Distances to most star forming regions are determined using kinematics, through the assumption that the observed radial velocity arises from the motion of the source with respect to the Sun resulting from the differential rotation of Galaxy. The primary challenge associated with the application of this technique in the inner Galaxy is the kinematic distance ambiguity. In this work, we aim to resolve the kinematic distance ambiguity towards a sample of 6.7GHz methanol masers, which are signposts of the early stages of massive star formation. We measured 21cm HI absorption spectra using the Very Large Array in C and CnB configurations. A comparison of the maximum velocity of HI absorption with the source velocity and tangent point velocity was used to resolve the kinematic distance ambiguity.

Cone search capability for table J/A+A/486/191/table1 (6.7 GHz methanol maser properties)