Using the Coolest Ae Stars to Constrain Circumstellar Disk Viscosity

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Anusha, R., Sigut, T. A. A.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Anusha, R.
Sigut, T. A. A.
author_facet Anusha, R.
Sigut, T. A. A.
contents Classical Ae (CAe) stars are main sequence, A-type stars with Hα emission but no signature of dust. They are thought to be the cool extension of the classical Be stars to lower masses. Recent surveys based on Hα spectroscopy have significantly increased the number of known CAe stars, with the population extending to spectral types as cool as A4 (Teff approx. 8500 K). We compute the temperature structure of gaseous, circumstellar disks around A-type stars, including both radiative heating from the central star and viscous shear heating from the disk's rotation. We find that shear heating can become important for spectral types A2 and later and can act to increase the low temperatures predicted by purely radiatively heated disks. Our modeling indicates that the presence and strength of Hα emission for spectral types A2 and later significantly increases with the amount of shear heating included, and we propose that this dependence can be used to constrain the α viscosity parameter appropriate for CAe star disks.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2506_04486
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Using the Coolest Ae Stars to Constrain Circumstellar Disk Viscosity
Anusha, R.
Sigut, T. A. A.
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
Classical Ae (CAe) stars are main sequence, A-type stars with Hα emission but no signature of dust. They are thought to be the cool extension of the classical Be stars to lower masses. Recent surveys based on Hα spectroscopy have significantly increased the number of known CAe stars, with the population extending to spectral types as cool as A4 (Teff approx. 8500 K). We compute the temperature structure of gaseous, circumstellar disks around A-type stars, including both radiative heating from the central star and viscous shear heating from the disk's rotation. We find that shear heating can become important for spectral types A2 and later and can act to increase the low temperatures predicted by purely radiatively heated disks. Our modeling indicates that the presence and strength of Hα emission for spectral types A2 and later significantly increases with the amount of shear heating included, and we propose that this dependence can be used to constrain the α viscosity parameter appropriate for CAe star disks.
title Using the Coolest Ae Stars to Constrain Circumstellar Disk Viscosity
topic Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.04486