Abstract
Nussbaumer and colleagues proposed that broad Hα wings can be formed through Raman scattering of Lyβ photons, and in this Letter we argue that the Hα wings prevalently seen in symbiotic stars may indeed be formed in this way. Assuming a flat incident UV radiation around Lyβ, we generate template wing profiles around Hα that are formed through Raman scattering in a plane-parallel H I region. We perform profile-fitting analyses to show that the template wing profiles are in excellent agreement with the observed ones recently provided by van Winckel et al. and Ivison et al. The wing flux is determined by the scattering H I column density and the incident Lyβ flux strength and profile. From our profile analysis it is proposed that the Raman-scattering component may be identified with the neutral envelope with a column density ranging 1018-1020 cm-2 that surrounds the binary system. We briefly discuss alternative candidates for the wing formation mechanism and observational implications of Raman scattering in symbiotic stars and in other astronomical objects including planetary nebulae, post-asymptotic giant branch stars, and active galactic nuclei.
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