Abstract
Recently, a comparison between the locations of 6.7-GHz methanol masers and dust continuum emission has renewed speculation that these masers can be associated with evolved stars. The implication of such a scenario would be profound, especially for the interpretation of large surveys for 6.7-GHz masers, individual studies where high-mass star formation has been inferred from the presence of 6.7-GHz methanol masers and for the pumping mechanisms of these masers. We have investigated the two instances where 6.7-GHz methanol masers have been explicitly suggested to be associated with evolved stars, and we find the first to be associated with a standard high-mass star formation region, and the second to be a spurious detection.We also find no evidence to suggest that the methanol maser action can be supported in the environments of evolved stars.We thereby confirm their exclusive association with high-mass star formation regions.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 524-530 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society |
Volume | 435 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Oct 2013 |
Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
Copyright 2013 The Authors. First published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 435(1), 524-530. The original publication is available at https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stt1315, published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society. Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.Keywords
- ISM :
- Masers
- Molecules
- Stars :Formation