A MERLIN survey of 4.7-GHz excited OH masers in star-forming regions

Authors: L. Harvey-Smith; R. J. Cohen

Source: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Volume 356, Number 2, January 2004 , pp. 637-646(10)

Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

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Abstract:

Phase-referenced observations of 13 star-forming regions in the ²

_1/2, J= 1/2 transition of rotationally excited OH at 4765 MHz have been carried out using MERLIN. Two of the regions were also observed at 4750 MHz and one at 4660 MHz. There were 10 maser detections at 4765 MHz and three non-detections. There were no detections at 4750 and 4660 MHz. The 4765-MHz masers have brightness temperatures of sim

10⁷ K at MERLIN resolution ( sim

50 mas). Several cases of 4765-MHz masers overlapping in position and velocity with 1720- and 1665-MHz masers are reported. There are also isolated 4765-MHz masers with peak flux densities

30 times that of any ground-state counterpart. Most of the 4.7-GHz maser spots are unresolved at 50-mas angular resolution, but in four of the nearest sources the maser spots are resolved, indicating a characteristic size for 4765-MHz maser regions of sim

100 au. In W3(OH) we discovered that 20 per cent of the 4765-MHz emission comes from a narrow low-brightness filament that stretches north–south for sim

1.0 arcec ( sim

2200 au) between two previously known 4765-MHz maser spots. The filament appears in projection against the H iiregion and has a brightness temperature of sim

4 × 10⁵ K . There are matching absorption features in mainline transitions of highly excited OH. The filament may trace a shock front in a rotating disc.

Keywords: masers; stars: formation; ISM: individual: W3(OH); ISM: individual: NGC 7538; ISM: molecules; radio lines: ISM

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2966.2004.08485.x

Affiliations: 1: University of Manchester, Jodrell Bank Observatory, Macclesfield, Cheshire, SK11 9DL

Publication date: 2004-01-01