Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-2plfb Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-30T02:52:22.602Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Physics of Cosmic Masers

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 August 2017

V. S. Strelnitskij
V. S. Strelnitskij*
Affiliation:
Astronomical Council, U.S.S.R. Academy of Sciences, Moscow, U.S.S.R.

Extract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Natural masers, which emit powerful narrow-band radiation in molecular microwave lines, were discovered about 20 years ago. They draw the astrophysicist's attention in two ways: 1) as a unique physical phenomenon and 2) as very informative probes of physical conditions in those astrophysical objects (very young and very old stars) with which they are intimately connected. In this paper, the first aspect of masers will be stressed, though some consideration will be given to the astrophysical aspect as well. The limited space here will not allow a complete discussion. For a more systematic account, refer to reviews on astrophysical masers by Litvak 1974; Strelnitskij 1974; Kegel 1975; Cook 1977; Moran 1976; Reid and Moran 1981; Elitzur 1982. I shall limit myself only to several topics of general character, which, to me personally, seem to be particularly important for understanding the fundamental principles of cosmic maser physics. I shall then try to illustrate these general principles by the example of H2O masers in star formation regions. These masers, in my opinion, are the most intriguing of all the cosmic masers known at present. And (to make the subjectivity of the report complete!) I shall lay special stress on the results obtained by our group in the last few years.

Type
Galactic
Information
Symposium - International Astronomical Union , Volume 129: The Impact of VLBI on Astrophysics and Geophysics , 1988 , pp. 239 - 247
Copyright
Copyright © Reidel 1988 

References

Bally, J., and Lada, C. J. 1983, Ap. J., 265, 824.Google Scholar
Batrla, W., Matthews, H. E., and Menten, K. M. 1987, Nature, 326, 49.Google Scholar
Bolgova, G. T. 1981, Nauchnye Inform. Astron. Sov. AN SSSR, 47, 9.Google Scholar
Bolgova, G. T., Makarov, S. V., and Sobolev, A. M., 1987, Astrofisika, submitted.Google Scholar
Cheung, A. C., Rank, D. M., Townes, C. H., Thornton, D. D., and Welch, W. J. 1969, Nature, 221, 626.Google Scholar
Churchwell, E., Witzel, A., Huchtmeier, W., Pauliny-Toth, I., Roland, J., and Sieber, W. 1977, Astr. Ap., 54, 969.Google Scholar
Cook, H. N. 1977, Celestial Masers (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press).Google Scholar
Cudaback, D. D., Read, R. B., and Rougoor, G. W. 1966, Phys. Rev. Lett., 17, 452.Google Scholar
de Jong, T. 1983, Astr. Ap., 26, 297.Google Scholar
Elitzur, M. 1982, Rev. Mod. Phys., 54, 1225.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Genzel, R., Reid, M., Moran, J., and Downes, D. 1981, Ap. J., 244, 884.Google Scholar
Goldreich, P., and Keeley, D. A. 1972, Ap. J., 174, 517.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goldreich, P., and Kwan, J. 1974a, Ap. J., 190, 27.Google Scholar
Goldreich, P., and Kwan, J. 1974b, Ap. J., 191, 93.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hills, R., Pankonin, V., and Landecker, T. L. 1975, Astr. Ap., 39, 149.Google Scholar
Kegel, W. H. 1975, in Problems in Stellar Atmospheres and Envelopes, ed. Bascheck, B. et al. (Berlin: Springer), p. 257.Google Scholar
Kylafis, N. D., and Norman, C. 1986, Ap. J. (Letters), 300, L73.Google Scholar
Lada, C. J., Blitz, L., Reid, M. J., Moran, , and Moran, J.M. 1981, Ap. J., 243, 769.Google Scholar
Litvak, M. 1969, Science, 165, 855.Google Scholar
Litvak, M. M., McWhorter, A. L., Meeks, M. L., and Zeiger, H. J. 1966, Phys. Rev. Lett., 17, 821.Google Scholar
Litvak, M. M. 1974, Ann. Rev. Astr. Ap., 12, 97.Google Scholar
Mattila, K., Holsti, N., Toriseva, M., Anttila, R., and Malkamäki, L. 1985, Astr. Ap., 145, 192.Google Scholar
Matveenko, L. I. 1981, Sov. Ast. Lett., 7(1), 54.Google Scholar
Menzel, D. 1937, Ap. J., 85, 330.Google Scholar
Moran, J. M. 1976, in Frontiers of Astrophysics, ed. Avrett, E. (Cambridge: Harvard University Press), p. 385.Google Scholar
Moran, J. M., Burke, B. F., Rogers, A. E. E., Carter, J. C., Ball, J. A., and Cudaback, D. D. 1968, Ap. J. (Letters), 152, L97.Google Scholar
Norman, C., and Silk, J. 1979, Ap. J., 228, 197.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reid, M. J., and Moran, J. M. 1981, Ann. Rev. Astr. Ap., 19, 231.Google Scholar
Reid, M. J., Moran, J. M., and Gwinn, C. R. 1986, in Radio Astronomy in Space, Proceedings of Green Bank Workshop, ed. Weiler, K. W. (Green Bank, WV: NRAO), p. 145.Google Scholar
Reid, M. J., Moran, J. M., and Gwinn, C. R. 1987, this volume.Google Scholar
Rogers, A. E. E., Moran, J. M., Crowther, P. P., Burke, B. F., Ball, J. A., Meeks, M. L., and Hyde, G. M. 1966, Phys. Rev. Lett., 17, 450.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rowland, P. R., and Cohen, R. J. 1986, M. N. R. A. S., 220, 233.Google Scholar
Schmeld, I. K., Strelnitskij, V. S., and Musilev, V. V. 1976, Astron. Zh., 53, 728.Google Scholar
Shklovskij, I. S. 1966, Astron. Tsirc., 372, 1.Google Scholar
Sobolev, A. M. 1987, Astron. Tsirc., submitted.Google Scholar
Strelnitskij, V. S. 1971, Astron. Tsirc., 609, 1.Google Scholar
Strelnitskij, V. S. 1974, Usp. Fis. Nauk, 113, 463.Google Scholar
Strelnitskij, V. S. 1980, Pis'ma v Astron. Zh., 6, 354.Google Scholar
Strelnitskij, V. S. 1982a, Pis'ma v Astron. Zh., 8, 165.Google Scholar
Strelnitskij, V. S. 1982b, Publ. Astrophys. Obs. Potsdam, 110, 121.Google Scholar
Strelnitskij, V. S. 1983, Nauchnye Inform. Astron. Sov. AN SSSR, 2, 75.Google Scholar
Strelnitskij, V. S. 1984, M. N. R. A. S., 207, 339.Google Scholar
Strelnitskij, V. S. 1986, Astron. Tsirc., 1465, 1.Google Scholar
Strelnitskij, V. S., and Sunjaev, R. A. 1972, Astron. Zh., 49, 704 [Sov. Ast. A. J., 16, 579, 1973].Google Scholar
Weaver, H., Williams, D. R. W., Dieter, W. H., and Lum, W. T., 1965, Nature, 208, 19.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wilson, W. J., and Barrett, A. H. 1968, Science, 161, 728.CrossRefGoogle Scholar