Discovery of recurrent flares of 6.7 GHz methanol maser emission in Cepheus A HW2

• Published in: arXiv.org
• Main Authors: Durjasz, M, Szymczak, M, Olech, M, Bartkiewicz, A
• Format: Paper Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Ithaca Cornell University Library, arXiv.org 18.05.2022
• Subjects: Cepheus constellation; Datasets; Emission; Extreme values; Flares; Flux density; Masers; Massive stars; Methanol; Object recognition; Physics - Astrophysics of Galaxies; Physics - Solar and Stellar Astrophysics; Radio astronomy; Radio jets (astronomy); Radio telescopes; Very long base interferometry
• ISSN: 2331-8422
• DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2205.08759

Context: Class II methanol masers at 6.7 GHz originate close to high-mass young stellar objects (HMYSOs). Their high sensitivity to local condition variations makes them a useful marker of the activity of the emerging massive stars. Aims: We aim to closely examine the variability of the 6.7 GHz methanol masers in Cep A HW2 using the new and archival single-dish and high-resolution Very-Long-Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) datasets. Methods: We monitored 6.7 GHz methanol masers towards the target between 2009 and 2021 using the Torun 32 m radio telescope, and analysed nine datasets of VLBI observations taken over 16 yr. Results: Faint, extremely redshifted maser emission located close to the presumed central star position and coincident with the radio jet shows flaring activity with a period of ~ 5 yr. Flares have an asymmetric profile with a rise-to-decay time ratio of 0.18 and relative amplitude higher than 10. The velocity of the flaring cloudlets drifts at a rate of 3-4 * 10^-5 km/s/d for about 11.5 yr of the monitoring. The time-lag between the peaks of the two flaring features implies a propagation speed of the exciting factor of ~ 1000 km/s. Synchronised and anticorrelated variations of the flux density of blue- and redshifted features begin ~ 2.5 yr after flares of the extremely redshifted emission.