Presentation 1 : Oral
Evolutionary Sequence for the Early Stages of Massive Star Formation
Vincent Minier, Michael Burton
This paper reviews recent results in the field of massive star formation
in connection with methanol masers. 6.7 and 12.2 GHz methanol masers
are used as probes to investigate the early phases of massive star formation and appear as excellent tracers of the youngest massive-star
forming regions. An evolutionay sequence for massive star formation is proposed in which methanol masers occur in cold dust condensations, hot molecular cores and hyper compact HII regions, i.e. at the earliest
stages of the star-forming process. New millimetre continuum observations using SIMBA are also presented and support our evolutionay scenario for massive star formation. Finally, further work at millimetre
wavelengths for continuum and spectral lines using the next generation
of ground-based interferometer is discussed.