Abstract
view Abstract Citations (11) References (25) Co-Reads Similar Papers Volume Content Graphics Metrics Export Citation NASA/ADS Effects of Prescattering Attenuation on Spectropolarimetric Line Profiles Wood, Kenneth ; Bjorkman, J. E. Abstract We present the wavelength dependent linear polarization and position angle variations arising from single Thomson scattering of continuum stellar radiation in an axisymmetric, hot, planar disk, which is in bulk motion. The wavelength dependence arises through the combination of Doppler shifted line attenuation, prior to scattering, and the Doppler redistribution of the scattered radiation due to the bulk and thermal motions of the disk electrons. We find that when the scattering electrons are cold, there are large polarization and position angle variations across the resulting spectrapolarimetric absorption line profile-agreeing with previous investigations. However, when the thermal Doppler velocities of the scattering electrons are comparable to or greater than the electron bulk velocity (as is of ten the case), then the scattered line profile is broadened and the amplitude of the polarimetric variations are considerably reduced. The properties of the electron thermal smearing function are such that the equivalent width of any scattered spectrapolarimetric feature is independent on the electron temperature-a consequence of the conservation of areas under convolution. An important result of this is that for an axisymmetric circumstellar envelope the position angle variations will average to zero across any line formed through the above process. We expect that the effect of multiple line blending will yield a depolarization equivalent width is given by the sum of the individual equivalent widths and the position angle variations will average to zero. The implications of this are that the large depolarizations observed in the UV spectra of pi Aquarii, zeta Tauri and PP Carinae by the Wisconsin Ultraviolet Photo Polarimeter Experiment (WUPPE) can only be explained with prescattering attenuation of stellar flux if there are a sufficient number of multiple overlapping lines in that part of the spectrum. Publication: The Astrophysical Journal Pub Date: April 1995 DOI: 10.1086/175530 Bibcode: 1995ApJ...443..348W Keywords: Attenuation; Line Spectra; Linear Polarization; Planar Structures; Position (Location); Stellar Radiation; Thomson Scattering; Wavelengths; Astronomical Polarimetry; Astronomical Spectroscopy; Doppler Radar; Electron Energy; Spectrographs; Stellar Envelopes; Ultraviolet Spectra; Astrophysics; INSTRUMENTATION: SPECTROGRAPHS; LINE: PROFILES; POLARIZATION; STARS: CIRCUMSTELLAR MATTER; STARS: EMISSION-LINE; BE full text sources ADS | data products SIMBAD (4) MAST (1)
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