The Outer Disk of the Classical Be Star ψ Per

Robert Klement, Alex C. Carciofi, Thomas Rivinius, Lynn D. Matthews, Richard Ignace, Jon E. Bjorkman, Rodrigo G. Vieira, Bruno C. Mota, Daniel M. Faes, Stanislav Stefl

Research output: Contribution to conferencePresentation

Abstract

To this date ψ Per is the only classical Be star that was angularly resolved in radio (by the VLA at λ = 2 cm). Gaussian fit to the azimuthally averaged visibility data indicates a disk size (FWHM) of ~500 stellar radii (Dougherty & Taylor 1992). Recently, we obtained new multi-band cm flux density measurements of ψ Per from the enhanced VLA. We modeled the observed spectral energy distribution (SED) covering the interval from ultraviolet to radio using the Monte Carlo radiative transfer code HDUST (Carciofi & Bjorkman 2006). An SED turndown, that occurs between far-IR and radio wavelengths, is explained by a truncated viscous decretion disk (VDD), although the shallow slope of the radio SED suggests that the disk is not simply cut off, as is assumed in our model. The best-fit size of a truncated disk derived from the modeling of the radio SED is 100+5 −15 stellar radii, which is in striking contrast with the result of Dougherty & Taylor (1992). The reasons for this discrepancy are under investigation.

Original languageAmerican English
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 1 2016
EventProceedings of the International Astronomical Union -
Duration: Nov 1 2016 → …

Conference

ConferenceProceedings of the International Astronomical Union
Period11/1/16 → …

Keywords

  • Be
  • radio continuum: stars
  • stars: emission-line
  • stars: individual

Disciplines

  • Astrophysics and Astronomy
  • Stars, Interstellar Medium and the Galaxy

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