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We study the structure, interstellar absorption, color-magnitude diagrams, kinematics, and dynamical state of embedded star clusters in the star-forming region associated with the giant molecular cloud G174+2.5. Our investigation is based on photometric data from the UKIDSS Galactic Plane Survey catalog and astrometric data from the Gaia DR3 catalogs. First, we recover all the known embedded clusters and candidate clusters in the region using surface density maps. Then, for the detected clusters, we determine their general parameters: the center positions, radii, number of stars, and reddening. To evaluate the reddening, we use both the NICEST algorithm and the Q-method. Both methods produce consistent extinction maps in the regions of the four studied clusters. However, the Q-method yields a much smaller color scatter in the CMD. For four clusters in particular (S235~North-West, S235~A-B-C, S235~Central, and S235~East1+East2), we were able to compute individual membership probabilities, the cluster distances, the cluster masses, and their average proper motions. By building on these results, we have studied the clusters' kinematics and dynamics. Moreover, we estimate the mass of the gas component and the star formation efficiency (SFE) in the regions of these four clusters. Finally, we provide an estimate of the total energy of the stellar and gas components in the area of these four clusters to determine whether the clusters are bound (here we consider a `cluster' as the system `stars + gas'). The gravitational bound strongly depends on the region for which we estimate the gas mass. If we consider the mass of the entire cloud, all these four clusters turn out to be bound., Comment: 30 pages, 16 figures, accepted for publication in the Astronomical Journal

We present results of a spectral survey towards a dense molecular condensation and young stellar objects (YSOs) projected on the border of the HII region RCW 120 and discuss emission of 20 molecules which produce the brightest lines. The survey was performed with the APEX telescope in the frequency range 200 -- 260 GHz. We provide evidences for two outflows in the dense gas. The first one is powered by the RCW 120 S2 YSO and oriented along the line of sight. The second outflow around RCW 120 S1 is aligned almost perpendicular to the line of sight. We show that area with bright emission of CH$_3$OH, CH$_3$CCH and CH$_3$CN are organised into an onion-like structure where CH$_3$CN traces warmer regions around the YSOs than the other molecules. Methanol seems to be released to the gas phase by shock waves in the vicinity of the outflows while thermal evaporation still does not work towards the YSOs. We find only a single manifestation of the UV radiation to the molecules, namely, enhanced abundances of small hydrocarbons CCH and c-C$_3$H$_2$ in the photo-dissociation region.

We performed photometric observations of the S255, S257, S140, NGC7358 and the Orion~Bar photo-dissociation regions (PDRs) at 2 micron using narrow-band filters centered on the Br-gamma, H2 and [FeII] lines, as well as the narrow-band Kcont and the broad-band H filters for continuum subtraction. The observations were done with the 2.5-m telescope of the SAI Caucasian Mountain Observatory and the near-infrared camera and spectrograph ASTRONIRCAM. We find several high-density arc-like structures in the Br-gamma and [FeII] images of the ionized gas in NGC7538 and extended shells and arcs visible through the H2 emission. The H ionization front and H2 dissociation front are merged in NGC7538. In S255 and S257 we detected only Br-gamma emission from the HII regions and bright H2 emission from the PDRs. The projected distance between the H ionization and H2 dissociation fronts are approx. 0.3-0.4 pc, which cannot be explained using models of a uniform medium. Most probably, the ionized and neutral gas in these PDRs is clumpy. The H-to-H2 transitions in the NGC7538, S255, S257 and S140 PDRs are gradual with no sharp borders. This conclusion also confirms the suggestion of a clumpy medium., Comment: accepted by Astrophysical Bulletin

Expansion of wind-blown bubbles or HII regions lead to formation of shocks in the interstellar medium, which compress surrounding gas into dense layers. We made spatially and velocity-resolved observations of the RCW~120 PDR and nearby molecular gas with CO(6-5) and 13CO(6-5) lines and distinguished a bright CO-emitting layer, which we related with the dense shocked molecular gas moving away from the ionizing star due to expansion of HII region. Simulating gas density and temperature, as well as brightness of several CO and C+ emission lines from the PDR, we found reasonable agreement with the observed values. Analysing gas kinematics, we revealed the large-scale shocked PDR and also several dense environments of embedded protostars and outflows. We observe the shocked layer as the most regular structure in the CO(6-5) map and in the velocity space, when the gas around YSOs is dispersed by the outflows., Comment: accepted for publication in MNRAS

