Published online by Cambridge University Press: 25 May 2016
Megamaser emission provides an unprecedented view of the inner nuclear regions of active galaxies. The characteristics of OH, H2CO, and H2O sources identify different physical environments in the nuclei of megamaser host galaxies. Various classification schemes suggest a dominant starburst nature for the OH and H2CO sources providing the NIR/FIR radiation field as a pump. The molecular emission originates in a 50–100 parsec disk/torus, which is not yet completely observed. For H2O masers in relatively dust-free LINER/Seyfert 2 sources, the AGN provides the X-ray radiation field for pumping in a compact sub-parsec thin disk.