Statistical analysis of interferometric measurements of axis ratios for classical Be stars

This work presents a novel method to estimate the effective opening angle of CBe star disks from projected axis ratio measurements, obtained by interferometry using a statistical approach. A Monte Carlo scheme was used to generate a large set of theoretical axis ratios from disk models using different distributions of disk densities and opening angles. These theoretical samples were then compared to observational samples, using a two-sample Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, to determine which theoretical distribution best reproduces the observations. The results suggest that the observed ratio distributions in the K, H, and N band can best be explained by the presence of thin disks, with opening half-angles of the order of 0°.15-4°.0. Results for measurements over the Hα line point toward slightly thicker disks, 3°.7-14°, which is consistent with a flaring disk predicted by the viscous disk model.