We study evolution of hydrogenated amorphous carbon (HAC) grains under harsh UV radiation in photo-dissociation regions (PDRs) near young massive stars. Our aim is to evaluate the impact of the HAC grains on formation of observed small hydrocarbons: C$_2$H, C$_2$H$_2$, C$_3$H$^+$, C$_3$H, C$_3$H$_2$, C$_4$H, in PDRs. We developed a microscopic model of the HAC grains based on available experimental results. The model includes processes of photo- and thermodesorption, accretion of hydrogen and carbon atoms and subsequent formation of carbonaceous mantle on dust surface. H$_2$, CH$_4$, C$_2$H$_2$, C$_2$H$_4$, C$_2$H$_6$, C$_3$H$_4$, C$_3$H$_6$, C$_3$H$_8$ are considered as the main fragments of the HAC photo-destruction. We simulated evolution of the HAC grains under the physical conditions of two PDRs, the Orion Bar and the Horsehead nebula. We estimated the production rates of the HAC fragments in gas phase chemical reactions and compared them with the production rates of fragments due to the HAC destruction. The latter rates may dominate under some conditions, namely, at A$_V$=0.1 in both PDRs. We coupled our model with the gas-grain chemical model MONACO and calculated abundances of observed small hydrocarbons. We conclude that the contribution of the HAC destruction fragments to chemistry is not enough to match the observed abundances, although it increases the abundances by several orders of magnitude in the Orion Bar at A$_V$=0.1. Additionally, we found that the process of carbonaceous mantle formation on dust surface can be an inhibitor for the formation of observed small hydrocarbons in PDRs., Comment: Accepted to MNRAS

We present observations of ammonia emission lines toward the interstellar filament WB~673 hosting the dense clumps WB~673, WB~668, S233-IR and G173.57+2.43. LTE analysis of the lines allows us to estimate gas kinetic temperature ($\lesssim$ 30~K in all the clumps), number density ($7-17\times10^3$~cm$^{-3}$), and ammonia column density ($\approx 1-1.5\times 10^{15}$~cm$^{-2}$) in the dense clumps. We find signatures of collapse in WB 673 and presence of compact spatially unresolved dense clumps in S233-IR. We reconstruct 1D density and temperature distributions in the clumps and estimate their ages using astrochemical modelling. Considering CO, CS, NH$_3$ and N$_2$H$^+$ molecules (plus HCN and HNC for WB~673), we find a chemical age of $t_{\rm chem}=1-3\times 10^5$~yrs providing the best agreement between the simulated and observed column densities in all the clumps. Therefore, we consider $t_{\rm chem}$ as the chemical age of the entire filament. A long preceding low-density stage of gas accumulation in the astrochemical model would break the agreement between the simulated and observed column densities. We suggest that rapid star formation over a $\sim 10^5$~yrs timescale take place in the filament., Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS

The paper aims to study relation between the distributions of the young stellar objects (YSOs) of different ages and the gas-dust constituents of the S254-S258 star-formation complex. This is necessary to study the time evolution of the YSO distribution with respect to the gas and dust compounds which are responsible for the birth of the young stars. For this purpose we use correlation analysis between different gas, dust and YSOs tracers. We compared the large-scale CO, HCO$^+$, near-IR extinction, and far-IR {\it Herschel} maps with the density of YSOs of the different evolutionary Classes. The direct correlation analysis between these maps was used together with the wavelet-based spatial correlation analysis. This analysis reveals a much tighter correlation of the gas-dust tracers with the distribution of Class I YSOs than with that of Class II YSOs. We argue that Class I YSOs which were initially born in the central bright cluster S255-IR (both N and S parts) during their evolution to Class II stage ($\sim$2 Myr) had enough time to travel through the whole S254-S258 star-formation region. Given that the region contains several isolated YSO clusters, the evolutionary link between these clusters and the bright central S255-IR (N and S) cluster can be considered. Despite the complexity of the YSO cluster formation in the non-uniform medium, the clusters of Class II YSOs in the S254-258 star-formation region can contain objects born in the different locations of the complex., Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS

