Using Optical/Near-Infrared Interferometric Polarimetry to Place Constraints on the Disks Surrounding Be Stars

We present predictions for the normalized Stokes visibilities of a Be star disk, as would be measured by an interferometric polarimeter. Using both a simple geometric model for the disk as well as a more complex radiative transfer model, we investigate, in detail, the effect of each of the model par...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Astrophysical journal 2009-10, Vol.704 (1), p.591-605
Main Authors: Mackay, F. E, Elias, N. M, Jones, C. E, Sigut, T. A. A
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
ACCURACY
Astronomy
ASTROPHYSICS, COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY
Earth, ocean, space
EMISSION
ENERGY TRANSFER
Exact sciences and technology
HEAT TRANSFER
INCLINATION
POLARIMETERS
POLARIMETRY
POLARIZATION
RADIANT HEAT TRANSFER
RANDOMNESS
STARS
VISIBILITY
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Summary:We present predictions for the normalized Stokes visibilities of a Be star disk, as would be measured by an interferometric polarimeter. Using both a simple geometric model for the disk as well as a more complex radiative transfer model, we investigate, in detail, the effect of each of the model parameters on the resultant normalized Stokes visibilities. We find normalized visibility amplitudes for the total star and disk system of ~10-2-10-3 at shorter baselines, and ~10-3-10-4 at longer baselines, requiring, at small and moderate baselines, an accuracy for interferometric polarization observations better than ~10-3-10-4, including all random and systematic errors. Provided this level of accuracy is attainable, we find that the Stokes Q visibility may be important both for the removal of model degeneracies present when considering the intensity alone, as well as for providing an estimate of the inclination angle of the disk.
ISSN:0004-637X
1538-4357
DOI:10.1088/0004-637X/704/1/591