Constraints on Be star wind geometry by linear polarisation and IR excess

Details Constraints on Be star wind geometry by linear polarisation and IR excess Constraints on Be star wind geometry by linear polarisation and IR excess

Mar 1992

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1992a%26a...256..195w&link_type=abstract

Astronomy and Astrophysics (ISSN 0004-6361), vol. 256, no. 1, p. 195-204.

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomy

31

B Stars, Infrared Astronomy, Linear Polarization, Stellar Winds, Light Scattering, Stellar Envelopes, Stellar Models

Scientific paper

We have investigated the correlation between optical linear polarization and IR excess in classical Be stars in order to derive constraints on the geometry of the circumstellar material. We use a simple disk model to calculate the expected degree of polarization and IR excess, and derive analytical expressions for the relation between polarization and IR excess as a function of model parameters (density gradient, opening angle of the disk) for edge-on disks that are optically thin for free-bound and free-free radiation in the optical. We also investigate the energy distribution and degree of polarization numerically, solving first for the degree of ionization in the disk. Comparison between analytical and numerical results shows good agreement for small polarization, but large differences in the case of high densities, i.e., when optical depth effects become important. When compared to the observations, our calculations indicate that the combination of polarization and IR excess does not put strong constraints on the geometry of the disk.

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