An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics
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A → line broadening phenomenon involving the scattering effect of → free electrons on the → radiation transfer in → stellar atmospheres. The scattering of radiation by free electrons plays an important role in the atmospheres of → hot stars, such as → O-types, early → B-types, and → Wolf-Rayet stars. The first detailed study of electron scattering in Wolf-Rayet stars was by Castor et al. (1970), who used electron scattering to explain the broad emission wings of N IV λ3483 in HD 192163. In → P Cygni stars the explanation of the very extended (almost symmetric) wings on the → Balmer lines as caused by electron scattering was first made by Bernat & Lambert (1978). Hillier (1991) showed that significant reduction in the strength of an electron-scattering wing can be achieved in a model of → clumped wind for a lower mean → mass loss rate. This resulted in a better agreement between observations and theoretical predictions. Electron-scattering wings provide diagnostics regarding the presence of density inhomogeneities in → stellar winds (Münch, 1948, ApJ 108, 116; Hillier, 1991, A&A 247, 455).

→ electron; → scattering; → wing.