Revisiting the formaldehyde masers

Abstract: The 4.8 GHz formaldehyde masers are one of a number of rare types of molecular masers in the Galaxy. The aim of the present calculations is to explore a larger region of parameter space to improve on our previous calculations, thereby to better understand the range of physical conditions under which an inversion of the 4.8 GHz transition occurs. We solve the rate equations of the first 40 rotational levels of o-formaldehyde using a fourth-order Runge-Kutta method. We consider gas kinetic temperatures between 10 K and 300 K, H_2 densities between 10^4 and 10^6 per cc, and a number of different dust temperatures and grey-body spectral energy density distributions. Using a grey-body dust radiation field appropriate for Arp 220 we find that none of 4.8 GHz, 14 GHz, and 28 GHz transitions are inverted for kinetic temperatures less than 100 K. Our calculations also show that in theory the 4.8 GHz transition can be inverted over a large region of explored parameter space in the presence of an external far-infrared radiation field. Limiting the abundance of o-formaldehyde to less than 10^{-5}, however, reduces the region where an inversion occurs to H_2 densities > 10^5 per cc and kinetic temperatures >100 K. We propose a pumping scheme for the formaldehyde masers which can explain why collisions play a central role in inverting the 4.8 GHz transition, and therefore why an external radiation field alone does not lead to an inversion. Collisions are an essential mechanism for the inversion of the 4.8 GHz transition. Our results suggest that 4.8 GHz formaldehyde megamasers are associated with hot and dense gas typical of high mass star forming regions rather than with cold material.