HD 46487 is Now a Classical Be Star

Volume 45 number 1 (2017)

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David G. Whelan

Department of Physics, Austin College, Suite 61617, 900 N. Grand Ave, Sherman, TX 75090, dwhelan@austincollege.edu

R. David Baker

Department of Physics, Austin College, 900 N. Grand Avenue, Sherman, TX 75090

Abstract

We present the first observations of hydrogen line emission detected around the B-type star HD 46487, a well-studied star in the CoRoT field of view. The emission is only evident in the H-alpha line, for which the observed violet-red peak separation ($\Delta v_{p}$) is typical of a Be star with a circumstellar disk. The absence of dust emission from the infrared spectral energy distribution excludes the possibility of a very young star. The star's magnitude (V=5.079) and regular use in the literature for a variety of studies suggests that the line emission had a high probability of being found previously, had it been evident; since such was not the case, we believe that the Be phenomenon for HD 46487 has only very recently "turned on." We therefore recommend that this star be spectroscopically and photometrically monitored to track continued changes to its circumstellar morphology.