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3 years ago in Astronomy , Astrophysics By Preetham M
How are OH, H2O, and CH3OH masers related in star-forming regions?
I'm reducing data from a multi-transition maser survey towards a high-mass protostellar object. I have detected all three species, but they're not co-located. I need a clearer framework for interpreting their spatial segregation in terms of temperature, density, and dynamical processes like outflows and shocks to build a coherent picture of the region's evolution.
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By Pravin Patel Answered 3 years ago
From my own interferometric mapping, I treat these masers as a nested set of physical diagnostics. OH masers typically trace the wider, magnetized envelope; their polarization gives you the magnetic field. CH3OH masers often appear in a ring-like structure a few thousand AU out, marking where radiation begins to pump the molecules, often associated with protostellar disks or outflows. H2O masers are your signpost for violence they pinpoint the narrow, dense jets where material is slamming into the surrounding cloud at high speed. Their velocity spread directly measures the shock kinematics.
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