The fine spatial structure of methanol masers
Abstract
The results of mapping the structure of five methanol masers (M8E, W33Met, G14.33-0.64, L379IRS3, and GGD27) in the 7_0-6_1 A+ transition at 7 mm with an angular resolution of 0.1" are presented. Some masers form chains of bright, unresolved maser spots, extended along curved lines or arcs. The length of these arcs is from 20 to 1000 AU. The brightness temperatures of the strongest masers exceed 3.6 x 10^8 K. The distributions of the maser spots are consistent with the hypothesis that they originate at interfaces between molecular outflows and ambient molecular clouds.
- Publication:
-
Astronomy Reports
- Pub Date:
- December 1999
- Bibcode:
- 1999ARep...43..785S