A 6.7 GHz methanol maser survey of the central molecular zone.

The Central Molecular Zone (CMZ) spans the inner ~450 pc (3 degrees) of our Galaxy. This region is defined by its enhanced molecular emission and contains 5% of the entire Galaxy's molecular gas mass. However, the number of detected star forming sites towards the CMZ may be low for the amount of molecular gas that is present, and improved surveys of star formationindicators can help clarify this. With the Karl G JanskyVery Large Array (VLA), we conducted a blind survey of 6.7 GHz methanol masersspanning the inner 3deg x 40arcmin (450 pc x 100 pc) of the Galaxy. We detected 43 methanol maserstowards 28 locations, 16 of which are new detections. The velocities of most of these masersare consistent with being located within the CMZ. A majority of the detected methanol masersare distributed towards positive Galactic longitudes, similar to 2/3 of the molecular gas mass distributed at positive Galactic longitudes. The 6.7 GHz methanol maseris an excellent indicator of high mass (>8 solar mass) star formation, with new detections indicating sites of massive star formationin the CMZ.