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| Paper: |
Polarimetry, Circumstellar Disks and Active OB Stars (Invited Review) |
| Volume: |
361, Active OB-Stars: Laboratories For Stellar and Circumstellar Physics |
| Page: |
266 |
| Authors: |
Bjorkman, K. |
| Abstract: |
Among the active OB stars, Be stars are rapidly rotating, mainsequence B-type stars with circumstellar disks. While the relatively large dusty circumstellar disks around low-mass pre-main-sequence stars have been resolved with direct imaging and adaptive optics, most of the much smaller gaseous disks around the higher mass Be stars have not. Although the rapidly improving capabilities of optical interferometry have begun to resolve the nearest and largest of Be star disks, we still need other methods to learn about the detailed physical nature of such disks. Polarimetry provides a useful diagnostic for non-spherical geometries, especially when used in conjunction with other techniques. I will discuss how we can apply spectropolarimetric diagnostics to determine the physical characteristics of Be disks. I will also consider diagnostics that can be used to investigate other types of active OB stars, and compare and contrast the general polarimetric signatures of different types of active OB stars. |
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