Circumstellar disc geometry constrained by infrared line fluxes |
| |
| Authors: | C E Jones A Molak T A A Sigut A de Koter A Lenorzer S C Popa |
| |
| Institution: | Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario N6A 3K7, Canada;Astronomical Institute 'Anton Pannekoek', University of Amsterdam, Kruislaan 403, 1098 SJ Amsterdam, the Netherlands;Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias, Via Láctea S/N, E-38200 La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain;Astronomical Institute, Utrecht University, Princetonplein 5, 3584 CC Utrecht, the Netherlands |
| |
| Abstract: | Lenorzer et al. introduce ratios of hydrogen infrared recombination lines as a diagnostic tool to constrain the spatial distribution and physical condition of circumstellar material around hot massive stars. They demonstrate that the observed line flux ratios Hu14/Brα and Hu14/Pfγ from different types of objects associated with circumstellar material, such as Be stars, Be] stars, and Luminous Blue Variable (LBV) stars are well separated in a diagnostic diagram. In this paper, we investigate this diagnostic tool using a non-LTE disc code developed by Sigut & Jones focusing on Be discs. We find good agreement between the empirical and predicted locations of Be stars in the Hu14/Brα versus Hu14/Pfγ diagram and show that indeed this diagnostic tool can be used to constrain basic properties of the discs of these stars. |
| |
| Keywords: | circumstellar matter stars: early-type stars: emission-line Be |
|
|
