Department of Astronomy, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
Abstract:
We notice that the second kind of astronomical methanol maser with strong emission always coexists at both 6.7 GHz and 12.2 GHz and in association with compact H II regions and we are led to propose a new excitation mechanism —maser amplification of the 6.7 GHz maser wothout population inversion. We show that this mechanism is compatible with the astronomical conditions and that it and other mechanisms are not mutually exclusive, rather it may serve as a useful complement.