The Relationship Between Masers and Massive Star Formation: What Can Be Learned from the Infrared?

The infrared represents an alternative wavelength regime in which to study the environments of maser emission, while at the same time complementing the information obtained through radio techniques. The near infrared (1-2 microns) yields information on outflows, shocks, and reflected dust emission, while the thermal infrared (3-30 microns) yields information on the thermal dust distribution around stars. Thus, the infrared regime yields important clues in determining whether masers exist in shocks, outflows, circumstellar accretion disks, or in the dense medium close to protostars.