scholarly journals Optical Emission-Line Spectra of Be Stars (Review Paper)

1987 ◽  
Vol 92 ◽  
pp. 149-171 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joachim Dachs

AbstractRecent observational work on spectra obtained at optical and near-infrared wavelengths is reviewed for “ordinary” (non-supergiant non-peculiar) Be and Be-shell stars, with particular emphasis on comparison between high-resolution spectral measurements and current Be star models. Emission-line profiles are interpreted in terms of geometry, dimensions and dynamics of a dense (N ≃ 1011 cm-3), cool (T ≃ 104 k) line-emitting region in the circumstellar envelope, separated from the thin, hot expanding stellar wind region. Present observations support a rotating-disk model for the cool, line-emitting region. Indications pointing towards structuring of cool circumstellar envelope regions are reported. Significant spectral variations are detected both on short (less than one day) and long time scales (months to years). Typical cycle times for large-amplitude V/R variations and intervals between shell episodes depend on spectral type, increasing with decreasing effective temperature of the central stars and ranging from a few years for early-Be type stars to a few decades for late Be stars.

1987 ◽  
Vol 92 ◽  
pp. 84-86
Author(s):  
D. R. Gies ◽  
David McDavid

Evidence is now accumulating that many Be stars display photospheric line profile variations on timescales of days or less that are probably caused by nonradial pulsations (Baade 1984; Penrod 1986). In some circumstances these pulsations can promote mass loss into the circumstellar envelope, and consequently the conditions in the inner part of the envelope may vary on similar timescales. Changes in the envelope could produce variations in the polarization and emission line profiles, and observers have reported rapid variability in both. We describe here an initial attempt to search for simultaneous variations in continuum polarization, Hα emission, and the He I λ6678 photospheric absorption line in order to investigate correlated changes on short timescales.


2010 ◽  
Vol 6 (S272) ◽  
pp. 404-405
Author(s):  
Chien-De Lee ◽  
Wen-Ping Chen ◽  
Daisuke Kinoshita

AbstractClassical Be (CBe) stars are fast-rotating emission-line stars associated with infrared excess often attributed to plasma free-free emission. A few with exceptionally large near-infrared excess, namely with (J–H) and (H–Ks) both greater than 0.6 mag, however, must be accounted for by thermal emission from circumstellar dust. From 2007 to 2009, spectra of more than 100 CBe stars have been collected. We present some of these spectra and discuss how temporal correlation (or lack of) among spectral features would provide possible diagnosis of the origin of the CBe phenomena.


2019 ◽  
Vol 486 (3) ◽  
pp. 3290-3306 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael V Maseda ◽  
Marijn Franx ◽  
Jacopo Chevallard ◽  
Emma Curtis-Lake

Abstract The James Webb Space Telescope will provide observational capabilities that far exceed those of current ground- or space-based instrumentation. In particular, the Near-Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) instrument will take highly sensitive spectroscopic data for hundreds of objects simultaneously from 0.6 to 5.3 $\mu$m. Current photometric observations suggest a large and increasing number of faint (MUV > −16) galaxies at high redshift, with increasing evidence that galaxies at these redshifts have optical emission lines with extremely high equivalent widths. A simple model of their emission line fluxes and number density evolution with redshift is used to predict the number of galaxies that NIRSpec will serendipitously observe during normal observations with the microshutter array. At exposure times of ≈20 h in the low-resolution prism mode, the model predicts that, on average, every open 1 × 3 ‘microslit’ will contain an un-targeted galaxy with a detectable [O iii] and/or H α emission line; while most of these detections are predicted to be of [O iii], H α detections alone would still number 0.56 per open ‘microslit’ for this exposure time. Many of these objects are spectroscopically detectable even when they are fainter than current photometric limits and/or their flux centroids lie outside of the open microshutter area. The predicted number counts for such galaxies match z ∼ 2 observations of [O iii] emitters from slitless grism spectroscopic surveys, as well as theoretical predictions based on sophisticated modelling of galaxy spectral energy distributions. These serendipitous detections could provide the largest numbers of z > 6 spectroscopic confirmations in the deepest NIRSpec surveys.


2020 ◽  
Vol 634 ◽  
pp. A116 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Villar Martín ◽  
M. Perna ◽  
A. Humphrey ◽  
N. Castro Rodríguez ◽  
L. Binette ◽  
...  

