrical and kinematical properties of the 1612 MHz OH maser, which in many objects is very strong, are explained by a thin shell of OH; because the angular diameter of the shell can be measured directly and the linear diameter can be determined from the difference in the time of maximum flux of blue and red maser peaks, the distance of the shell and of the star can be measured. The presence or absence of individual maser lines appears to depend on the value of and is well described by a sequence called “Lewis' chronology”. The central star is a long–period variable with a period of 300 days or longer and with a large luminosity amplitude (). Evidence is given that each star has the maximum luminosity it will reach during its evolution and that it is a thermally–pulsing Asymptotic–Giant–Branch star (TP–AGB) with a main–sequence mass between 1 and 6 . Stars of the same main–sequence mass, , have different mass–loss rates, in some cases by a factor of 10. The mass–loss rate probably increases with time, and the highest mass–loss rates are reached toward the end of the evolution. Stars with higher ultimately reach higher mass–loss rates. The calibration of the main–sequence mass is reviewed. Most Mira variables with mass loss have a mass between 1.0 and 1.2 . OH/IR stars with periods over 1000 days have no counterparts among the carbon stars and thus have . Stars as discussed in this review have been found only in the thin galactic disk and in the bulge. Finally I review several recently proposed scenarios for TP–AGB evolution in which mass loss is taken into account. These scenarios represent the observations quite well; their major short–coming is the lack of an explanation why the central stars are always large–amplitude, long–period variables and why such stars are the ones with high mass–loss rates. Received: 10 January 1996     

The structure of circumstellar envelopes

Copious mass loss on the Asymptotic Giant Branch dominates the late stages of stellar evolution. Maps of extended circumstellar envelopes provide a history of mass loss and trace out anisotropic mass loss. This review concentrates on observations of millimeter wavelength molecular line emission, on high resolution maps of maser emission and on observations of submillimeter, millimeter and radio wavelength continuum emission. Radio continuum observations show that AGB stars are larger at radio than at optical wavelengths. The extended chromospheres indicated by these observations extend to distances from the star large enough for dust to form, thereby initiating mass loss. Molecular line maps have found time-variable mass loss for some stars, including detached shells indicating interrupted mass loss and evidence for a rapid increase in the mass loss rate at the end of the AGB phase. Maps of circumstellar envelopes show evidence of flattening, bipolar outflow and angular variations in both the mass loss rate and the outflow velocity. As stars evolve away from the AGB and planetary nebula formation begins, these structures become more pronounced, and fast bipolar molecular winds are observed. The time scales derived from the dynamical times of these winds and from the expansion rates of the central planetary nebulae are very rapid in some cases, about 100 years, in agreement with the predictions of stellar evolution theory.     

对OH/IR星演化的模型研究

渐近巨星分支恒星 (AGB星 )是一种晚期演化恒星 ,它是恒星作为以核反应释能为发光能源的天体的最后演化阶段。AGB星阶段的恒星具有许多有趣的性质 ,如很大的质量损失率 (因此形成很厚的拱星尘埃气体包层 ) ,光变 ,热脉动 (或He闪耀 ) ,强的红外超量发射 ,分子脉泽发射等 ,弄清AGB星的演化规律是研究恒星演化理论的重要任务。目前人们所知道的AGB星的演化图景是 ,恒星经过漫长的主序演化之后 ,将经过红巨星 (RGB)阶段 ,然后才进入AGB阶段 ,在其演化过程中AGB星的光度和质量损失率要逐渐增大 ,它的光变周期也逐渐变长 ,在其中心星经历了一系列的由He核反应不稳定性引起的热脉动之后 ,它的质量损失很快停止 ,恒星开始向行星状星云 (PN)演化 ,最后行星状星云将会变成一个白矮星 ,这将是许多初始质量不很大的恒星的最终结局。OH/IR星阶段是AGB星演化的一个阶段 ,OH/IR星是那些质量稍大的恒星在AGB阶段后期演化而成的天体。现阶段人们对OH/IR星的具体演化过程还知道得很少。我们利用了球对称包层中的尘埃辐射转移模型来研究OH/IR星的演化性质 ,并且收集了尽量多的具有可靠距离的OH/IR星来研究他们的光度和质量损失率的演化性质。在本文的研究工作中 ,我们主要讨论了OH/IR星在远红外双色图中的分布规律 ,还发现     

