The Role of Evolutionary Age and Metallicity in the Formation of Classical Be Circumstellar Disks I. New Candidate Be Stars in the LMC, SMC, and Milky Way

Details The Role of Evolutionary Age and Metallicity in the Formation of Classical Be Circumstellar Disks I. New Candidate Be Stars in the LMC, SMC, and Milky Way The Role of Evolutionary Age and Metallicity in the Formation of Classical Be Circumstellar Disks I. New Candidate Be Stars in the LMC, SMC, and Milky Way

2006-06-21

arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0606525v1

Astrophys.J.652:458-471,2006

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astrophysics

42 pages (4 figures, 9 tables), accepted in ApJ; online-only figures and table available at http://ardbeg.astro.utoledo.edu/

Scientific paper

10.1086/507260

We present B, V, R, and H alpha photometry of 8 clusters in the Small Magellanic Cloud, 5 in the Large Magellanic Cloud, and 3 Galactic clusters, and use 2 color diagrams (2-CDs) to identify candidate Be star populations in these clusters. We find evidence that the Be phenomenon is enhanced in low metallicity environments, based on the observed fractional early-type candidate Be star content of clusters of age 10-25 Myr. Numerous candidate Be stars of spectral types B0 to B5 were identified in clusters of age 5-8 Myr, challenging the suggestion of Fabregat & Torrejon (2000) that classical Be stars should only be found in clusters at least 10 Myr old. These results suggest that a significant number of B-type stars must emerge onto the zero-age-main-sequence as rapid rotators. We also detect an enhancement in the fractional content of early-type candidate Be stars in clusters of age 10-25 Myr, suggesting that the Be phenomenon does become more prevalent with evolutionary age. We briefly discuss the mechanisms which might contribute to such an evolutionary effect. A discussion of the limitations of utilizing the 2-CD technique to investigate the role evolutionary age and/or metallicity play in the development of the Be phenomenon is offered, and we provide evidence that other B-type objects of very different nature, such as candidate Herbig Ae/Be stars may contaminate the claimed detections of ``Be stars'' via 2-CDs.

Affiliated with

Also associated with

No associations

Rating

The Role of Evolutionary Age and Metallicity in the Formation of Classical Be Circumstellar Disks I. New Candidate Be Stars in the LMC, SMC, and Milky Way does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with The Role of Evolutionary Age and Metallicity in the Formation of Classical Be Circumstellar Disks I. New Candidate Be Stars in the LMC, SMC, and Milky Way, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and The Role of Evolutionary Age and Metallicity in the Formation of Classical Be Circumstellar Disks I. New Candidate Be Stars in the LMC, SMC, and Milky Way will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-621558