Koichiro Sugiyama

DIRECT DIAGNOSTICS OF FORMING MASSIVE STARS: STELLAR PULSATION AND PERIODIC VARIABILITY OF MASER SOURCES

The 6.7 GHz methanol maser emission, a tracer of forming massive stars, sometimes shows enigmatic periodic flux variations over several 10-100 days. In this Letter, we propose that these periodic variations could be explained by the pulsation of massive protostars growing under rapid mass accretion with rates of . Our stellar evolution calculations predict that the massive protostars have very large radii exceeding 100 R ☉ at maximum, and here we study the pulsational stability of such bloated protostars by way of the linear stability analysis. We show that the protostar becomes pulsationally unstable with various periods of several 10-100 days depending on different accretion rates. With the fact that the stellar luminosity when the star is pulsationally unstable also depends on the accretion rate, we derive the period-luminosity relation log (L/ L ☉) = 4.62 + 0.98log (P/100 days), which is testable with future observations. Our models further show that the radius and mass of the pulsating massive protostar should also depend on the period. It would be possible to infer such protostellar properties and the accretion rate with the observed period. Measuring the maser periods enables a direct diagnosis of the structure of accreting massive protostars, which are deeply embedded in dense gas and are inaccessible with other observations.

Rotating and infalling motion around the high-mass young stellar object Cepheus A-HW2 observed with the methanol maser at 6.7 GHz

Context. Proper motion observations of masers can provide information on dynamic motions on scales of a few milliarcseconds per year (mas yr −1 ) at radii of 100–1000 au scales from central young stellar objects (YSOs). Aims. The 6.7 GHz methanol masers are one of the best probes for investigations of the dynamics of high-mass YSOs, and in particular for tracing the rotating disk. We have measured the internal proper motions of the 6.7 GHz methanol masers associated with Cepheus A (Cep A) HW2 using Very Long Baseline Interferometery (VLBI) observations. Methods. We conducted three epochs of VLBI monitoring observations of the 6.7 GHz methanol masers in Cep A-HW2 with the Japanese VLBI Network (JVN) over the period 2006–2008. In 2006, we were able to use phase-referencing to measure the absolute coordinates of the maser emission with an accuracy of a few milliarcseconds. We compared the maser distribution with other molecular line observations that trace the rotating disk. Results. We measured the internal proper motions for 29 methanol maser spots, of which 19 were identified at all three epochs and the remaining ten at only two epochs. The magnitude of proper motions ranged from 0.2 to 7.4 km s −1 , with an average of 3.1 km s −1 . Although there are large uncertainties in the observed internal proper motions of the methanol maser spots in Cep A, they are well fitted by a disk that includes both rotation and infall velocity components. The derived rotation and infall velocities at the disk radius of 680 au are 0.5 ± 0. 7a nd 1.8 ± 0. 7k m s −1 , respectively. Conclusions. Assuming that the modeled disk motion accurately represents the accretion disk around the Cep A-HW2 high-mass

THE FIRST VERY LONG BASELINE INTERFEROMETRY IMAGE OF A 44 GHz METHANOL MASER WITH THE KVN AND VERA ARRAY (KaVA)

We have carried out the first very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) imaging of a 44 GHz classI methanol maser (70‐61A + ) associated with a millimeter core MM2 in a massive star-forming region IRAS 18151−1208 with KaVA (KVN and VERA Array), which is a newly combined array of KVN (Korean VLBI Network) and VERA (VLBI Exploration of Radio Astrometry). We have succeeded in imaging compact maser features with a synthesized beam sizeof2.7milliarcseconds ×1.5milliarcseconds(mas).Thesefeaturesaredetectedatalimitednumber ofbaselines within the length of shorter than ≈ 650 km corresponding to 100 Mλ in the uv-coverage. The central velocity and the velocity width of the 44 GHz methanol maser are consistent with those of the quiescent gas rather than the outflow traced by the SiO thermal line. The minimum component size among the maser features is ∼5mas×2mas, which corresponds to the linear size of ∼15 AU × 6 AU assuming a distance of 3 kpc. The brightness temperatures of these features range from ∼3.5 × 10 8 to 1.0 × 10 10 K, which are higher than the estimated lower limit from a previous Very Large Array observation with the highest spatial resolution of ∼50 mas. The 44 GHz classI methanol maser in IRAS 18151−1208 is found to be associated with the MM2 core, which is thought to be less evolved than another millimeter core MM1 associated with the 6.7 GHz classII methanol maser.

Mapping Observations of 6.7GHz Methanol Masers with the Japanese VLBI Network

We have observed 13 methanol maser sources associated with massive star-forming regions: W 3(OH), Mon R2, S 255, W 33A, IRAS 18151� 1208, G 24.78+0.08, G 29.95� 0.02, IRAS 18556+0136, W 48, OH 43.8� 0.1, ON 1, Cep A, and NGC 7538 at 6.7 GHz using the Japanese VLBI Network (JVN). Twelve of the thirteen sources were detected at our longest baseline of � 50 M� , and their images are presented. Seven of them are the first VLBI images at 6.7 GHz. The high detection rate and the small fringe spacing of � 4 mas suggest that most of the methanol maser sources have compact structures. Given this compactness as well as the known properties of long life and small internal motion, the methanol maser line is suitable for astrometry with VLBI.