Long-term monitoring of the long-period variable Y Cassiopeiae in the 1.35-cm water-vapor line

Observations of the circumstellar maser emission from the long-period variable star Y Cas in the 1.35-cm water-vapor line are presented. The observations were performed with the RT-22 radio telescope at the Pushchino Radio Astronomy Observatory (Astrospace Center, Lebedev Physical Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences) in the period 1982–2005. The variations in the integrated flux F_int in the H₂O line correlate with the visual light curve of the star. The phase delay Δ? between the F_int variations and the light curve is 0.2–0.4P (P is the period of the star). The H₂O maser Y Cas belongs to transient sources: peaks of high maser activity alternate with intervals of a low emission level when the H₂O-line flux does not exceed (0.1–0.5) × 10^?20 W m^?2. A “superperiod” of ～5.7 yr was found in the occurrence of activity peaks. A particularly strong maximum of maser radio emission took place at the end of 1997, when the flux F_int reached 15.6 × 10^?20 W m^?2. A model for the H₂O maser variability in Y Cas is discussed. The variability is caused by a periodic action of shock waves driven by stellar pulsations. The H₂O maser flares may be associated with short-lived episodes of enhanced mass loss by the star or with the propagation of a particularly strong shock wave when a planet orbiting the star passes through its periastron.     

A study of the maser source NML CYG

In analysing Masheder's observations of the OH 1612 MHz maser source in the direction of NML Cyg, I introduce a new idea, namely that the red-shifted and blue-shifted components originate in different shells of the circumstellar envelope. A self-consistent picture of velocity field, mass loss rate, coherent length and pumping mechanism is then obtainable which agrees with all the observations. The SiO non-maser emission appears to be a good indicator of the radial velocity of the central star and the velocity field of the envelope.     

Magnetic field evolution of accreting neutron stars – IV. Effect of the curvature of space–time

We report near-infrared molecular hydrogen and Brackett γ observations towards the massive star formation site G323.74−0.26. The region contains an H  ii region, ∼30 arcsec across, and two Class II methanol maser sites, which are separate from the H  ii region. We show that the spectral type of the star powering the H  ii region is B0. We also show that at least one of the maser sites is powered by an infrared source that appears to be at least as luminous as the star responsible for the H  ii region. However, neither of the two stars associated with the methanol maser sites shows any signs of radio continuum emission above 0.2 mJy. For at least one of these maser sites, this shows a real deficiency in the radio continuum flux, which we suggest is an indication that the star is in an early stage of development, before its H  ii region becomes visible, or it is a multiple intermediate mass star system. A shocked molecular hydrogen outflow is seen extending from one of the maser sites towards the west and possibly in a fan shape, suggesting that the stars associated with the maser sites are indeed at a very early stage of evolution.     

Determining the period of the long-period activity of the water-vapor maser in W75N

We present the results of our study of the H₂O maser emission from the source W75N, which is associated with a star-forming region, between November 1994 and March 1999. The observations were carried out with the RT-22 radio telescope of the Pushchino Radio Astronomy Observatory (Lebedev Physical Institute). The maser emission in 1994–1999 can be represented as a superposition of flares of separate components with a duration from two to six months, which occurred mainly in the radial-velocity range 8–17.5 km s^?1. We detected a regular drift of the velocity centroid from 13 to 9 km s^?1 and an abrupt change in its velocity from 9 to 5 km s^?1, which took place at the initial stage of maser activity. Based on the variability of the total H₂O flux in all years of our observations of W75N (from December 1979 through March 1999), we conclude that the long-period variability of the water-vapor maser emission has a period of ～11.5 years. We give arguments that this variability is mainly associated with the most compact group of maser spots, whose positions coincide with the position of the continuum source VLA 2.     

