Modeling of Circumstellar Dust by the DUSTY Code

We present a circumstellar dust model around the symbiotic Mira RR Tel obtained by modeling the near-infrared JHKL magnitudes and ISO spectra. In order to follow the evolution of infrared colours in time, the published JHKL magnitudes were corrected by removing the Mira pulsations. The RR Tel light curves show three obscuration events in the near-IR. Using the simultaneously available JHKL magnitudes and ISO spectra in three different epochs, we obtained SEDs in the near- and mid-IR spectral region (1-20 μm) in epochs with and without obscuration.

The DUSTY numerical code was used to solve the radiative transfer and to determine the circumstellar dust properties of the inner dust regions around the Mira, assuming a spherical dust temperature distribution in its close neighbourhood. The physical properties of the dust, mass loss and optical depth during intervals with and without obscuration have been obtained. Both JHKL and ISO observations during the obscuration period can be reproduced with a spherical dust envelope, while ISO spectra outside obscuration show a different behaviour. The dynamical behaviour of the circumstellar dust was obtained by modeling the JHKL magnitudes observed during the span of more than 30 years.

The DUSTY code was also successfully applied in the modeling of circumstellar dust envelopes of young stellar objects, such as Herbig Ae/Be stars.