text:
\section{Introduction}

Be stars are rapidly rotating B-type stars that manage to eject gas
into a circumstellar disk (observed in H emission lines, an IR excess
flux, and linear polarization; \citealt{por03}).  Be star disks are
ephemeral and vary on timescales from days to decades (in some cases
disappearing altogether for extended periods).   This inherent
time variability suggests that gas injection into the disk is only
partially the result of the fast spin and equatorial extension of the
Be star \citep*{tow04} and that magnetic, pulsational, wind driving,
and/or other processes are required for mass loss into the disk
\citep{owo05}.  The evolutionary status of Be stars is still a
subject of considerable debate \citep*{mcs05,zor05}, but there is
growing evidence that many Be stars were spun up through mass
transfer from a binary companion that has since become a neutron star,
white dwarf, or hot subdwarf \citep{pol91,gie00}.

The direct resolution of Be star disks has come
through high resolution radio observations ($\psi$~Per;
\citealt{dou92}) and long baseline interferometry in a
narrow band around the H$\alpha$ emission feature \citep{ste05}.
The first H$\alpha$ studies focused on the bright, northern sky
Be stars $\gamma$~Cas \citep*{tho86,mou89,ste95,ber99} and $\zeta$~Tau
\citep{vak98}.  In a seminal paper, \citet{qui97} presented
results for seven Be stars based upon narrow-band H$\alpha$
observations made with the MkIII interferometer at Mount Wilson
Observatory.  They were able to resolve the disks around
all seven stars, and they found diameters in the range $2.6 -
4.5$~mas (Gaussian FWHM).  In most cases the
visibilities indicated an elongated shape; for example, in the case of
$\zeta$~Tau, the major axis was resolved (4.53~mas diameter) but the
orthogonal minor axis remained unresolved, consistent with the
suggestion that we are viewing the disk almost edge-on.  The disk
orientation position angle on the sky inferred from polarimetry matched
the interferometric results in every case.  These results have been
extended and improved through new interferometric observations
with the Navy Prototype Optical Interferometer (NPOI) in an
important series of papers by Tycner and collaborators
\citep{tyc03,tyc04,tyc05,tyc06}.

The relative flux contribution from the disk becomes larger
in the infrared spectral range due to bound-free and free-free
emission from the dense and ionized gas in the disk.
\citet{wat86} developed a disk model for the IR emission
that he subsequently applied to determine the disk properties of 101
Be stars based upon their far-IR emission observed with
the {\it IRAS} satellite \citep*{cot87,wat87}, and \citet{dou94} further
extended this analysis to study the near-IR excess in 144 Be stars.
\citet{how01} demonstrated that the near-IR flux excess is
correlated with the H$\alpha$ emission strength in Be stars
as expected for a common origin in the disk.  Thus, the near-
and mid-IR ranges \citep*{rin99} offer a new opportunity for resolving the disks
of Be stars through long baseline interferometry.  \citet{ste01} presented
a wind model for the infrared emission from Be stars and the corresponding
interferometric visibilities for the models.  Their model for
$\gamma$~Cas, for example, predicts that the disk should appear approximately
two times larger in the $K$-band continuum and in the Br$\gamma$ emission
line than found by narrow-band H$\alpha$ interferometry.  \citet{ste03}
made additional predictions for 16 Be stars of the expected $K$-band
interferometric visibilities.   The first attempt to resolve the
infrared disk flux was recently made by \citet{che05} who made $N$-band
observations with the VLTI/MIDI instrument of the bright southern Be star
$\alpha$~Ara, and their results indicate that the disk is smaller than
that predicted by \citet{ste03}, perhaps due to disk truncation by a
faint binary companion.   $K$-band interferometric observations from
VLTI/VINCI of $\alpha$~Ara were reported by \citet{dom03} who
interpreted the visibilities using a rotationally distorted photospheric model.

Here we present the first near-IR interferometric observations
of four bright, northern sky Be stars that we obtained with
the Georgia State University Center for High Angular Resolution
Astronomy (CHARA) Array at Mount Wilson Observatory \citep{mca05,ten05}.
We describe the interferometric and complementary spectroscopic
observations in \S2 and then we present a simple disk model in \S3
that we use to predict the interferometric visibilities and
spectral line profiles.   We discuss the specific results for
each of the four targets in \S4.  Our results are summarized in \S5.

