Abstract
Recently, a comparison between the locations of 6.7-GHz methanol masers and dust continuum emission has renewed speculation that these masers can be associated with evolved stars. The implication of such a scenario would be profound, especially for the interpretation of large surveys for 6.7-GHz masers, individual studies where high-mass star formation has been inferred from the presence of 6.7-GHz methanol masers and for the pumping mechanisms of these masers. We have investigated the two instances where 6.7-GHz methanol masers have been explicitly suggested to be associated with evolved stars, and we find the first to be associated with a standard high-mass star formation region, and the second to be a spurious detection.We also find no evidence to suggest that the methanol maser action can be supported in the environments of evolved stars.We thereby confirm their exclusive association with high-mass star formation regions.
| Original language | English |
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| Pages (from-to) | 524-530 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society |
| Volume | 435 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 11 Oct 2013 |
| Externally published | Yes |