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Paper: Current Status of Our Understanding of Be Disk Physics Invited Review
Volume: 506, Bright Emissaries: Be Stars as Messengers of Star-Disk Physics
Page: 3
Authors: Okazaki, A. T.
Abstract: I review the current theoretical understanding of physical processes at work in circumstellar disks of Be stars. First, I overview the viscous decretion disk scenario, which provides a platform on which various phenomena/observational features are studied. I discuss how a disk forms and develops by the effect of viscosity. I also discuss the disk structure at large distances. Next, I present a few applications, such as a global disk oscillation model for line profile variability and a truncated disk model for binary Be stars, both of which can be used to constrain the basic disk parameters. Phenomenologically, the viscous decretion disk scenario is thus successful. There are, however, fundamental issues that remain to be solved. They include the mass ejection mechanism from the central star, the origin of disk viscosity, and the interaction with the stellar wind. The study of the radiative effect on the disk dynamics is also important in the context of disk warping and precession. The final part of the talk is devoted to some of these topics.
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