Newly detected H2O Masers in Seyfert and Starburst Galaxies

Abstract

We report new detections of three H2O megamasers and one kilomaser using the Effelsberg 100-m telescope. Isotropic luminosities are ~50 300 1 and 230 solar luminosities for Mrk 1066 Mrk 34 NGC 3556 and Arp 299 respectively. Mrk 34 contains the most distant H2O megamaser ever detected. Our targets in this survey were chosen to fit one of the following criteria: 1) to have a high probability of interaction between the radio jet and the ISM within the central few parsecs of the radio galaxy yielding masers which arise in local molecular clouds (e.g. Mrk 348); or 2) were very bright IRAS sources in which massive star-forming regions might yield extremely bright masers (e.g. NGC 2146). The ""jet maser"" sources can provide detailed information about the conditions in the ISM in the central 1-10 pc of AGN. The ""star-formation masers"" can be used to pinpoint and characterize locations of high mass star formation in nearby galaxies. Both of these newly discovered types of masers will lead to a better understanding of the local chemistry in the molecular clouds in external galaxies.