The Infrared Emission-Line Spectrum of gamma Cassiopeiae

The near-IR spectrum of Gamma Cas contains emission lines of H I, He I, and Mg II. No lines of low-excitation species, such as are found in cool and dense environments, are detected. At the time of the observations,the observed Br-alpha and Br-gamma profiles were double-peaked, with V/R roughly 0.5 and FWHM roughly 260 km/s. The Br-gamma line profile varied significantly over the 4.5 month interval between the observations and those published by Chabaev and Maillard in 1985. The IR hydrogen line fluxes indicate that these lines are formed in a small, dense, optically thick region where the density of ionized gas declines sharply with distance from the star. Both the line profiles and fluxes are shown to be inconsistent with the predictions of standard stellar wind theory, but are in qualitative agreement with a rotating disk model such as was proposed in 1978 by Poeckert and Marlborough. The observations are discussed briefly in terms of their similarities and differences with the IR emission-line spectra of luminous young stellar objects.