Multicolor Polarimetry of Selected Be Stars: 1986-89

Annual monitoring of the wide-band visible continuum linear polarization of a smaple of the brightest northern Be stars over a period of three years demonstrates that large and readily identifiable variations in polarization are most commonly detected on a year-to-year time scale. No clear cases of night-to-night variability were found at the level of precision on which the polarizations of the standard stars could be assumed constant. Because of the complexity of the Be phenomenon, any model-dependent interpretation of polarimetry data by itself may be misleading. It is therefore hoped that theoreticians wil be able to use the data presented here in combination with observations obtained by other techniques and in other spectral regions to develop a more general understanding of the processes at work in Be stars.