We study molecular emission in a massive condensation at the border of the HII region RCW 120, paying particular attention to the Core 1 and Core 2 objects, the most massive fragments of the condensation found previously by ALMA. The latter fragment was previously suggested to host a high-mass analogue of Class 0 young stellar object. We present spectra of molecular emission in the 1 mm range made with the APEX telescope. We detect CH$_3$OH and C$^{34}$S lines in Core 1 and Core 2. The CH$_3$CN series and the SO$_2$ lines are only found in Core 2. We estimate gas physical parameters using methanol lines and obtain gas temperature less than 100 K in both regions. Molecular hydrogen number density in Core 2 is in the range of $10^5-10^7$ cm$^{-3}$ and is more uncertain in Core 1. However, the detection of the CH$_3$CN lines corresponding to highly excited transitions ($E_{\rm u}> 400$~K) in Core~2 indicates that the region contains hot gas, while the abundances of CH$_3$OH, CS, SO$_2$ and CH$_3$CN are quite low for a hot core stage. We propose that Core 2 is in the warm-up phase prior to the establishing of the hot gas chemistry. We suggest that Core 2 is in the beginning of the hot core stage. There are no detected CH$_3$CN lines in Core 1, therefore, it might be on an even less evolved evolutionary stage., Comment: 11 pages, 6 figures, accepted by MNRAS

The aim of the present work is to study structure and gas kinematics in the photodissociation regions (PDRs) around the compact HII regions S235A and S235C. We observe the [CII], [13CII] and [OI] line emission, using SOFIA/upGREAT and complement them by data of HCO+ and CO. We use the [13CII] line to measure the optical depth of the [CII] emission, and find that the [CII] line profiles are influenced by self-absorption, while the [13CII] line remains unaffected by these effects. Hence, for dense PDRs, [13CII] emission is a better tracer of gas kinematics. The optical depth of the [CII] line is up to 10 in S235A. We find an expanding motion of the [CII]-emitting layer of the PDRs into the front molecular layer in both regions. Comparison of the gas and dust columns shows that gas components visible neither in the [CII] nor in low-J CO lines may contribute to the total column across S235A. We test whether the observed properties of the PDRs match the predictions of spherical models of expanding HII region + PDR + molecular cloud. Integrated intensities of the [13CII], [CII] and [OI] lines are well-represented by the model, but the models do not reproduce the double-peaked [CII] line profiles due to an insufficient column density of C+. The model predicts that the [OI] line could be a more reliable tracer of gas kinematics, but the foreground self-absorbing material does not allow using it in the considered regions., Comment: accepted to MNRAS

We study whether polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) can be a weighty source of small hydrocarbons in photo-dissociation regions (PDRs). We modeled the evolution of 20 specific PAH molecules in terms of dehydrogenation and destruction of the carbon skeleton under the physical conditions of two well-studied PDRs, the Orion Bar and the Horsehead nebula which represent prototypical examples of PDRs irradiated by "high" and "low" ultraviolet radiation field. PAHs are described as microcanonical systems. The acetylene molecule is considered as the main carbonaceous fragment of the PAH dissociation as it follows from laboratory experiments and theory. We estimated the rates of acetylene production in gas phase chemical reactions and compared them with the rates of the acetylene production through the PAH dissociation. It is found that the latter rates can be higher than the former rates in the Orion Bar at $A_{\rm V}<1$ and also at $A_{\rm V}>3.5$. In the Horsehead nebula, the chemical reactions provide more acetylene than the PAH dissociation. The produced acetylene participate in the reactions of the formation of small hydrocarbons (C$_2$H, C$_3$H, C$_3$H$^{+}$, C$_3$H$_2$, C$_4$H). Acetylene production via the PAH destruction may increase the abundances of small hydrocarbons produced in gas phase chemical reactions in the Orion Bar only at $A_{\rm V}>3.5$. In the Horsehead nebula, the contribution of PAHs to the abundances of the small hydrocarbons is negligible. We conclude that the PAHs are not a major source of small hydrocarbons in both PDRs except some locations in the Orion Bar., Comment: Accepted to MNRAS. 13 pages, 10 figures

