We have developed a self-consistent model of the disk around the nearby 10 Myr old star TW Hya which matches the observed spectral energy distribution and 7mm images of the disk. The model requires a significant dust size evolution and a partially-evacuated inner disk region, as predicted by theories of planet formation. The outer disk, which extends to at least 140 AU in radius, is very optically thick at IR wavelengths and quite massive ~0.06 Msun for the relatively advanced age of this T Tauri star. This implies long viscous and dust evolution timescales, although dust must have grown to sizes of order ~1cm to explain the sub-mm and mm spectral slopes. In contrast, the negligible near-infrared excess emission of this system requires that the disk be optically thin inside ~4 AU.This inner region cannot be completely evacuated; we need ~0.5 lunar mass of ~1 micron particles remaining to produce the observed 10 micron silicate emission. Our model requires a distinct transition in disk properties at ~4 AU, separating the inner and outer disk. The inner edge of the optically-thick outer disk must be heated almost frontally by the star to account for the excess flux at mid-IR wavelengths. We speculate that this truncation of the outer disk may be the signpost of a developing gap due to the effects of a growing protoplanet; the gap is still presumably evolving because material still resides in it, as indicated by the silicate emission, the molecular hydrogen emission, and by the continued accretion onto the central star (albeit at a much lower rate than typical of younger T Tauri stars). TW Hya thus may become the Rosetta stone for our understanding of the evolution and dissipation of protoplanetary disks.Comment: 23 pages including 5 figures, Accepted by AP

The conversion of gas into stars is a fundamental process in astrophysics and cosmology. Stars are known to form from the gravitational collapse of dense clumps in interstellar molecular clouds, and it has been proposed that the resulting star formation rate is proportional to either the amount of mass above a threshold gas surface density, or the gas volume density. These star formation prescriptions appear to hold in nearby molecular clouds in our Milky Way Galaxy's disc as well as in distant galaxies where the star formation rates are often much larger. The inner 500 pc of our Galaxy, the Central Molecular Zone (CMZ), contains the largest concentration of dense, high-surface density molecular gas in the Milky Way, providing an environment where the validity of star formation prescriptions can be tested. Here, we show that by several measures, the current star formation rate in the CMZ is an order-of-magnitude lower than the rates predicted by the currently accepted prescriptions. In particular, the region 1° < l < 3°.5, |b| < 0°.5 contains ∼10⁷ M_⊙ of dense (> several 10³ cm⁻³) molecular gas – enough to form 1000 Orion-like clusters – but the present-day star formation rate within this gas is only equivalent to that in Orion. In addition to density, another property of molecular clouds must be included in the star formation prescription to predict the star formation rate in a given mass of molecular gas. We discuss which physical mechanisms might be responsible for suppressing star formation in the CMZ.

We have conducted a Galactic plane survey of methanol masers at 6668 MHz using a seven-beam receiver on the Parkes telescope. Here we present results

We have mapped 20 spectral lines in the Central Molecular Zone (CMZ) around the Galactic Centre, emitting from 85.3 to 93.3 GHz. This work used the 2

A survey of ultracompact (UC) H II regions has been carried out by searching for 6.669-GHz methanol maser emission from a sample of 535 IRAS-selected candidates. A total of 201 candidates exhibit methanol emission. These sources have been used, in conjunction with previously identified UC H II regions, to provide a base for further studies of such regions. Estimates of distances have indicated that the identified UC H II regions tend to have some Galactic structure but it is not clear whether they lie in or between the spiral arms of the Galaxy. The regions are tightly constrained to the plane of the Galaxy. Comparison of identified regions and IRAS sources selected by Wood & Churchwell indicates that there there is some degree of contamination, which could be due to an older phase in the life on an UC H II region where methanol maser emission is not apparent. Luminosities and spectral types have been derived for many of the regions. The maximum number of maser spots observed seems to increase with increasing peak maser luminosity, which indicates that the maser emission is more dependent on the abundance of methanol than the availability of far-infrared radiation.