Methanol observation of IRAS 19312+1950: A possible new type of class I methanol maser

Abstract

We report the result of a systematic methanol observation toward IRAS 19312+1950. The properties of the SiO, H2O, and OH masers of this object are consistent with those of mass-losing evolved stars, but some other properties are difficult to explain in the standard scheme of stellar evolution in its late stage. Interestingly, a tentative detection of radio methanol lines was suggested toward this object by a previous observation. To date, there are no confirmed detections of methanol emission towards evolved stars, so investigation of this possible detection is important to better understand the circumstellar physical/chemical environment of IRAS 19312+1950. In this study, we systematically observed multiple methanol lines of IRAS 19312+1950 in the λ = 3 mm, 7 mm, and 13 mm bands, and detected six lines including four thermal lines and two class I maser lines. We derived basic physical parameters, including kinetic temperature and relative abundances, by fitting a radiative transfer model. According to the derived excitation temperature and line profiles, a spherically expanding outflow lying at the center of the nebulosity is excluded from the possibilities for methanol emission regions. The detection of class I methanol maser emission suggests that a shock region is involved in the system of IRAS 19312+1950. If the central star of IRAS 19312+1950 is an evolved star as suggested in the past, the class I maser detected in the present observation is the first case detected in an interaction region between an evolved star outflow and ambient molecular gas. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Astronomical Society of Japan.