Context. Core extremely red quasars (core ERQ) have been proposed to represent an intermediate evolutionary phase in which a heavily obscured quasar blows out the circumnuclear interstellar medium with very energetic outflows before it becomes an optical quasar. Aims. We investigate whether the properties of core ERQ fit the AGN orientation-based unification scenario. Methods. We revised the general UV and optical emission line properties of core ERQ in the context of the orientation-based scenario. We used diagnostic diagrams based on UV emission line ratios and UV-to-optical line kinematic information to compare the physical and kinematic gas properties of core ERQ with those of other luminous narrow- and broad-line AGN. In particular, we provide a revised comparison of the [OIII] kinematics in 21 core ERQ (20 from Perrotta et al. 2019, MNRAS, 488, 4126 and SDSS J171420.38+414815.7, based on GTC EMIR near-infrared spectroscopy) with other samples of quasars with matching luminosity with the aim of evaluating whether core ERQ host the most extreme [OIII] outflows. Results. The UV line ratios suggest that the physical properties (e.g., density and metallicity) of the ionised gas in core ERQ are similar to those observed in the broad-line region of blue nitrogen-loud quasars. The [OIII] outflow velocities of core ERQ are on average consistent with those of very luminous blue type 1 quasars, although extreme outflows are much more frequent in core ERQ. These similarities can be explained in the context of the AGN unification model under the assumption that core ERQ are viewed with an intermediate orientation between type 2 (edge-on) and type 1 (face-on) quasars. Conclusions. We propose that core ERQ are very luminous but otherwise normal quasars viewed at an intermediate orientation. This orientation allows a direct view of the outer part of the large broad-line region from which core ERQ UV line emission originates; the extreme [OIII] outflow velocities are instead a consequence of the very high luminosity of core ERQ.


1999 ◽  
Vol 169 ◽  
pp. 329-336
Author(s):  
Yoji Osaki

AbstractWe discuss a possible role of non-radial oscillations as a cause of mass-loss in hot stars. In particular, we propose a working model for the episodic mass-loss in Be stars. In this model, equatorial mass loss is thought to be driven by wave-breaking phenomenon of large-amplitude non-radial waves and a circumstellar disk could thus be formed around the equatorial plane of a rapidly rotating star. A kind of relaxation-oscillation cycle could be established between the Be phase and non-Be phase, in which an interplay between non-radial oscillations in stellar atmosphere and the circumstellar disk is essential. We also discuss a viscous decretion-disk model for the circumstellar envelope around Be stars.


2000 ◽  
Vol 175 ◽  
pp. 472-475
Author(s):  
L. Cidale ◽  
J. Zorec ◽  
J.P. Maillard ◽  
N. Morrell

AbstractThe activities detected in Be stars indicate that the formation of the circumstellar envelope and its structure cannot be studied independently of the phenomena taking place in the outermost layers of the central stars. Assuming that related to the stellar activity there is an expanding atmospheric region with temperatures Te > Teff followed by an envelope with a decreasing temperature, we calculated hydrogen line profiles for different velocity fields and different positions of temperature maxima relative to the underlying photosphere. Results show that the Hα line is not very sensitive to changes introduced to the stellar atmosphere and to the nearby circumstellar layers. Moreover, the Hα emission line profiles look like those produced by disc-like circumstellar envelopes seen pole-on, although the model for the circumstellar envelope is spherical. However, the first members of the Paschen and Brackett series are strongly sensitive to any changes introduced in the photospheric and exophotospheric layers. We conclude that the study of these lines may then be valuable to obtain new insight on the activity of central stars and on the phenomena involved in circumstellar envelope formation in Be stars.


2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (S290) ◽  
pp. 267-268
Author(s):  
Yuan Liu ◽  
Jin Zhang ◽  
Shuang-Nan Zhang

AbstractSome abnormal AGNs are discovered in the SDSS data recently. The usual UV/optical emission lines are exceptionally weak in their UV/optical spectroscopy, though the shapes and luminosities of their continua are comparable with that of the normal AGNs. We investigated the optical variations and the near-infrared spectra of these weak emission-line AGNs. We propose that these AGNs can be interpreted as the early stage of an active cycle of AGNs.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (11) ◽  
pp. 288
Author(s):  
Baskaran Shridharan ◽  
Blesson Mathew ◽  
Sabu Nidhi ◽  
Ravikumar Anusha ◽  
Roy Arun ◽  
...  

Abstract We present a catalog of 3339 hot emission-line stars (ELSs) identified from 451 695 O, B and A type spectra, provided by LAMOST Data Release 5 (DR5). We developed an automated Python routine that identified 5437 spectra having a peak between 6561 and 6568 Å. False detections and bad spectra were removed, leaving 4138 good emission-line spectra of 3339 unique ELSs. We re-estimated the spectral types of 3307 spectra as the LAMOST Stellar Parameter Pipeline (LASP) did not provide accurate spectral types for these emission-line spectra. As Herbig Ae/Be stars exhibit higher excess in near-infrared and mid-infrared wavelengths than classical Ae/Be stars, we relied on 2MASS and WISE photometry to distinguish them. Finally, we report 1089 classical Be, 233 classical Ae and 56 Herbig Ae/Be stars identified from LAMOST DR5. In addition, 928 B[em]/A[em] stars and 240 CAe/CBe potential candidates are identified. From our sample of 3339 hot ELSs, 2716 ELSs identified in this work do not have any record in the SIMBAD database and they can be considered as new detections. Identification of such a large homogeneous set of emission-line spectra will help the community study the emission phenomenon in detail without worrying about the inherent biases when compiling from various sources.


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