We present observations of the H-alpha, H-beta, [SII] 6716, 6731 and [NII] 6583 emission lines in the galactic HII region Sh2-235 with the Mapper of Narrow Galaxy Lines (MaNGaL), a tunable filter at the 1-m telescope of Special Astrophysical Observatory of the Russian Academy of Sciences. We show that the HII region is obscured by neutral material with AV = 2-4 mag. The area with the highest AV is situated to the south-west from the ionizing star and coincides with a maximum detected electron density of >=300 cm(-3). The combination of these results with archive AKARI far-infrared data allows us to estimate the contribution of the front and rear walls to the total column density of neutral material in S235, and explain the three-dimensional structure of the region. The HII region consist of a denser, more compact portion deeply embedded in the neutral medium and the less dense and obscured gas. The front and rear walls of the HII region are inhomogeneous, with the material in the rear wall having a higher column density. We find a two-sided photodissociation region in the dense clump S235 East 1, illuminated by a UV field with G0=50-70 and 200 Habing units in the western and eastern parts, respectively., Comment: accepted to MNRAS

The H II region RCW120 is a well-known object, which is often considered as a target to verify theoretical models of gas and dust dynamics in the interstellar medium. However, the exact geometry of RCW120 is still a matter of debate. In this work, we analyse observational data on molecular emission in RCW120 and show that 13CO(2-1) and C18O(2-1) lines are fitted by a 2D model representing a ring-like face-on structure. The changing of the C18O(3-2) line profile from double-peaked to single-peaked from the dense molecular Condensation 1 might be a signature of stalled expansion in this direction. In order to explain a self-absorption dip of the 13CO(2-1) and 13CO(3-2) lines, we suggest that RCW120 is surrounded by a diffuse molecular cloud, and find confirmation of this cloud on a map of interstellar extinction. Optically thick 13CO(2-1) emission and the infrared 8 um PAH band form a neutral envelope of the H II region resembling a ring, while the envelope breaks into separate clumps on images made with optically thin C18O(2-1) line and far-infrared dust emission., Comment: accepted to MNRAS

Although the 2P3/2-2P1/2 transition of [CII] at 158um is known to be an excellent tracer of active star formation, we still do not have a complete understanding of where within star formation regions the emission originates. Here, we use SOFIA upGREAT observations of [CII] emission toward the HII region complex Sh2-235 (S235) to better understand in detail the origin of [CII] emission. We complement these data with a fully-sampled Green Bank Telescope radio recombination line map tracing the ionized hydrogen gas. About half of the total [CII] emission associated with S235 is spatially coincident with ionized hydrogen gas, although spectroscopic analysis shows little evidence that this emission is coming from the ionized hydrogen volume. Velocity-integrated [CII] intensity is strongly correlated with WISE 12um intensity across the entire complex, indicating that both trace ultra-violet radiation fields. The 22um and radio continuum intensities are only correlated with [CII] intensity in the ionized hydrogen portion of the S235 region and the correlations between the [CII] and molecular gas tracers are poor across the region. We find similar results for emission averaged over a sample of external galaxies, although the strength of the correlations is weaker. Therefore, although many tracers are correlated with the strength of [CII] emission, only WISE 12um emission is correlated on small-scales of the individual HII region S235 and also has a decent correlation at the scale of entire galaxies. Future studies of a larger sample of Galactic HII regions would help to determine whether these results are truly representative., Comment: Accepted to ApJ

