We report relative proper motion measurements of H2O masers in massive star-forming region W51 Main, based on data sets of VLBI observations for H2O masers at 22 GHz with Japanese VERA telescopes from 2003 to 2006. Data reductions and single-beam imaging analysis are to measure internal kinematics of maser spots and eventually to estimate the three-dimensional kinematics of H2O masers in W51 Main. Average space motions and proper motion measurements of H2O masers are given both graphical and in table formats. We find in this study that W51 Main appears to be associated with hyper-compact H II region with multiple massive proto-stars whose spectral types are of late O.

We have estimated the fractal dimension of the molecular clouds associated with the H ΙΙ region Sh 156 in the Outer Galaxy. We selected the 12CO cube data from the FCRAO CO Survey of the Outer Galaxy. Using a developed code within IRAF, we identified slice-clouds (2-dimensional clouds in velocity-channel maps) with two threshold temperatures to estimate the fractal dimension. With the threshold temperatures of 1.8 K, and 3 K, we identified 317 slice-clouds and 217 slice-clouds, respectively. There seems to be a turn-over location in fractional dimension slope around NP (area; number of pixel) = 40. The fractal dimensions was estimated to be D = 1.5 ∼ 1.53 for NP ≥ 40, where P ∝ AD/2 (P is perimeter and A is area), which is slightly larger than other results. The sampling rate (spatial resolution) of observed data must be an important parameter when estimating fractal dimension. Fractal dimension is apparently invariant when varying the threshold temperatures applied to slice-clouds identification.

We have conducted observations toward the molecular cloud associated with the H II region Sh 156 in 13CO(J = 1-0), C18O(J = 1-0), and CS(J = 2 -1) using the TRAO 14 m telescope. Combining with existing 12CO(J = 1- 0) data of the Outer Galaxy Survey, we delineated the physical properties of the cloud. We found that there is a significant sign of interaction between the H II region and the molecular gas. We estimated the masses of the molecular cloud, using three different techniques; the most plausible mass is estimated to be 1.37 X 105M⊙, using a conversion factor of X = 1.9 X 1020cm-2 (K km s-1)-1, and this is similar to virial mass estimate. This implies that the cloud is gravitationally bound and in virial equilibrium even though it is closely associated with the H II region. In addition to existing outflow, we found several MSX and IRAS point sources associated with dense core regions. Thus, more star forming activities other than the existing H II region are also going on in this region.

Near-infrared imaging photometry supplemented by optical spectroscopy and narrow-band imaging of the H II region Sh 2-128 and its environment are presented. This region contains a developed H II region and the neighboring compact H II region S 128N associated with a pair of water maser sources. Midway between these, the core of a CO cloud is located. The principal ionizing source of Sh 2-128 is an 07 star close to its center. A new spectroscopic distance of 9.4 kpc is derived, very similar to the kinematic distance to the nebula. This implies a galactocentric distance of 13.5 kpc and z = 550 pc. The region is optically thin with abundances close to those predicted by galactocentric gradients. The JHK_s images show that S 128N contains several infrared point sources and nebular emission knots with large near-infrared excesses. One of the three red Ks knots coincides with the compact H II region. A few of the infrared-excess objects are close to known mid- and far-infrared emission peaks. Star counts in J and K_s show the presence of a small cluster of B-type stars, mainly associated with S 128N. The JHKs photometric properties together with the characteristics of the other objects in the vicinity suggest that Sh 2-128 and S 128N constitute a single complex formed from the same molecular cloud, with ages ~ 106 and < 3 X 105 years respectively. No molecular hydrogen emission was detected at 2.12 μm. The origin of this remote star forming region is an open problem.

Optical imaging and spectroscopy of G353.2+0.9, the brightest part of the giant H II region NGC 6357, shows that this H II region is optically thin, contains "300 M⊙ of ionized gas and is probably expanding into the surrounding medium. Its chemical composition is similar to that found in other H II regions at similar galactocentric distances if temperature fluctuations are significant. The inner regions are probably made of thin shells and filaments, whereas extended slabs of material, maybe shells seen edge-on, are found in the periphery. The radio continuum and Hα emission maps are very similar, indicating that most of the optical nebula is not embedded in the denser regions traced by molecular gas and the presence of IR sources. About 1050 UV photons per second are required to produce the Hβ flux from the 1l.3'x10' region surrounding the Pis 24 cluster that is south of G353.2+0.9. Most of the energy powering this region is produced by the 03-7 stars in Pis 24. Most of the 2MASS sources in the field with large infrared excesses are within G353.2+0.9, indicating that the most recent star forming process occured within it. The formation of Pis 24 preceded and caused the formation of this new generation of stars and may be responsible for the present-day morphology of the entire NGC 6357 region.

