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Paper: Circumstellar Disk Systems in the LMC, SMC, and Milky Way Galaxy
Volume: 337, The Nature and Evolution of Disks Around Hot Stars
Page: 333
Authors: Wisniewski, J.P.; Bjorkman, K.S.; Magalhaes, A.M.; Bjorkman, J.E.; Carciofi, A.C.
Abstract: Classical Be stars are rapidly rotating near main-sequence B-type stars which have gaseous circumstellar disks. Our understanding of these stars is incomplete, especially as regards two fundamental questions: 1) Is the Be phenomenon an evolutionary effect? and 2)What role does metallicity play in the formation of Be circumstellar disks? Initial attempts to address these questions have used 2-color diagram photometric techniques to determine the frequency of candidate Be stars in clusters of various ages and metallicities. These techniques classify all B type objects with excess Hα emission as classical Be stars, without accounting for the likelihood that other B-type stars, such as post main-sequence B[e] stars, YSOs, and B-supergiants, may also exhibit Hα emission and therefore contaminate the sample. We discuss our efforts to quantify the reliability of 2-color diagrams to identify classical Be stars.
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