The 20 cm radio continuum fluxes of 91 HII regions in a previously compiled catalog have been determined. The spectral types of the ionizing stars in 42 regions with known distances are estimated. These spectral types range from B0.5 to O7, corresponding to effective temperatures of 29 000-37 000 K. The dependences of the infrared (IR) fluxes at 8, 24, and 160 $\mu$m on the 20 cm flux are considered. The IR fluxes are used as a diagnostic of heating of the matter, and the radio fluxes as measurements of the number of ionizing photons. It is established that the IR fluxes grow approximately linearly with the radio flux. This growth of the IR fluxes probably indicates a growth of the mass of heated material in the envelope surrounding the HII region with increasing effective temperature of the star., Comment: 16, pages, 10 figures, published in Astronomy Reports

A search for infrared ring nebulae associated with regions of ionized hydrogen has been carried out. The New GPS Very Large Array survey at 20 cm forms the basis of the search, together with observations obtained with the Spitzer Space Telescope at 8 and 24 $\mu$m and the Herschel Space Telescope at 70 $\mu$m. Objects having ring-like morphologies at 8 $\mu$m and displaying extended emission at 20 cm were selected visually. Emission at 24 $\mu$m having the form of an inner ring or central peak is also observed in the selected objects. A catalog of 99 ring nebulae whose shapes at 8 and 70 $\mu$m are well approximated by ellipses has been compiled. The catalog contains 32 objects whose shapes are close to circular (eccentricities of the fitted ellipses at 8 $\mu$m no greater than 0.6, angular radius exceeding 20). These objects are promising for comparisons with the results of one-dimensional hydrodynamical simulations of expanding regions of ionized hydrogen., Comment: Astronomy Reports, Volume 61, Issue 12, pp.1015-1030 (ARep Homepage)

We studied the distribution of dense gas in a filamentary molecular cloud containing several dense clumps. The center of the filament is given by the dense clump WB673. The clumps are high-mass and intermediate-mass star-forming regions. We observed CS(2-1), 13CO(1-0), C18O(1-0) and methanol lines at 96GHz toward WB673 with the Onsala Space Observatory 20-m telescope. We found CS(2-1) emission in the inter-clump medium so the clumps are physically connected and the whole cloud is indeed a filament. Its total mass is $10^4$ M$_{\odot}$ and mass-to-length ratio is 360 M$_{\odot}$pc$^{-1}$ from 13CO(1-0) data. Mass-to-length ratio for the dense gas is $3.4-34$ M$_{\odot}$pc$^{-1}$ from CS(2-1) data. The PV-diagram of the filament is V-shaped. We estimated physical conditions in the molecular gas using methanol lines. Location of the filament on the sky between extended shells suggests that it could be a good example to test theoretical models of formation of the filaments via multiple compression of interstellar gas by supersonic waves.

We present results of a survey of 14 star-forming regions from the Perseus spiral arm in CS(2-1) and 13CO(1-0) lines with the Onsala Space Observatory 20 m telescope. Maps of 10 sources in both lines were obtained. For the remaining sources a map in just one line or a single-point spectrum were obtained. On the basis of newly obtained and published observational data we consider the relation between velocities of the "quasi-thermal" CS(2-1) line and 6.7 GHz methanol maser line in 24 high-mass star-forming regions in the Perseus arm. We show that, surprisingly, velocity ranges of 6.7 GHz methanol maser emission are predominantly red-shifted with respect to corresponding CS(2-1) line velocity ranges in the Perseus arm. We suggest that the predominance of the "red-shifted masers" in the Perseus arm could be related to the alignment of gas flows caused by the large-scale motions in the Galaxy. Large-scale galactic shock related to the spiral structure is supposed to affect the local kinematics of the star-forming regions. Part of the Perseus arm, between galactic longitudes from 85deg to 124deg, does not contain blue-shifted masers at all. Radial velocities of the sources are the greatest in this particular part of the arm, so the velocity difference is clearly pronounced. 13CO(1-0) and CS(2-1) velocity maps of G183.35-0.58 show gas velocity difference between the center and the periphery of the molecular clump up to 1.2 km/s. Similar situation is likely to occur in G85.40-0.00. This can correspond to the case when the large-scale shock wave entrains the outer parts of a molecular clump in motion while the dense central clump is less affected by the shock., Comment: accepted by Astronomy Reports

