Open AccessInfrared emission from 6.7‐GHz methanol maser sources
Author(s) -
Goedhart S.,
Van Der Walt D. J.,
Schutte A. J.
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
monthly notices of the royal astronomical society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.058
H-Index - 383
eISSN - 1365-2966
pISSN - 0035-8711
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-8711.2000.03439.x
Subject(s) - physics , maser , radiative transfer , photometry (optics) , infrared , astrophysics , spectral energy distribution , circumstellar dust , near infrared spectroscopy , atmospheric radiative transfer codes , astronomy , stars , optics , galaxy
Near‐infrared photometry was performed on 56 southern 6.7‐GHz methanol maser sources. A simple spherically symmetric model of the radiative transfer through a dust shell was developed and used to study the conditions in the dust cloud in which the masers are produced. The parameters investigated were the size of the cloud, the spectral type of the embedded star, the optical depth of the dust cloud and the dust density distribution. It was found that the infrared colours of the models have a complex dependence on the parameters and that no unique combination of parameter values explains the spectral energy distribution of any particular source. The model effectively reproduces the far‐infrared ( IRAS ) colours but cannot simultaneously explain the near‐infrared colours for any of the observed sources.