No Arabic abstract
We present results of a multi-epoch monitoring program on variability of 6$,$cm formaldehyde (H$_2$CO) masers in the massive star forming region NGC$,$7538$,$IRS$,$1 from 2008 to 2015 conducted with the GBT, WSRT, and VLA. We found that the similar variability behaviors of the two formaldehyde maser velocity components in NGC$,$7538$,$IRS$,$1 (which was pointed out by Araya and collaborators in 2007) have continued. The possibility that the variability is caused by changes in the maser amplification path in regions with similar morphology and kinematics is discussed. We also observed 12.2$,$GHz methanol and 22.2$,$GHz water masers toward NGC$,$7538$,$IRS$,$1. The brightest maser components of CH$_3$OH and H$_2$O species show a decrease in flux density as a function of time. The brightest H$_2$CO maser component also shows a decrease in flux density and has a similar LSR velocity to the brightest H$_2$O and 12.2$,$GHz CH$_3$OH masers. The line parameters of radio recombination lines and the 20.17 and 20.97$,$GHz CH$_3$OH transitions in NGC$,$7538$,$IRS$,$1 are also reported. In addition, we observed five other 6$,$cm formaldehyde maser regions. We found no evidence of significant variability of the 6$,$cm masers in these regions with respect to previous observations, the only possible exception being the maser in G29.96$-$0.02. All six sources were also observed in the H$_2^{13}$CO isotopologue transition of the 6$,$cm H$_2$CO line; H$_2^{13}$CO absorption was detected in five of the sources. Estimated column density ratios [H$_2^{12}$CO]/[H$_2^{13}$CO] are reported.
(Abridged) We present a large sample of o-H$_2$D$^+$ observations in high-mass star-forming regions and discuss possible empirical correlations with relevant physical quantities to assess its role as a chronometer of star-forming regions through different evolutionary stages. APEX observations of the ground-state transition of o-H$_2$D$^+$ were analysed in a sample of massive clumps selected from ATLASGAL at different evolutionary stages. Column densities and beam-averaged abundances of o-H$_2$D$^+$ with respect to H$_2$, $X$(o-H$_2$D$^+$), were obtained by modelling the spectra under the assumption of local thermodynamic equilibrium. We detect 16 sources in o-H$_2$D$^+$ and find clear correlations between $X$(o-H$_2$D$^+$) and the clump bolometric luminosity and the dust temperature, while only a mild correlation is found with the CO-depletion factor. In addition, we see a clear correlation with the luminosity-to-mass ratio, which is known to trace the evolution of the star formation process. This would indicate that the deuterated forms of H$_3^+$ are more abundant in the early stages of the star formation process and that deuteration is influenced by the time evolution of the clumps. In this respect, our findings would suggest that the $X$(o-H$_2$D$^+$) abundance is mainly affected by the thermal changes rather than density changes in the gas. We have employed these findings together with observations of H$^{13}$CO$^+$, DCO$^+$, and C$^{17}$O to provide an estimate of the cosmic-ray ionisation rate in a sub-sample of eight clumps based on recent analytical work. Our study presents the largest sample of o-H$_2$D$^+$ in star-forming regions to date. The results confirm that the deuteration process is strongly affected by temperature and suggests that o-H$_2$D$^+$ can be considered a reliable chemical clock during the star formation processes, as proved by its strong temporal dependence.
Maser emission plays an important role as a tool in star formation studies. It is widely used for deriving kinematics, as well as the physical conditions of different structures, hidden in the dense environment very close to the young stars, for example associated with the onset of jets and outflows. We will summarize the recent observational and theoretical progress on this topic since the last maser symposium: the IAU Symposium 242 in Alice Springs.
The formation of deuterated molecules is favoured at low temperatures and high densities. Therefore, the deuteration fraction D$_{frac}$ is expected to be enhanced in cold, dense prestellar cores and to decrease after protostellar birth. Previous studies have shown that the deuterated forms of species such as N2H+ (formed in the gas phase) and CH3OH (formed on grain surfaces) can be used as evolutionary indicators and to constrain their dominant formation processes and time-scales. Formaldehyde (H2CO) and its deuterated forms can be produced both in the gas phase and on grain surfaces. However, the relative importance of these two chemical pathways is unclear. Comparison of the deuteration fraction of H2CO with respect to that of N2H+, NH3 and CH3OH can help us to understand its formation processes and time-scales. With the new SEPIA Band 5 receiver on APEX, we have observed the J=3-2 rotational lines of HDCO and D2CO at 193 GHz and 175 GHz toward three massive star forming regions hosting objects at different evolutionary stages: two High-mass Starless Cores (HMSC), two High-mass Protostellar Objects (HMPOs), and one Ultracompact HII region (UCHII). By using previously obtained H2CO J=3-2 data, the deuteration fractions HDCO/H2CO and D2CO/HDCO are estimated. Our observations show that singly-deuterated H2CO is detected toward all sources and that the deuteration fraction of H2CO increases from the HMSC to the HMPO phase and then sharply decreases in the latest evolutionary stage (UCHII). The doubly-deuterated form of H2CO is detected only in the earlier evolutionary stages with D2CO/H2CO showing a pattern that is qualitatively consistent with that of HDCO/H2CO, within current uncertainties. Our initial results show that H2CO may display a similar D$_{frac}$ pattern as that of CH3OH in massive young stellar objects. This finding suggests that solid state reactions dominate its formation.
We measured the trigonometric annual parallax of H$_2$O maser source associated with the massive star-forming regions IRAS 06061+2151 with VERA. The annual parallax of $0.496pm0.031$ mas corresponding to a distance of $2.02^{+0.13}_{-0.12}$ kpc was obtained by 10 epochs of observations from 2007 October to 2009 September. This distance was obtained with a higher accuracy than the photometric distance previously measured, and places IRAS 06061+2151 in the Perseus spiral arm. We found that IRAS 06061+2151 also has a peculiar motion of larger than 15 km s$^{-1}$ counter to the Galactic rotation. That is similar to five sources in the Perseus spiral arm, whose parallaxes and proper motions have already been measured with higher accuracy. Moreover, these sources move at on average 27 km s$^{-1}$ toward the Galactic center and counter to the Galactic rotation.
An overview is given of the analysis of more than a decade of H2O maser data from our monitoring program. We find the maser emission to generally depend on the luminosity of the YSO as well as on the geometry of the SFR. There appears to be a threshold luminosity of a few times 10**4 Lsol above and below which we find different maser characteristics.