Understanding Massive Star Formation through Maser Imaging

Imaging the bright maser emission produced by several molecular species at centimeter wavelengths is an essential tool for understanding the process of massive star formation because it provides a way to probe the kinematics of dense molecular gas at high angular resolution. Unimpeded by the high dust optical depths that affect shorter wavelength observations, the high brightness temperature of these emission lines offers a way to resolve accretion and outflow motions down to scales as fine as ∼1-10 au in deeply embedded Galactic star-forming regions, and at sub-pc scales in nearby galaxies. The next generation Very Large Array will provide the capabilities needed to fully exploit these powerful tracers.