Resolved OH megamaser emission in the nuclear region of the ultraluminous infrared galaxy Markarian 273

We present high angular resolution MERLIN observations of the 18-cm OH maser and continuum emission associated with the active core of the ultraluminous infrared galaxy Markarian 273. The continuum emission comes from three distinct regions in the central arcsecond of the galaxy. The brightest region of emission has a double-peaked structure which is spatially coincident with similar structures observed at 6 cm and 2.2 μm. The peak of the OH maser emission is spatially coincident with the peak in the continuum. For the first time the maser emission is spatially resolved, allowing us to measure the gas motion within the central 100 pc of the galaxy. Maser emission is found in both the 1665- and 1667-MHz lines, with no systematic offset found in the spatial locations of the two lines. The brighter component of the maser emission shows ordered motion and is aligned along the axis of the double-peaked structure in the brightest continuum region. The gas motion enables us to estimate the central mass density to be 850±50 M_⊙ pc⁻³, which corresponds to a total mass of ≈1.5×10⁸ M_⊙.     

Full polarization structure of the OH main-line maser envelopes of W Hydrae

Simultaneous MERLIN observations of the OH 1665- and 1667-MHz maser lines in the circumstellar envelope of the semiregular star W Hya have been taken in all Stokes parameters. The 1665-MHz emission comes from two elongated clusters located 80 au from the star. The 1667-MHz emission arises in an incomplete shell of radius 130 au, with the blueshifted features located in the northern part of the envelope and the redshifted components clustered south of the centre. The circularly polarized maser components exhibit spatial separation along the north–south direction. The linearly polarized components were found from the near side of the envelope. Their polarization position angles indicate that the projected axis of the magnetic field at PA ≃ −20° is consistent with spatial segregation of circular polarization. The intensity of the magnetic field, estimated from a tentative measurement of Zeeman splitting, is about 0.6 mG at the location of the 1667-MHz emission, with the field pointing away from the observer. A small change of position angles of linear polarization observed in both maser lines is interpreted as a weak Faraday effect in the maser regions with an electron density of about 2 cm⁻³. The overall polarization structure of the envelope suggests an ellipsoidal or weak bipolar geometry. In such a configuration, the circumstellar magnetic field may exert a non-negligible influence on mass loss. The velocity field in the circumstellar envelope recovered from observations of SiO, H₂O, OH and CO lines at five radial distances reveals a logarithmic velocity gradient of 0.25 and 0.21 in the 1665- and 1667-MHz maser regions respectively. The acceleration within tens of stellar radii cannot be explained by the classical model of radiation pressure on dust.     

The H2O maser toward IRAS 06308+0402

We present the monitoring results for the H₂O maser toward the infrared source IRAS 06308+0402 associated with a dense cold molecular cloud. The observations were carried out with the 22-m radio telescope at the Pushchino Radio Astronomy Observatory (Russia) during 1992–2003. The H₂O maser was discovered in May 1992 (Pashchenko 1992) during a survey of IRAS sources associated with dense cold clouds with bipolar molecular outflows. The H₂O spectrum contains many emission features, suggesting the fragmentation of the envelope around a young star. The star has a low peculiar velocity relative to the CO molecular cloud (～2.2 km s^?1). We found a cyclic variability of the total maser flux with a period from 1.8 to 3.1 yr.     

Testing the 'clump' model of SiO maser emission

Building on the detection of the J =7–6 SiO maser emission in both the v =1 and v =2 vibrational states towards the symbiotic Mira R Aquarii, we have used the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope to study the changes in the SiO maser features from R Aqr over a stellar pulsational period. The observations, complemented by contemporaneous data taken at 86 GHz, represent a test of the popular thermal-instability clump models of SiO masers. The 'clump' model of SiO maser emission considers the SiO masers to be discrete emitting regions which differ from their surroundings in the values of one or more physical variables (SiO abundance, for example). We find that our observational data are consistent with a clump model in which the appearance of maser emission in the J =7–6 transitions coincides with an outward-moving shock impinging on the inner edge of the maser zone.     

