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Interferometric survey of Be stars with the CHARA array

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 July 2011

Yamina N. Touhami ,
Douglas R. Gies ,
Gail H. Schaefer ,
Noel D. Richardson ,
Stephen J. Williams ,
Erika D. Grundstrom  and
M. Virginia McSwain
Yamina N. Touhami
Affiliation:
Center for High Angular Resolution Astronomy, GSU, Atlanta, GA 30302, USA
Douglas R. Gies
Affiliation:
Center for High Angular Resolution Astronomy, GSU, Atlanta, GA 30302, USA
Gail H. Schaefer
Affiliation:
The CHARA Array, Mount Wilson Observatory, Mount Wilson, CA 91023, USA
Noel D. Richardson
Affiliation:
Center for High Angular Resolution Astronomy, GSU, Atlanta, GA 30302, USA
Stephen J. Williams
Affiliation:
Center for High Angular Resolution Astronomy, GSU, Atlanta, GA 30302, USA
Erika D. Grundstrom
Affiliation:
Physics and Astronomy Department, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235, USA
M. Virginia McSwain
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA 18015, USA
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Abstract

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We present the first spatially resolved observations of circumstellar envelopes of 25 bright northern Be stars. The survey was performed with the CHARA Array interferometer in the K-band at intermediate and long baselines. The interferometric visibilities are well fitted by a viscous disk model where the gas density steeply decreases with the radius. Physical and geometrical parameters such as the density profile, the inclination, and the position angles of the circumstellar disks are determined. We find that the density radial exponent ranges between n ≈ 2.4 − 3.2, which is consistent with previous IRAS measurements. We have also obtained simultaneous optical and near-IR spectrophotometric measurements, and found that the model reproduces well the observed disk IR-continuum excess emission. By combining the projected rotational velocity of the Be star with the disk inclination derived from interferometry, we give estimates of the equatorial rotational velocities of these Be stars.

Keywords

techniques: photometrictechniques: interferometricstars: emission-lineBe
Type
Contributed Papers
Information
Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union , Volume 6 , Symposium S272: Active OB stars: structure, evolution, mass loss, and critical limits , July 2010 , pp. 634 - 635
Copyright
Copyright © International Astronomical Union 2011

References

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Porter, J. M. & Rivinius, T. 2003, PASP, 115, 1153CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Touhami, Y., Richardson, N. D., Gies, D. R., Schaefer, G. H. et al. 2010, PASP, 122, 379CrossRefGoogle Scholar