In this paper, we extend the study initiated in PaperI by modelling grain ensemble evolution in a dynamical model of an expanding HII region and checking the effects of momentum transfer from dust to gas. The radiation pressure on the dust, the dust drift, and the lug on the gas by the dust are all important process that should be considered simultaneously to describe the dynamics of HII regions. With accounting for the momentum transfer from the dust to the gas, the expansion time of the HII region is notably reduced (for our model of RCW120, the time to reach the observed radius of the HII region is reduced by a factor of 1.5). Under the common approximation of frozen dust, where there is no relative drift between the dust and gas, the radiation pressure from the ionizing star drives the formation of the very deep gas cavity near the star. Such a cavity is much less pronounced when the dust drift is taken into account. The dust drift leads to the two-peak morphology of the dust density distribution and significantly reduces the dust-to-gas ratio in the ionized region (by a factor of 2 to 10). The dust-to-gas ratio is larger for higher temperatures of the ionizing star since the dust grains have a larger electric charge and are more strongly coupled to the gas., Comment: accepted to MNRAS

The article deals with observations of star-forming regions S231-S235 in 'quasi-thermal' lines of ammonia (NH$_3$), cyanoacetylene (HC$_3$N) and maser lines of methanol (CH$_3$OH) and water vapor (H$_2$O). S231-S235 regions is situated in the giant molecular cloud G174+2.5. We selected all massive molecular clumps in G174+2.5 using archive CO data. For the each clump we determined mass, size and CO column density. After that we performed observations of these clumps. We report about first detections of NH$_3$ and HC$_3$N lines toward the molecular clumps WB89 673 and WB89 668. This means that high-density gas is present there. Physical parameters of molecular gas in the clumps were estimated using the data on ammonia emission. We found that the gas temperature and the hydrogen number density are in the ranges 16-30 K and 2.8-7.2$\times10^3$ cm$^{-3}$, respectively. The shock-tracing line of CH$_3$OH molecule at 36.2 GHz is newly detected toward WB89 673., Comment: 16 pages, 4 figures

We consider dust drift under the influence of stellar radiation pressure during the pressure-driven expansion of an HII region using the chemo-dynamical model MARION. Dust size distribution is represented by four dust types: conventional polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), very small grains (VSGs), big grains (BGs) and also intermediate-sized grains (ISGs), which are larger than VSGs and smaller than BGs. The dust is assumed to move at terminal velocity determined locally from the balance between the radiation pressure and gas drag. As Coulomb drag is an important contribution to the overall gas drag, we evaluate a grain charge evolution within the HII region for each dust type. BGs are effectively swept out of the HII region. The spatial distribution of ISGs within the HII region has a double peak structure, with a smaller inner peak and a higher outer peak. PAHs and VSGs are mostly coupled to the gas. The mean charge of PAHs is close to zero, so they can become neutral from time to time because of charge fluctuations. These periods of neutrality occur often enough to cause the removal of PAHs from the very interior of the HII region. For VSGs, the effect of charge fluctuations is less pronounced but still significant. We conclude that accounting for charge dispersion is necessary to describe the dynamics of small grains., Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS. 12 pages, 6 figures, 4 tables

We consider current state of star formation theory and requirements to observations in millimeter and submillimeter ranges which are necessary for resolution of the most actual problems of the physics of star formation. Two key features of star-forming regions which define observational requirements to their studies, are relatively low energy of processes that take place there and smallness of corresponding spatial scales. This is especially true for the objects in the latest stages of ``pre-stellar'' evolution, that is, hot cores, hyper- and ultracompact HII regions, and protoplanetary disks. Angular resolution, sensitivity, and spectral coverage in existing projects of ground-based and space telescopes of submillimeter and millimeter range are not completely adequate to necessary requirements. To obtain detailed information on star-forming regions as well as on individual protostars it is necessary to employ a space-based interferometer., Comment: Astronomy Reports, in press, 14 pages, 3 figures

