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G.M. Summers, K.S. Bjorkman (U. Toledo)
We have investigated variations within the V/R ratios of the H-alpha profile for a set of Be circumstellar disks to determine whether this changed periodically. We also looked at the equivalent width variations for the same set to determine whether they changed periodically. While for some stars we found periodic variations, for others we found none. Finally, as a part of the continuing investigation on the nature of circumstellar disks, we used measurements of optical and ultraviolet polarization to test models which could indicate the temperature of the disk. As not all stars have polarization in both optical and ultraviolet, we also investigated whether it would be feasible to deduce temperature using only optical polarization data. This method seems reasonable, as tests indicate that temperatures obtained using only optical data matched those obtained using both optical and ultraviolet data.
GMS acknowledges support through the U. Toledo REU Program, funded by NSF grant PHY-9731880. This work was supported in part by NASA Grant NAG5-8054 to the University of Toledo, and by a Cottrell Scholars Award to KSB from the Research Corporation.
The author(s) of this abstract have provided an email address for comments about the abstract: gsummers@physics.utoledo.edu