The protostellar environment where young stars form has physical conditions suitable to excite a number of molecular maser lines that have traditionally provided an unique probe of star formation kinematics, at the highest angular resolution of radio very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) observations. In the following, we will discuss a number of recent results on our understanding of the gas dynamics traced by masers in the vicinity of young forming stars. These findings provide direct clues on how our community can substantially contribute to the field of star formation in the next decade.

Disk-jet systems are common in astrophysical sources of different nature, from black holes to gaseous giant planets. The disk drives the mass accretion onto a central compact object and the jet ejects material along the disk rotation axis. Magnetohydrodynamic disk winds can provide the link between mass accretion and ejection, which is essential to ensure that the excess angular momentum is removed and accretion can proceed. However, up to now, we have been lacking direct observational proof of disk winds. This work presents a direct view of the velocity field of a disk wind around a forming massive star. Achieving a very high spatial resolution of 0.05 au, our water maser observations trace the velocities of individual streamlines emerging from the disk orbiting the forming star. We find that, at low elevation above the disk midplane, the flow co-rotates with its launch point in the disk, in agreement with magneto-centrifugal acceleration. Beyond the co-rotation point, the flow rises spiraling around the disk rotation axis along a helical magnetic field. We have performed (resistive-radiative-gravito-) magnetohydrodynamic simulations of the formation of a massive star and record the development of a magneto-centrifugally launched jet presenting many properties in agreement with our observations.

We report on a direct comparison of VLBI maser data and ALMA thermal-emission data for the high-mass protostar G353.273+0.641. We detected a gravitationally-unstable disk by dust and a high-velocity jet traced by a thermal CO line by ALMA long-baselines (LB). 6.7 GHz CH3OH masers trace infalling streamlines inside the disk. The innermost maser ring indicates another compact accretion disk of 30 au. Such a nested system could be caused by angular momentum transfer by the spiral arms. 22 GHz H2O masers trace the jet-accelerating region, which are directly connecting the CO jet and the protostar. The recurrent maser flares imply episodic jet ejections per 1–2 yr, while typical separation of CO knots indicates a variation of outflow rate per 100 yr. Our study demonstrates that VLBI maser observations are still a powerful tool to explore detailed structures nearby high-mass protostars by combining ALMA LB.

Several radio sources have been detected in the high-mass star-forming region W75N(B), among them the massive young stellar objects VLA 1 and VLA 2 are of great interest. These are thought to be in different evolutionary stages. In particular, VLA 1 is at the early stage of the photoionization and it is driving a thermal radio jet, while VLA 2 is a thermal, collimated ionized wind surrounded by a dusty disk or envelope. In both sources 22 GHz H2O masers have been detected in the past. Those around VLA 1 show a persistent linear distribution along the thermal radio jet and those around VLA 2 have instead traced the evolution from a non-collimated to a collimated outflow over a period of ∼20 years. The magnetic field inferred from the H2O masers showed a rotation of its orientation according to the direction of the major-axis of the shell around VLA 2, while it is immutable around VLA 1.

We further monitored the polarized emission of the 22 GHz H2O masers around both VLA 1 and VLA 2 over a period of six years with the European VLBI Network for a total of four epochs separated by two years from 2014 to 2020. We here present the results of our monitoring project by focusing on the evolution of the maser distribution and of the magnetic field around the two massive young stellar objects.

We present the first results of simultaneous observations of the 6.035 GHz exited OH and 6.7 GHz methanol masers toward a sample of 10 high-mass young stellar objects (HMYSOs), observed using eMERLIN in 2020 and 2022. Searching for the coincidence and avoidance of these two maser transitions, we estimate physical conditions around central protostars. We identify Zeeman-splittings of the OH emission and determine the strength of the magnetic field. Combining it with linear polarization, we derive the magnetic field structure in these high-mass star-forming regions.

In the last 20 years a small group of 6.7GHz methanol maser sources displaying periodic variability have been identified. This variability is thought to reflect local processes linked to star formation. A number of models have been proposed e.g. colliding wind binary, protostellar pulsation, accretion on binary system. Recent studies of known sources as well as non-periodic flaring masers suggest an episodic accretion as a driving mechanism. We present the results of VLBI observation program aimed at studying known periodic methanol maser sources. High resolution maps of emission, source morphology and evolution in time will be discussed. Those results will help us fully understand the nature of maser periodicity in star forming regions.

Long-term monitoring observations of the 6.7 GHz methanol masers by Hitachi 32-m operated by Ibaraki University, which are named as “the Ibaraki 6.7 GHz Methanol Maser Monitor (iMet)”, have revealed that the periods of the flux variability of 6.7 GHz methanol masers in the five high-mass star-forming regions G05.900-0.430, G06.795-0.257, G10.472+0.027, G12.209-0.102 and G13.657-0.599 are over 1000 days. These periods are approximately twice the longest known period of 6.7 GHz methanol masers of 668 days for G196.45-1.68. The facts that the flux variation patterns show symmetric sine curves and that the luminosity of the central protostar and periods of maser flux variation are consistent with the expected period-luminosity (PL) relation suggest that the mechanism of maser flux variability of G05.900-0.430, G10.472+0.027 and G12.209-0.102 can be explained by protostellar pulsation instability. From the period-luminosity relation, central stars of these three sources are expected to be very high-mass protostars with a mass of : ∼40 M⊚ and a mass accretion rate of : ∼2×10-2 M⊚yr-1. On the other hand, G06.795-0.257 and G13.657-0.599 have luminosities that are an order of magnitude smaller than that expected from PL relation, and the variation patterns are intermittent, suggesting a variation mechanism of these sources originated from binary system.

