The Effect of Multiple Scattering on the Polarization
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We present the results of a Monte Carlo radiative transfer code that calculates
the polarization produced by multiple Thomson scattering and variable
absorptive opacity in a circumstellar
disk around one component of a close detached binary system.
We consider in detail the polarization variations over the binary cycle that
result from the disk's illumination both by the external star and by its own
volume emission. We identify key features of these polarization phase curves
and investigate their behavior as functions of optical depth, albedo, and
inclination for geometrically thin and thick disks. The polarization due to
disk self-illumination is sensitive to the internal optical characteristics of
the disk, while the polarization arising from external illumination is mainly
sensitive to the disk's geometrical thickness.
With appropriate flux weighting, these results, combined with those
for an internally illuminated disk, allow simulation of the polarization
signature from an arbitrary binary-disk system. |
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For more information, please send email to Jennifer. March 24, 2004 |