Influence of Thomson Electron Scattering Redistribution on Spectral Line Polarization Formed in Spherically Symmetric Extended and Expanding Atmospheres

Abstract

Scattering of line photons by ambient electrons in thermal motion in the stellar atmosphere modifies the wings of both intensity and linear polarization profiles of the spectral lines. The aim of the present paper is to investigate in detail the influence of Thomson electron scattering redistribution on resonance line polarization formed in spherically symmetric extended and expanding atmospheres. A comoving frame method based on the accelerated lambda iteration technique is used to solve the concerned spherically symmetric polarized transfer equation including both the atomic and Thomson electron scattering redistribution functions. Our numerical studies highlight the importance of accounting for Thomson electron scattering redistribution in spectral line polarization problems.