We present the results of recent multicolor photometric and high-resolution spectroscopic observations of the bright Be star π Aqr. Observational data collected from the literature were used to study the star's variations over the last four decades. The star is identified with the IR sources F22227+0107 in the IRAS Faint Point Source Catalog and MSX5 G066.0066-44.7392 in the MSX Catalog. The variations in near-IR brightness of π Aqr are found to be among the largest reported for Be stars. Since 1996, the star has shown only weak signs of circumstellar emission, which has allowed us to refine the fundamental stellar parameters: A_V = 0.15 mag, T_eff = 24,000 K, log g = 3.9, and M_V = -2.95 mag. A weak emission component of the Hα line has been detected during the recent quasi-normal star phase. From analysis of the Hα line profiles, we find antiphased radial velocity variations of the emission component and the photospheric absorption, with a period of 84.1 days and semiamplitudes of 101.4 and 16.7 km s^-1, respectively. This result suggests that π Aqr may be a binary system consisting of stars with masses of M₁ i = 12.4 M_☉, M₂ i = 2.0 M_☉. We also estimate the orbital inclination angle to be between 50° and 75°. We suggest that the photometric, spectroscopic, and polarimetric variations observed during the second half of the 20th century may be due to variable mass transfer between the binary components.

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We present optical $WBVR$ and infrared $JHKL$ photometric observations of the Be binary system $\delta$ Sco, obtained in 2000--2005, mid-infrared (10 and $18 \mu$m) photometry and optical ($\lambda\lambda$ 3200--10500 \AA) spectropolarimetry obtained in 2001. Our optical photometry confirms the results of much more frequent visual monitoring of $\delta$ Sco. In 2005, we detected a significant decrease in the object's brightness, both in optical and near-infrared brightness, which is associated with a continuous rise in the hydrogen line strenghts. We discuss possible causes for this phenomenon, which is difficult to explain in view of current models of Be star disks. The 2001 spectral energy distribution and polarization are succesfully modeled with a three-dimensional non-LTE Monte Carlo code which produces a self-consistent determination of the hydrogen level populations, electron temperature, and gas density for hot star disks. Our disk model is hydrostatically supported in the vertical direction and radially controlled by viscosity. Such a disk model has, essentially, only two free parameters, viz., the equatorial mass loss rate and the disk outer radius. We find that the primary companion is surrounded by a small (7 $R_\star$), geometrically-thin disk, which is highly non-isothermal and fully ionized. Our model requires an average equatorial mass loss rate of $1.5\times 10^{-9} M_{\sun}$ yr$^{-1}$.Comment: 27 pages, 9 figures, submitted to Ap

Context. Circumstellar disks and outflows play a fundamental role in star formation. Infrared spectro-interferometry allows the inner accretion-ejection region to be resolved. Aims. We study the disk and Brγ-emitting region of MWC 297 with high spatial and spectral resolution and compare our observations with disk-wind models. Methods. We measured interferometric visibilities, wavelength-differential phases, and closure phases of MWC 297 with a spectral resolution of 12 000. To interpret our MWC 297 observations, we employed disk-wind models. Results. The measured continuum visibilities confirm previous results that the continuum-emitting region of MWC 297 is remarkably compact. We derive a continuum ring-fit radius of ~2.2 mas (~0.56 AU at a distance of 250 pc), which is ~5.4 times smaller than the 3 AU dust sublimation radius expected for silicate grains (in the absence of radiation-shielding material). The strongly wavelength-dependent and asymmetric Brγ-emitting region is more extended (~2.7 times) than the continuum-emitting region. At the center of the Brγ line, we derive a Gaussian fit radius of ~6.3 mas HWHM (~1.6 AU). To interpret the observations, we employ a magneto-centrifugally driven disk-wind model consisting of an accretion disk, which emits the observed continuum radiation, and a disk wind, which emits the Brγ line. The calculated wavelength-dependent model intensity distributions and Brγ line profiles are compared with the observations (i.e., K-band spectrum, visibilities, differential phases, and closure phases). The closest fitting model predicts a continuum-emitting disk with an inner radius of ~0.3 AU and a disk wind ejection region with an inner radius of ~ 0.5 AU (~17.5 stellar radii). We obtain a disk-wind half-opening angle (the angle between the rotation axis and the innermost streamline of the disk wind) of ~80°, which is larger than in T Tau models, and a disk inclination angle of ~20° (i.e., almost pole-on).Conclusions. Our observations with a spectral resolution of 12 000 allow us to study the AU-scale environment of MWC 297 in ~10 different spectral channels across the Brγ emission line. We show that the K-band flux, visibilities, and remarkably strong phases can be explained by the employed magneto-centrifugally driven disk wind model.

We report the results of spectroscopic and photometric observations of the emission-line object AS 386. For the first time we found that it exhibits the B[e] phenomenon and fits the definition of an FS CMa type object. The optical spectrum shows the presence of a B-type star with the following properties: T _eff = 11,000 ± 500 K, log L/L _⊙ = 3.7 ± 0.3, a mass of 7 ± 1 M _⊙, and a distance D = 2.4 ± 0.3 kpc from the Sun. We detected regular radial velocity variations of both absorption and emission lines with the following orbital parameters: P _orb =131.27 ± 0.09 days, semiamplitude K ₁ = 51.7 ± 3.0 km s⁻¹, systemic radial velocity γ = −31.8 ± 2.6 km s⁻¹, and a mass function of f(m) = 1.9 ± 0.3 M _⊙. AS 386 exhibits irregular variations of the optical brightness (V = 10.92 ± 0.05 mag), while the near-IR brightness varies up to ∼0.3 mag following the spectroscopic period. We explain this behavior by a variable illumination of the dusty disk inner rim by the B-type component. Doppler tomography based on the orbital variations of emission-line profiles shows that the material is distributed near the B-type component and in a circumbinary disk. We conclude that the system has undergone a strong mass transfer that created the circumstellar material and increased the B-type component mass. The absence of any traces of a secondary component, whose mass should be ≥7 M _⊙, suggests that it is most likely a black hole.