Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-7cvxr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T03:27:16.568Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Megamasers in Young Active Galactic Nuclei

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 August 2017

Willem A. Baan*
Affiliation:
Arecibo Observatory, Arecibo, P.R. 00613

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.

Megamaser emission provides new insights into the physics of active galactic nuclei. The megamaser phenomenon is consistent with a low-gain amplification model, where inverted foreground molecules amplify the radio continuum from the nucleus. The molecular gas seen in emission in the megamaser galaxies is located between 50 and 300 parsecs from the nucleus covering part of a possible NLR. Megamasers have been found for the molecules OH, H2CO and H2O. However, only OH megamasers form a clearly identifiable group of galaxies. They occur in prominent FIR galaxies and the FIR radiation field serves as a pumping agent for the OH molecules (Baan 1988). As a result only the ground state lines of OH are in emission, while the lines from excited states are in absorption (see Henkel, Güsten and Baan 1987).

Type
Part 7: Dust, Molecules, Infrared and MM Radiation
Copyright
Copyright © Kluwer 1989 

References

Baan, W.A. 1988, Ap.J., 330, 743.Google Scholar
Baan, W.A. 1989, Ap.J., in the press.Google Scholar
Baan, W.A. and Haschick, A.D. and Henkel, C. 1988, Ap.J., submitted.Google Scholar
Baan, W.A., Henkel, C., and Haschick, A.D. 1987, Ap.J., 320, 154.Google Scholar
Fabbiano, G. and Trinchieri, G. 1984, Ap.J., 286, 491.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Heckman, T., Armus, L., and Miley, G. 1987, A.J., 92, 276.Google Scholar
Henkel, C., Güsten, R., and Baan, W.A. 1987, Astr.Ap., 185, 14.Google Scholar
Lawrence, A., et al. 1986, M.N.R.A.S., 219, 687.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sanders, D., et al. 1988a, Ap.J., 325, 74.Google Scholar
Sanders, D., et al. 1988b, Ap.J., 328, L35.Google Scholar
Soifer, B.T., et al. 1987, Ap.J., 320, 238.Google Scholar