Bright Maser Emission in the Galaxy as Probes for Different Stellar Populations

  • CART Astrophysics Seminar Series

September 17, 2026 2:00 PM - September 17, 2026 3:00 PM
PAIS 3205

Host:
Diana Dragomir
Presenter:
Rachel Weller (UNM PandA)
Astronomical masers can serve as effective probes of various stellar populations, and can give us insight into the conditions of the environment, the kinematics of the emitting region, and larger scale dynamics associated with a given population. This work spans multiple maser species across different stellar populations to provide a more complete picture on the dynamics of our Galaxy; Including a VLA study of 653 potential Red Super Giants (RSGs) in a search for 43 GHz SiO maser emission in massive star forming regions, as well as 1612 MHz OH masers in a sample of 1355 OH/IR stars associated with intermediate mass stars. I will also present work utilizing IR data from AKARI, SPITZER and 2MASS to determine optimized color regions for these dusty stars. This work provides a selection tool for future surveys, including contamination rates across multiple object types (i.e. YSOs, Carbon stars, S-type stars, post-AGB stars, planetary nebulae). This work moves towards allowing us to determine a RSG sample at the far-side of the bar. 

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