Single-dish observations at centimeter wavelengths have suggested that the Sgr B2 molecular cloud at the Galactic Center hosts weak maser emission from several large molecules. Here, we present the interferometric observations of the Class I methanol (CH3OH) maser at 84 GHz, the methanimine (CH2NH) maser at 5.29 GHz, and the methylamine (CH2NH2) maser at 4.36 GHz toward Sgr B2 North (N). We use a Bayesian approach to quantitatively assess the observed masing spectral profiles and the excitation conditions. By comparing the spatial origin and extent of maser emission from several molecular species, we find that the new maser transitions have a close spatial relationship with the Class I masers, which suggests a similar collisional pumping mechanism.

IRAS 20126+4104 is an extensively studied high-mass star-forming region with many astrophysical maser lines from methanol and water molecules. The brightest and highly variable is the 6.7 GHz methanol maser transition. We present follow-up studies on this target including the monitoring with the Irbene radio telescope with high-cadence data and European VLBI Network imaging extending the VLBI monitoring to 19 years. We also plan to study the target in the future based on its variability, both in the radio domain (EVN observations are planned for June 2023) and in infra-red with the 1 meter Kagoshima University Telescope operated by Amanogawa Galaxy Astronomy Research Center (AGARC).

In this current study, we report only the preliminary result of the SiO v=0 Ј=5→4 emission toward W49 N at 230 GHz, observed using the ALMA telescope on September 29, 2018. The position–velocity diagram of the SiO emission shows a structure of a bipolar outflow and has a face-on orientation with an inclination angle of 36.4±0.4 degrees with respect to the line of sight. Here we summarize the calculated physical properties of its outflow.

Context: Theoretical scenarios describe the phenomenon of mass accumulation by high-mass young stellar objects (HMYSOs) through disk accretion. Aims: To find out whether the rotation of the core around hyper-compact (HC) HII regions is common Methods: The molecular core G301.1364-00.2249A was selected as the subject of investigation. Observations were carried out on CH3CN, SO2, H29α radio recombination line and continuum emission. Analysis involved the “Moment 0, 1, 2" and “Population-diagram” methods. Result: The structures of G301.1364-00.2249A exhibited clear definition. CH3CN moment 0 images revealed multiple enhanced emission regions and an absorption area. The moment 1 image depicted a velocity gradient from southeast to northwest. Conclusion: The molecular gas has a rotational motion in the direction from the southeast to northwest. The rotational temperature was measured at 293 K.

We imaged the excited OH maser line at 6.035 GHz associated with the 6.7 GHz methanol masers in a selected sample of high-mass young stellar objects using the European VLBI Network. The excited OH emission was found in a survey of methanol maser sources carried out since 2018 with the Torun 32-m telescope. The overlap of radial velocities of spectral features of methanol and excited OH suggested that both lines arose in the same volume of gas, therefore, we verified this hypothesis with the interferometric data. Here, we present the first images at the milliarcsecond scale of both maser transitions and identify the Zeeman pairs at the ex-OH line estimating the strength of the magnetic field in G43.149+00.013 (W49N).

High brightness and low interstellar extinction allow the 6.7 GHz methanol (CH3OH) masers to carry the information about what happens in the vicinity of the High-Mass Young Stellar Objects (HMYSOs). Monitoring this transition provides an only one opportunity to catch rare, unusual phenomena. In this paper, I describe three of them: quasi-periodic flares of the red-shifted emission in Cep A HW2, accretion burst in S255-NIRS3 and reappearance of the methanol maser flare in G24.329+0.144.

We monitored 22 GHz water masers in NGC 2071-IR using the Hartebeesthoek 26-m telescope and identified a significant flare (up to 4722 Jy) originating from the 14.4 km s-1 feature associated with the protostellar core NGC 2071-IRS1. To determine if the maser flare resulted from an accretion burst, we analyzed related signatures such as simultaneous flaring of other maser species and an increase in infrared luminosity. Near-infrared (Ks-band) observations conducted on 28 December 2019 during the flare, using the Kanata/HONIR telescope, exhibited a 0.2 magnitude increase in comparison to the 2MASS magnitude obtained from observations conducted on 10 October 1999. However, our findings indicate that the flare was attributed to mechanisms other than an accretion burst.

The 6.7 GHz methanol maser emitted by a high-mass star forming region G33.641-0.228 is known to exhibit fast flux density variability on timescales of less than one day. The mechanism of this variability, called burst, has not been known. We observed the circular polarization of this maser. As a result, we found that only the spectral components representing burst exhibit strong circular polarization exceeding 10%. This suggests that the two phenomena of the burst and circular polarization are related to each other.

The ALMA observations of the high-mass star-forming region G10.34-0.14 reveal the existence of three massive hot cores. The most massive of these cores, core S1, exhibits both high and low-velocity jet/outflow in the CO, SiO, and CH3OH. It is associated with water and Class I methanol masers. The core N shows a low-velocity CO outflow and is associated with an Extended Green Object, along with Class I and II methanol masers. The characteristics of the outflows and masers in these two cores suggest they are in different stage of evolution and varying physical conditions.