A Parameter Study of Classical Be Star Disk Models Constrained by Optical Interferometry

TL;DR

This study models classical Be star disks using advanced radiative transfer, constrained by optical interferometry and spectroscopy, to tightly determine their density structures.

Contribution

It introduces improved non-LTE radiative transfer models incorporating realistic chemistry, constrained by interferometric and spectroscopic data, for better understanding Be star disks.

Findings

Models match interferometric observations closely

Density distributions are tightly constrained by data

Improved thermal structure modeling enhances accuracy

Abstract

We have computed theoretical models of circumstellar disks for the classical Be stars $\kappa$ Dra, $\beta$ Psc, and $\upsilon$ Cyg. Models were constructed using a non-LTE radiative transfer code developed by \citet{sig07} which incorporates a number of improvements over previous treatments of the disk thermal structure, including a realistic chemical composition. Our models are constrained by direct comparison with long baseline optical interferometric observations of the H$\alpha$ emitting regions and by contemporaneous H$\alpha$ line profiles. Detailed comparisons of our predictions with H$\alpha$ interferometry and spectroscopy place very tight constraints on the density distributions for these circumstellar disks.