Simulating H2O Maser Emission in the Mass Outflows from Evolved Stars

The combination of a time-dependent spherically symmetric hydrodynamic model of stellar atmosphere pulsation and a radiation transport code, which incorporates maser saturation theory, enabled us to synthesise maps and spectra of H₂O maser emission from the circumstellar envelopes of long period variable stars. The synthetic maps and spectra compare favourably with observed 22, 321 and 325 GHz H₂O maser emission. As is observed in H₂O maser regions the peak emission occurs between 3–8 stellar radii from the star. The calculated H₂O maser regions are in conditions of n_H2 = 10⁶ − 10⁸ cm⁻³, assuming a fractional abundance of 10⁻⁴; kinetic temperatures of 550–3000 K; dust ensemble temperatures of 500–1200 K and an accelerating velocity field. The IR radiation field is explicitly included in the radiation transport model, incorporating the latest absorption efficiency data for silicates from Draine. We reproduce the features seen in high angular resolution MERLIN spectral line datacubes. This shows that a mass outflow model which extends the photosphere using pulsations and incorporates radiation pressure on silicate based dust particles can produce the observed data on small (10-mas) angular scales. This revised version was published online in September 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Statistical Properties of 6.7 GHz Methanol Maser Sources

We present a statistical analysis of 482 6.7 GHz methanol maser sources from the available literature, on their maser emission and the characteristics of their associated infrared sources. On the color-color diagram, more than 70% of the objects fall within a very small region (0.57 ≤ [25 - 12] ≤ 1.30 and 1.30 ≤[60 - 12] ≤ 2.50). This suggests that 6.7 GHz methanol maser emission occurs only within a very short evolutionary phase during the earliest stage of star formation. The velocity ranges of the masers belong to two main groups: one from 1 to 10 km s^-1, and one from about 11 to 20 km s^-1. These velocity ranges indicate that the masers are probably associated with both disks and outflows. The correlations between the maser and infrared flux densities, and between the maser and infrared luminosities, suggest that far-infrared radiation is a possible pumping mechanism for the masers which most probably originate from some outer molecular envelopes or disks.     

Radio continuum emission associated with Class II methanol maser sources

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.     

Multi-Wavelength Studies on H2O Maser Host Galaxies

H₂O maser emissions have been found in external galaxies for more than 30 years. Main sciences associated with extragalactic H₂O masers can be summarized roughly into three parts: maser emission itself, AGN sciences and cosmology exploration. Our work in this field focusses on two projects: X-ray data analysis of individual maser source using X-ray penetrability to explore maser host obscured AGN; multi-wavelength statistical properties of the whole published H₂O maser sample. Here their nuclear radio properties were investigated in detail, based on their 6-cm and 20-cm radio observation data. Comparing the radio properties between maser-detected sources and non-detected sources at similar distance scale, we find that: (1) maser host galaxies tend to have higher nuclear radio luminosity; (2) the spectral index of both samples is comparable (～0.6), within the error ranges. In addition, for AGN-maser sources, the isotropic maser luminosity tends to increase with rising radio luminosity. Thus we propose the nuclear radio luminosity as one good indicator for searching AGN-masers in the future.     

On radiative pumping of interstellar methanol masers

From the observed data of 17 Class-II methanol masers and their asociated HII regions and infrared sources and using the maser photon emission rate and the brightness temperature as two constraints on the pump, we conclude that infrared sources with a brightness temperature of about 100 K and a photon rate of about 10⁵³s⁻¹, associated with compact HII regions are the most probable pumping source     

W3(OH)致密HⅡ区磁场研究

本文以W3(OH)为实例,建立了与OH脉泽成协的HII区气体-尘埃壳层的磁场模型,由此可见,致密HII区所在分子云核心中的磁场强度,与分子云核心的分子数密度之间存在指数α=1/2的幂律关系;而在HII区气体-尘埃壳层中,磁场强度与分子数密度之间存在α=1的正比关系,根据讨论可知,与OH脉泽成协的HII区,其气体-尘埃壳层的分子数密度为10~6cm~(-3)量级,磁场强度为几个mG;一旦分子数密度达10~7cm~(-3)量级,OH脉泽便将熄灭。