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Paper: Adaptive Optics Polarimetry of Herbig Ae/Be Stars
Volume: 343, Astronomical Polarimetry: Current Status and Future Directions
Page: 379
Authors: Perrin, M.D.; Graham, J.R.; Kalas, P.; Lloyd, J.P.; Max, C.E.; Gavel, D.T.; Pennington, D.M.; Gates, E.L.
Abstract: We are performing an imaging polarimetry survey of Herbig Ae/Be stars using the Lick Observatory Adaptive Optics system in both natural and laser guide star modes. The IRCAL dual-channel imaging polarimeter developed at UC Berkeley uses a YLF Wollaston prism to obtain simultaneous images of perpendicular polarizations in the near-infrared J, H, and Ks bands. Herbig Ae/Be stars are young intermediate-mass stars, whose detailed nature is not as well understood as that of the lower-mass T Tauri stars. Our observations reveal a wide range of extended dust structures around these stars, including bipolar nebulae bisected by dark lanes indicative of circumstellar disks (around LkHa 233 and LkHa 198), dust lanes connecting the members of a binary system (LkHa 225) and complex regions featuring multiple jets and nebulae (LkHa 234). Our data support the conclusion that the evolution of Herbig Ae/Be stars proceeds along a similar pathway to that of the lower-mass T Tauri stars.
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