\section{Observations}

\subsection{Targets}

We selected four well known Be stars for this initial
program of CHARA Array interferometry:
$\gamma$~Cas (HR~264 = HD~ 5394 = HIP~4427),
$\phi$~Per (HR~496 = HD~10516 = HIP~8068),
$\zeta$~Tau (HR~1910 = HD~37202 = HIP~26451), and
$\kappa$~Dra (HR~4787= HD~109387 = HIP~61281).
All the targets except $\kappa$~Dra have prior
narrow-band H$\alpha$ interferometric observations
\citep{qui97,tyc03,tyc04,tyc06}.
The first three stars were targets in speckle
interferometric searches for close companions,
and no such companions were detected \citep{mas97};
however, oscillations in the the proper motion
of $\gamma$~Cas suggest the presence of a faint companion
with a period of some 60~y \citep*{gon00}.
On the other hand, all four of the targets are
known spectroscopic binaries with periods in the
range 61 -- 204~d.  The companion in the case of
$\phi$~Per is a hot subdwarf whose spectral features
appear in the UV spectrum \citep{gie98}, but for the
other three stars the nature of the low mass companion is
unknown.

We summarize the adopted parameters for the
target stars in Table~1 that lists the spectral classification,
parallax \citep{per97}, radius, mass, effective temperature,
and projected rotational velocity \citep*{yan90,abt02} of the
bright primary star.  The next three rows give the
radius, mass, and effective temperature of the secondary.
These are only known for $\phi$~Per and representative
values are listed for the others assuming that they also
have hot subdwarf companions (see \S3.3).  The next
four rows list the binary period, epoch of the secondary
star's maximum radial velocity (equal to the epoch of the
secondary's crossing of the ascending node), the
primary star to center of mass portion of the semimajor axis,
and the adopted Roche radius of the primary star.
The final row provides a key to the references from which
these various parameters were adopted.

\placetable{tab1}

\subsection{$K^\prime$-band Interferometry from the CHARA Array}

The CHARA Array observations were made on various dates during
the first two years of operation (Table~2).  The telescope,
instrumentation, and data reduction procedures are described in detail
by \citet{ten05}.  The CHARA Array consists of six 1~m telescopes
in a $Y$-configuration with pairwise baselines ranging from
34 to 330~m in length.  The Be star observations were primarily
made with intermediate to long baseline configurations using the
$K^\prime$ filter described by \citet{mca05}.  A summary of
each night's observations is given in Table~2 that lists
the target and calibrator star names, the telescope pair (with
the maximum baseline given in meters in parentheses; \citealt{ten05}),
the UT date, and the number of sets of measurements.
We made the measurements using the ``CHARA Classic'' beam combiner,
which is a two-beam, pupil-plane (or Michelson) combiner \citep{stu03}.
The fringes were recorded with a near-IR detector on either 1 or
$2\times2$ pixels at a sampling rate of 100 or 150 Hz depending on
the seeing conditions.  The path length scans were adjusted to obtain
approximately five samples per fringe spacing.  Each measurement set
consists of some 200 scans of the fringe pattern with photometric
calibration scans performed before and after.  The raw visibilities
were estimated from an edited set of scans using the log-normal
power spectrum method described by \citet{ten05}.

\placetable{tab2}

We transformed the raw visibilities into absolute visibility $V$ by
interleaving the target observations with measurements of calibrator
stars with small angular diameters \citep{ber06}.  The calibrator stars
are generally close in the sky and of comparable $K^\prime$ magnitude
to the targets, and we list in Table~3 their effective temperatures
and gravities as derived by other investigators (identified in column 7).
We estimated the angular diameters of the calibrator stars by
comparing their observed and model flux distributions.
The angular diameter of the limb darkened disk $\theta_{LD}$
(in units of radians) is found by the inverse-square law:
\begin{equation}
{ {f_\lambda ({\rm observed})}\over
  {F_\lambda ({\rm emitted}) ~10^{-0.4 A_\lambda}} } =
  ( {R_\star / d} )^2 =
  {1\over 4} \theta_{LD}^2
\end{equation}
where the ratio of the observed and emitted fluxes
(reduced by the effects of interstellar extinction $A_\lambda$)
depends on the square of the ratio of stellar radius $R_\star$
to distance $d$.   Most of the calibrator stars are
relatively close by and the interstellar extinction is
negligible.  The one exception is HD~107193, and in this case
we adopted an extinction curve law from \citet{fit99}
that is a function of the reddening $E(B-V)$ and the ratio of
total-to-selective extinction $R=A_V/E(B-V)$ (set at a value of 3.1).