We present a picture of star formation around the HII region Sh2-235 (S235) based upon data on the spatial distribution of young stellar clusters and the distribution and kinematics of molecular gas around S235. We observed 13CO(1-0) and CS(2-1) emission toward S235 with the Onsala Space Observatory 20-m telescope and analysed the star density distribution with archival data from the 2MASS survey. Dense molecular gas forms a shell-like structure at the south-eastern part of S235. The young clusters found with 2MASS data are embedded in this shell. The positional relationship of the clusters, the molecular shell and the HII region indicates that expansion of S235 is responsible for the formation of the clusters. The gas distribution in the S235 molecular complex is clumpy, which hampers interpretation exclusively on the basis of the morphology of the star forming region. We use data on kinematics of molecular gas to support the hypothesis of induced star formation, and distinguish three basic types of molecular gas components. The first type is primordial undisturbed gas of the giant molecular cloud, the second type is gas entrained in motion by expansion of the HII region (this is where the embedded clusters were formed), and the third type is a fast-moving gas, which might have been accelerated by winds from the newly formed clusters. The clumpy distribution of molecular gas and its kinematics around the HII region implies that the picture of triggered star formation around S235 can be a mixture of at least two possibilities: the "collect-and-collapse" scenario and the compression of pre-existing dense clumps by the shock wave., Comment: Accepted by MNRAS, 10 pages, 5 figures, 2 tables

General characteristics of methanol (CH3OH) maser emission are summarized. It is shown that methanol maser sources are concentrated in the spiral arms. Most of the methanol maser sources from the Perseus arm are associated with embedded stellar clusters and a considerable portion is situated close to compact HII regions. Almost 1/3 of the Perseus Arm sources lie at the edges of optically identified HII regions which means that massive star formation in the Perseus Arm is to a great extent triggered by local phenomena. A multiline analysis of the methanol masers allows us to determine the physical parameters in the regions of maser formation. Maser modelling shows that class II methanol masers can be pumped by the radiation of the warm dust as well as by free-free emission of a hypercompact region hcHII with a turnover frequency exceeding 100 GHz. Methanol masers of both classes can reside in the vicinity of hcHIIs. Modelling shows that periodic changes of maser fluxes can be reproduced by variations of the dust temperature by a few percent which may be caused by variations in the brightness of the central young stellar object reflecting the character of the accretion process. Sensitive observations have shown that the masers with low flux densities can still have considerable amplification factors. The analysis of class I maser surveys allows us to identify four distinct regimes that differ by the series of their brightest lines., Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, invited presentation at IAU242 "Astrophysical Masers and their environments"

Methanol masers which are traditionally divided into two classes provide possibility to study important parts of the star forming regions: Class~II masers trace vicinities of the massive YSOs while class~I masers are likely to trace more distant parts of the outflows where newer stars can form. There are many methanol transitions which produce observed masers. This allows to use pumping analysis for estimation of the physical parameters in the maser formation regions and its environment, for the study of their evolution. Extensive surveys in different masing transitions allow to conclude on the values of the temperatures, densities, dust properties, etc. in the bulk of masing regions. Variability of the brightest masers is monitored during several years. In some cases it is probably caused by the changes of the dust temperature which follow variations in the brightness of the central YSO reflecting the character of the accretion process. A unified catalogue of the class II methanol masers consisting of more than 500 objects is compiled. Analysis of the data shows that: physical conditions within the usual maser source vary considerably; maser brightness is determined by parameters of some distinguished part of the object - maser formation region; class II methanol masers are formed not within the outflows but in the regions affected by their propagation. It is shown that the "near" solutions for the kinematic distances to the sources can be used for statistical analysis. The luminosity function of the 6.7 GHz methanol masers is constructed. It is shown that improvement of the sensitivity of surveys can increase number of detected maser sources considerably., Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, published in the proceedings of the IAUS 227