Title:Studying the Physical Conditions in Be Star Disks using Different Computational Techniques

Abstract:
Classical Be stars are rapidly rotating, massive stars that stars exhibit several distinct 
observational characteristics due to the presence of thin disks of gas concentrated in the 
stars equatorial plane. In order to understand the mechanisms that govern the development of these 
circumstellar disks, we use computational codes to create theoretical models of these objects and 
their environments and we compare the predicted observables to astronomical observations of Be 
stars. The primary focus of this presentation is the comparison of different approaches used in the 
creation of theoretical Be star models. We examine independently developed non-local thermodynamic 
equilibrium (NLTE) codes designed to model circumstellar environments by simultaneously solving the 
problems of radiative transfer, thermal equilibrium and statistical equilibrium. A detailed 
analysis of the differences and similarities between different radiative transfer techniques may 
provide valuable insight into the physical processes which govern the development of Be star 
circumstellar disks.