We present results of a H13CN J=1-0 mapping survey of molecular clouds toward the Galactic Center (GC) region of -1.6° ≤ l ≤ 2° and -0.23° ≤ b ≤ 0.30° with 2' grid resolution. The H13CN emissions show similar distribution and velocity structures to those of the H12CN emissions, but are found to better trace the feature saturated with H12CN (1-0). The bright components among multi-components of H12CN line profiles usually appear in the H13CN line while most of the dynamically forbidden, weak H12CN components are seldom detected in the H13CN line. We also present results of other complementary observations in 12CO (J=1-0) and 13CO (J=1-0) lines to estimate physical quantities of the GC clouds, such as fractional abundance of HCN isotopes and mass of the GC cloud complexes. We confirm that the GC has very rich chemistry. The overall fractional abundance of H12CN and H13CN relative to H2 in the GC region is found to be significantly higher than those of any other regions, such as star forming region and dark cloud. Especially cloud complexes nearer to the GC tend to have various higher abundance of HCN. Total mass of the HCN molecular clouds within |l|≤ 6° is estimated to be ~2 ×10 7 M⊙ using the abundances of HCN isotopes, which is fairly consistent with previous other estimates. Masses of four main complexes in the GC range from a few 10 5 to ~ 10 7 M⊙ All the HCN spectra with multi-components for the four main cloud complexes were investigated to compare the line widths of the complexes. The largest mode (45 km s-1) of the FWHM distributions among the complexes is in the Clump 2. The value of the mode tends to be smaller at the farther complexes from the GC.

A molecular line survey towards the UC H II region G34.3+0.15 from 155.3 to 165.3GHz has been conducted with the TRAO 14-m radio telescope. Combined with our previous observations from 84.7 to 115.6GHz and 123.5 to 155.3GHz (Paper I), the spectral coverage of this survey in G34.3+0.15 now runs from 85 to 165 GHz. From these latest observations, a total of 18 lines from 6 species were detected. These include four new lines corresponding to ΔJ = 0, ΔK = 1 transitions of the CH3OH E-type species, and two new lines corresponding to transitions from SO2 and HC3N. These 6 new lines are CH3OH[1(1) - 1(0)E], CH3OH[2(1) - 2(0)E], CH3OH[3(1) - 3(0)E], CH3OH[4(1) - 4(0)E], SO2[14(1, 13) -14(0, 14)] and HC3N[18 -17]. We applied a rotation diagram analysis to derive rotation temperatures and column densities from the methanol transitions detected, and combined with NRAO 12-m data from Slysh et al. 1999. Applying a two-component fit, we find a cold component with temperature 13-16K and column density 3.3-3.4 ×10 14 cm-2, and a hot component with temperature 64 - 83K and column density 9.3×10 14 - 9.7 ×10 14 cm-2. On the other hand, applying just a one-component fit yields temperatures in the 47 -62 K range and column densities from 7.5-1.1 × 10 15 cm-2.

The molecular cloud associated with the H II region S301 has been mapped in the J = 1-0 transitions of 12CO and 13CO using the 13.7 m radio telescope of Taeduk Radio Astronomy Observatory. The cloud is elongated along the north-south direction with two strong emission components facing the H II region. Its total mass is 8.7 × 10 3 M⊙. We find a velocity gradient of the molecular gas near the interface with the optical H II region, which may be a signature of interaction between the molecular cloud and the H II region. Spectra of CO, CS, and HCO+ exhibit line splitting even in the densest part of the cloud and suggests the clumpy structure. The radio continuum maps show that the ionzed gas is distributed with some asymmetry and the eastern part of the H II region is obscured by the molecular cloud. We propose that the S301 H II region is at the late stage of the champagne phase, but the second generation of stars has not yet been formed in the postshock layer.