Kinematic model inversions of hot star recurrent DAC data – tests against dynamical CIR models

¹ Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK
² Ústav teoretické fyziky a astrofyziky PřF MU, 611 37 Brno, Czech Republic
³ Astronomický ústav, Akademie věd České republiky, 251 65 Ondřejov, Czech Republic
⁴ Bartol Research Institute, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, USA

Corresponding author: J. Krtička, krticka@physics.muni.cz

Received: 22 September 2003
Accepted: 21 December 2003

Abstract

The Discrete Absorption Components (DACs) commonly observed in the ultraviolet lines of hot stars have previously been modelled by dynamical simulations of Corotating Interaction Regions (CIRs) in their line-driven stellar winds. Here we apply the kinematic DAC inversion method of Brown et al. to the hydrodynamical CIR models and test the reliability of the results obtained. We conclude that the inversion method is able to recover valuable information on the velocity structure of the mean wind and to trace movement of velocity plateaux in the hydrodynamical data, though the recovered density profile of the stream is correct only very near to the stellar surface.