Abstract
Interferometric measurements of stellar sizes in frequency bands ranging from the near-infrared to longer wavelengthsgivedifferentresults.Variousexplanationshavebeenproposedtoaccountforthesevariationsinapparentsize withwavelength,butnonehave beenentirely consistent.Weproposethat thermal ionizationinthestellar atmosphere and resulting opacity, primarily due to free-free electron-hydrogen collisions, play a significant role. Such an opacity has a quadratic dependence on photon wavelength and produces variations in the opacity of the atmosphere with wavelength, consistent with pertinent measurements. This may be particularly important for Mira-type stars, and two examples, o Ceti and W Hya, are analyzed as examples. For stars that are much smaller or with more concentrated mass, it is not likely to be significant. Subject headingg stars: atmospheres — stars: fundamental parameters — stars: variables: other — techniques: interferometric
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