Massive star formation

In summary, the authors discuss their research on infrared observations of masers and how they provide new insights into the star formation process. Their surveys show that maser emission is closely associated with mid-infrared emission and often trace outflows or shocks, rather than circumstellar disks as previously thought. This demonstrates that masers can serve as useful tracers for early stages of massive stellar life before the formation of UC HII regions.
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wolram
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http://arxiv.org/PS_cache/astro-ph/pdf/0506/0506156.pdf [Broken]

Title: Masers and the Massive Star Formation Process: New Insights Through Infrared Observations
Authors: James M. De Buizer (1), James T. Radomski (1,2), Charles M. Telesco (2), Robert K. Pina (3) ((1) Gemini Observatory, (2) University of Florida, (3) Photon Research Associates)
Comments: 6 pages, 3 figures, to appear in the proceedings of IAU Symposium 227: "Massive Star Birth: A Crossroads of Astrophysics", version with full-resolution images available at this http URL

Our mid-infrared and near-infrared surveys over the last five years have helped to strengthen and clarify the relationships between water, methanol, and OH masers and the star formation process. Our surveys show that maser emission seems to be more closely associated with mid-infrared emission than cm radio continuum emission from UC HII regions. We find that masers of all molecular species surveyed trace a wide variety of phenomena and show a proclivity for linear distributions. The vast majority of these linear distributions can be explained by outflows or shocks, and in general do not appear to trace circumstellar disks as was previously thought. Some water and methanol masers that are not associated with radio continuum emission appear to trace infrared-bright hot cores, the earliest observable stage of massive stellar life before the onset of a UC HII region.
 
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  • #2
Can someone explain what ,"masers", are ? and how the IR observation
of same help to explain early star formation.
 
  • #3
wolram said:
Can someone explain what ,"masers", are ? and how the IR observation
of same help to explain early star formation.
Here is an introductory page about masers.

http://einstein.stanford.edu/content/faqs/maser.html
 
  • #4
Thanks Turbo.
now i know what a maser is, how do they explain star formation?
 

What is massive star formation?

Massive star formation is the process by which large, hot, and luminous stars are created from dense clouds of gas and dust within a galaxy.

What triggers massive star formation?

The trigger for massive star formation is typically a disturbance or compression of a molecular cloud, such as a shock wave from a nearby supernova or the collision of two molecular clouds.

How long does it take for a massive star to form?

The time it takes for a massive star to form can vary, but it typically ranges from a few hundred thousand years to a few million years.

What is the main factor that determines the mass of a massive star?

The main factor that determines the mass of a massive star is the amount of material in the molecular cloud that is available for the star to form from. The more material there is, the larger the star can potentially become.

What happens to the remaining material in a molecular cloud after a massive star forms?

The remaining material in a molecular cloud can either continue to collapse and form more stars, or be blown away by the intense radiation and winds from the newly formed massive star.

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