Periodic flare of the 6.7-GHz methanol maser in IRAS 22198+6336

We have detected periodic flares of the 6.7 GHz methanol maser from an intermediate-mass star-forming region IRAS22198+6336. The maser was monitored daily in 2011, 2012, and 2013. Six flares were observed with a period of 34.6 days. The variation pattern is intermittent, and the flux ratio of the flaring and the quiescent states exceeds 30. Such intermittent variation with the short period uniquely characterizes the variation of the IRAS22198+6336 maser. At least five spectral components were identified. The spectral components varied almost synchronously, but their peak times differed by 1.8 days. These characteristics can be explained by the colliding-wind binary model.

Observations of 6.7 GHz methanol masers with East-Asian VLBI Network. I. VLBI images of the first epoch of observations

Very-long-baseline interferometry (VLBI) monitoring of the 6.7 GHz methanol maser allows us to measure the internal proper motion of maser spots and therefore study the gas motion around high-mass young stellar objects. To this end, we have begun monitoring observations with the East-Asian VLBI Network. In this paper we present the results of the first epoch observation for 36 sources, including 35 VLBI images of the methanol maser. Since two independent sources were found in three images, images of 38 sources were obtained. In 34 sources, 10 or more spots were detected. The observed spatial scale of the maser distribution was from 9 to 4900 astronomical units, and the following morphological categories were observed: elliptical, arched, linear, paired, and complex. The position of the maser spot was determined with an accuracy of approximately 0.1 mas, which is sufficiently high to measure the internal proper motion from two years of monitoring observations. The VLBI observation, however, detected only approximately 20% of all maser emissions, suggesting that the remaining 80% of the total flux was spread into an undetectable extended distribution. Therefore, in addition to high-resolution observations, it is important to observe the whole structure of the maser emission including extended low-brightness structures, in order to reveal the associated site of the maser and gas motion.

Bursting Activity in a High-Mass Star-Forming Region G33.64-0.21 Observed with the 6.7 GHz Methanol Maser

We report on the detection of bursts of 6.7 GHz methanol maser emission in a high-mass star-forming region, G33.64� 0.21. One of the spectral components of the maser in this source changed its flux density by 7 times that of the previous day, and it decayed with a timescale of 5 days. The burst occurred repeatedly in the spectral component, and no other components showed such variability. A VLBI observation with the Japanese VLBI Network (JVN) showed that the burst location was at the southwest edge of a spatial distribution, and the bursting phenomenon occurred in a region much smaller than 70 AU. We suggest an impulsive energy release, like a stellar flare, as a possible mechanism for the burst. These results imply that 6.7 GHz methanol masers could be a useful new probe for studying bursting activity in the process of the star formation of high-mass YSOs with a high-resolution of AU scale.

A Synchronized Variation of the 6.7GHz Methanol Maser in Cepheus A

We present the results of monitoring observations of a 6.7 GHz methanol maser in Cepheus A (Cep A) using the Yamaguchi 32 m radio telescope and of imaging observations conducted with the JVN (Japanese VLBI Network). We identified five spectral features, which are grouped into two groupes: redshifted (� 1.9 and � 2.7 km s � 1 )a nd blueshifted (� 3.8, � 4.2, and � 4.9 km s � 1 ). We detected rapid variabilities in these maser features within a monitoring period of 81 d. The redshifted features decreased in flux density to 50% of the initial value, while the blueshifted ones rapidly increased within 30 d. The time variation in these maser features had two remarkable properties: synchronization and negative correlation between the redshifted and the blueshifted. Based on the JVN observations, we found that the maser spots were associated with the Cep A HW2 object and had an arched structure with as cale of� 1400 AU; also, separations of the five maser features were found to be larger than 100 AU. These properties of the masers, namely, the synchronization of the flux variation and the spectral and spatial isolations of the features, suggest that collisional excitation by a shock wave from a common exciting source is unlikely to happen. Instead, the synchronized time variation of the masers can be explained if all of the maser features are excited by infrared radiation from the dust that is heated by a common exciting source with a rapid variability.

Observations of the bursting activity of the 6.7 GHz methanol maser in G33.641−0.228

We have observed bursting variability of the 6.7 GHz methanol maser of G33.641-0.228. Five bursts were detected in the observation period of 294 days from 2009 to 2012. The typical burst is a large flux density rise in about one day followed by a slow fall. A non-typical burst observed in 2010 showed a large and rapid flux density enhancement from the stable state, but the rise and fall of the flux density were temporally symmetric and a fast fluctuation continued 12 days. On average, the bursts occurred once every 59 days, although bursting was not periodic. Since the average power required for causing the burst of order of 10^21 Js^-1 is far smaller than the luminosity of G33.641-0.228, a very small fraction of the sources power would be sufficient to cause the burst occasionally. The burst can be explained as a solar-flare like event in which the energy is accumulated in the magnetic field of the circumstellar disk, and is released for a short time. However, the mechanism of the energy release and the dust heating process are still unknown.

Accelerating a water maser face-on jet from a high mass young stellar object

We report on a long-term single-dish and VLBI monitoring for intermittent flare activities of a Dominant Blue-Shifted H