The Circumstellar Discs of Be Stars

Abstract: Circumstellar discs of Be stars are thought to be formed from material ejected from a fast-spinning central star. This material possesses large amounts of angular momentum and settles in a quasi-Keplerian orbit around the star. This simple description outlines the basic issues that a successful disc theory must address: 1) What is the mechanism responsible for the mass ejection? 2) What is the final configuration of the material? 3) How the disc grows? With the very high angular resolution that can be achieved with modern interferometers operating in the optical and infrared we can now resolve the photosphere and immediate vicinity of nearby Be stars. Those observations are able to provide very stringent tests for our ideas about the physical processes operating in those objects. This paper discusses the basic hydrodynamics of viscous decretion discs around Be stars. The model predictions are quantitatively compared to observations, demonstrating that the viscous decretion scenario is currently the most viable theory to explain the discs around Be stars.