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The Size, Structure, and Variability of Late-Type Stars Measured ...

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90<br />

Figure 5.3: Best Fitting Calculated Absorption <strong>of</strong> H 2 O vs. Observed Absorption in R Leo.<br />

Each diamond represents a different observed H 2 O line.<br />

distribution which is likely very dynamic in nature. <strong>The</strong> modelling <strong>of</strong> this time-dependent<br />

line formation is somewhat more complicated <strong>and</strong> we will return to it in Section 5.3.<br />

5.2 Continuum Measurements at 11.149 µm<br />

<strong>The</strong> presence <strong>of</strong> a gas shell surrounding a star will also affect its intensity distribution<br />

at the transition frequency provided that the line opacity is non-negligible. To illustrate<br />

the effect that our model shell <strong>of</strong> gas would have on a diameter measurement, we calculate<br />

the model intensity pr<strong>of</strong>ile <strong>and</strong> visibility function that would be observed at the wavelength<br />

corresponding to the peak <strong>of</strong> the strong emission <strong>and</strong> absorption lines, respectively, from<br />

o Cet at 897.44 cm −1 assuming the best fit parameters for N H2 O, T gas , <strong>and</strong> R gas . This<br />

spectral line is the stronger <strong>of</strong> the pair <strong>of</strong> lines seen on o Cet in Figure 5.1 near 897.4 cm −1 .<br />

This particular line has an optical depth <strong>of</strong> 0.217 in emission <strong>and</strong> 0.032 in absorption. <strong>The</strong>

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