A study of the dynamical evolution of delta Scorpii

• Grant number: 12/21518-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: July 01, 2013
• End date: March 31, 2015
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Astronomy - Stellar Astrophysics
• Principal Investigator: Alex Cavaliéri Carciofi
• Grantee: Leandro Rocha Rímulo
• Host Institution: Instituto de Astronomia, Geofísica e Ciências Atmosféricas (IAG). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Context: Be stars are main-sequence, early type stars whose spectrum is characterized by the presence of emission lines of HI, He and other metals. This emission comes from a circumstellar disk, whose origin is attributed to material that is ejected by the fast-spinning central star. Aims: the Be star delta Scorpii was diskless (i.e., a normal B star) during all of the XX century, but in 2000 it started developing a disk that survives until today. Our group has a very rich observational dataset of this star that covers most of the disk evolution with a variety of different techniques (photometry, polarimetry, interferometry and spectroscopy). The objective of this work is to model the recent history of theBe star delta Scorpii in the context of recent advancements of the theory of the circumstellar disks around Be stars. Methods: Be disks are believed to form from material ejected from the central star that diffuses outwards by means of viscous forces, in a process known as viscous decretion. Therefore, the "viscosity parameter" is fundamental in controlling the history and fate of these disks. As a result, the construction and dissipation of Be circumstellar disks offer the possibility of measuring this parameter with great accuracy. This has been done, for the first time, in a recent study of the dissipation of the disk around the star 28 CMa. We will apply the same method to fit dynamical disk models to the observables of the Be star delta Scorpii. Expected results: delta Sco offers the unique opportunity to model the entire disk evolution since its formation in 2000 to the present day activity. Contrary to what has been done for 28 CMa, for which the viscosity parameter was obtained by analyzing only the disk dissipation phase, the here proposed analysis will model all phases of disk evolution. This will constitute a quite stringent test of the viscous decretion disk model. In addition, with this work, we aim at addressing the scientific questions of whether or not the viscosity parameter varies with disk density and distance from the star. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

RIMULO, L. R.; CARCIOFI, A. C.; VIEIRA, R. G.; RIVINIUS, TH.; FAES, D. M.; FIGUEIREDO, A. L.; BJORKMAN, J. E.; GEORGY, C.; GHOREYSHI, M. R.; SOSZYNSKI, I.. The life cycles of Be viscous decretion discs: fundamental disc parameters of 54 SMC Be stars. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, v. 476, n. 3, p. 3555-3579, MAY 2018. (12/21518-5, 12/20364-4, 09/54006-4, 16/16844-1, 15/17967-7)

GHOREYSHI, M. R.; CARCIOFI, A. C.; RIMULO, L. R.; VIEIRA, R. G.; FAES, D. M.; BAADE, D.; BJORKMAN, J. E.; OTERO, S.; RIVINIUS, TH.. The life cycles of Be viscous decretion discs: The case of omega CMa. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, v. 479, n. 2, p. 2214-2228, SEP 2018. (12/21518-5, 12/20364-4, 09/54006-4, 16/16844-1, 15/17967-7)

Academic Publications

(References retrieved automatically from State of São Paulo Research Institutions)

RÍMULO, Leandro Rocha. The life cycles of viscous decretion disks around Be stars: fundamental disk parameters in the SMC. 2017. Doctoral Thesis - Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Instituto Astronômico e Geofísico (IAG/SBD) São Paulo.