Polarimetry of Be stars at 1.25 and 2.2 microns

Abstract

view Abstract Citations (30) References (29) Co-Reads Similar Papers Volume Content Graphics Metrics Export Citation NASA/ADS Polarimetry of Be stars at 1.25 and 2.2 microns. Jones, T. J. Abstract Observations of the linear polarization of eight Be stars at 1.25 and 2.2 microns are presented. An equatorial-disk model is developed where the polarization due to electron scattering of stellar and disk radiation is treated discretely, allowing two scatters of the stellar radiation and one of the disk radiation. Neutral hydrogen opacity is taken into account, and the populations of the levels of hydrogen are allowed to depart from local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) if the dilute and diffuse fields indicate such a departure to be necessary. The stars Phi Per, Zeta Tau, Gamma Cas, and EW Lac all show a decrease in polarization longward of 1 micron. When combined with polarimetry in the visible, model calculations indicate an increase in the density of the disk toward the star for these stars. The stars 48 Lib, Epsilon Cap, and Omicron Aqr all maintain a high polarization into the near-infrared, and each requires a different disk structure when modeled. The excess emission longward of 1 micron for all of the stars can be shown to arise completely from within the disk. Publication: The Astrophysical Journal Pub Date: March 1979 DOI: 10.1086/156905 Bibcode: 1979ApJ...228..787J Keywords: B Stars; Electron Scattering; Infrared Radiation; Polarimetry; Stellar Envelopes; Stellar Models; Astronomical Photometry; Linear Polarization; Near Infrared Radiation; Stellar Radiation; Stellar Structure; Astronomy; Be Stars:Circumstellar Shells; Be Stars:Infrared Polarization; Be Stars:Models full text sources ADS | data products SIMBAD (10)