Astrophysical masers, naturally occurring microwave and radio-wave emissions, provide an important tool to investigate astrophysical environments. Several thousand maser sources have been observed in the interstellar medium and star formation regions, in the expanding winds from evolved stars, in the compressed shells of supernovae remnants, in comets and in the centers of galaxies. Masers are also useful for studying the structure and dynamics of our own galaxy, while masers in other galaxies are now used for cosmological studies and studies of galactic nuclei. This volume contains the latest research on the topic as presented at IAU Symposium 242, only the third international symposium on astrophysical masers. Over 125 astronomers from 18 different countries gathered in Alice Spring, Australia, for discussions on maser research.

Editors

Jessica M. Chapman, Australia Telescope CSIRO, New South Wales

Willem A. Baan, Netherlands Foundation for Research in Astronomy

Table of Contents

Preface
Conference prelims
Tribute to Raymond James Cohen J. M. Chapman and W. A. Baan
History P. Edwards
Session 1. Maser theory Anne Green
Session 2. Polarization and magnetic fields Athol Kemball
Session 3. Masers and star formation Mark Wardle
Session 4. Galactic maser surveys Philip Diamond and Hiroshi Imai
Session 5. Stellar masers, circumstellar winds and supernova remnants Hiroshi Imai, Crystal Brogan and Miller Goss
Session 6. Galactic structure and the Galactic Centre Luis Rodriguez
Session 7. Masers in AGN environments Moshe Elitzur
Session 8. Megamaser and starburst activity Lincoln Greenhill
Session 9. Diagnostics and interpretation in extragalactic environments Colin Lonsdale
Session 10. New millimeter and sub-millimeter masers Indra Bains
Session 11. Future facilities and conference summary Elizabeth Humphreys and Karl Menten
Author index.