\placetable{tab3}

The model fluxes were interpolated from the grid of models from
R.\ L.\ Kurucz\footnote{http://kurucz.cfa.harvard.edu/}
based upon the values of $T_{\rm eff}$ and $\log g$ in Table~3.
These model fluxes are based upon solar abundance, plane-parallel,
local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE),
line blanketed atmospheres with a microturbulent velocity of
4 km~s$^{-1}$ that should be adequate for these
A- and F-type main sequence stars.
We compiled data on the observed fluxes from the optical to the near-IR.
We found Johnson $UBV$ photometry for all the calibrators,
and these magnitudes were transformed to fluxes using the calibration
of \citet*{col96}.  We also included Str\"{om}gren photometry for
several calibrators using the calibration of \citet{gra98}.
Spectrophotometry from \citet*{kha88} was used for HD~6210.
All of the stars are included in the {\it 2MASS All-Sky Catalog of Point Sources}
\citep{cut03}, and we converted the $JHK$ magnitudes to fluxes
using the calibration of \citet*{coh03}.  In a few cases the
errors in the {\it 2MASS} magnitudes were unacceptably large, and
we relied instead on IR fluxes from the {\it COBE} DIRBE instrument
\citep*{smi04}.  The angular diameters we derived by fitting the
spectral energy distributions are given in column~6 of Table~3.
Most of these calibrators have angular diameters that are small
enough that their associated errors will introduce only minor
systematic errors in our derived target angular sizes \citep{van05}.

It is normal practice in interferometry to estimate the
actual visibility of a calibrator by adopting a uniform disk
function for the visibility curve as a function of wavelength
and baseline, but in fact it is no more difficult to apply
a visibility curve for a limb darkened disk provided the
form of the limb darkening is known \citep*{dav00}.
We used the effective temperatures and gravities from
Table~3 to estimate the $K$-band limb darkening coefficients
from the tables of \citet{cla00}, and then we calculated
the limb darkened visibility curves for the calibrators
(for the projected baseline at the time of observation
and the limb darkened angular diameter given in Table~3)
by making a weighted sum of the predicted visibilities
over the wavelength band of the $K^\prime$ filter
(to account for bandwidth smearing).   We then made
a simple linear interpolation in time between the target
and calibrator observations to estimate the ratio of raw to
absolute visibility required to transform the results to
absolute visibility.  Note that we also made a spline fit of
the time evolution of calibrator visibility, and the difference
between the spline and linear interpolated visibilities was added
quadratically to the error budget for the final calibrated visibility
to help estimate the errors introduced by the time interpolation
scheme.

The calibrated visibilities are presented in Table~4 (available
in full in the electronic version of the paper).  The columns in this
table give the target name, the heliocentric Julian date of the
mid-point of the data set, the binary orbital phase determined
from the period and epoch given in Table~1, the telescope pair
used for the observation, the projected baseline and position angle
of the target as viewed from the telescope pair at the mid-point time,
and the calibrated visibility.  Note that the visibility errors
quoted represent the internal errors from the power spectrum
analysis of the fringes plus a term introduced for the calibration
process, and these may underestimate the actual visibility errors.
We find, for example, that there are some closely spaced observations
on certain nights with comparable projected baselines and position
angles that have a scatter that is several times larger than the
formal errors.  There are 11 such subsets of 4 or more measurements
from within a specific night that have ranges of $\delta ({\rm baseline}) < 10$~m
and $\delta ({\rm position~angle}) < 10^\circ$, and the average ratio of the
standard deviation of $V$ within a subset to the mean of the
quoted internal error in $V$ is a factor of 2.8.
Thus, the quoted errors are probably lower limit estimates of
the true error budget.

\placetable{tab4}

\subsection{Optical Spectroscopy}

The disks of Be stars exhibit large temporal variations in their
H-Balmer emission strengths that presumably reflect large
structural changes in their geometry and/or density \citep{por03}.
Thus, we obtained new spectroscopic observations of the
target Be stars in order to compare the Balmer emission
levels at times contemporaneous with the interferometric
observations.   The sources and details of the spectroscopy
are listed in Table~5 that reports the observatory and
telescope of origin, the spectroscopic instrument,
spectral resolving power $R=\lambda/\delta\lambda$,
spectral range recorded, UT dates, and the names of
targets.  Most of the observations of the H$\alpha$ and
H$\gamma$ lines were made with the Kitt Peak National
Observatory (KPNO) coud\'{e} feed telescope, and these have moderate
resolution and high S/N properties.   The H$\alpha$ spectra
of $\kappa$~Dra were obtained at both the University of Toledo
Ritter Observatory and the Ond\v{r}ejov Observatory at the
same time as the first CHARA Array observations were made,
and a low dispersion blue spectrum was also obtained at that
time with the University of Texas McDonald Observatory 2.7~m
telescope (recording H$\beta$ through the higher Balmer sequence).
All of these spectra were reduced using standard routines in
IRAF\footnote{IRAF is distributed by the National Optical Astronomical
Observatory, which is operated by the Association of Universities for
Research in Astronomy, Inc. (AURA), under cooperative agreement with the
National Science Foundation.} to create continuum rectified
versions of each spectrum.  The atmospheric telluric lines in
the vicinity of H$\alpha$ were removed from the KPNO coud\'{e} feed
spectra \citep{gie02}, but these features were quite weak in the
$\kappa$~Dra H$\alpha$ spectra and were left in place.  We describe
these Balmer line profiles in \S4 and \S5 below.

\placetable{tab5}

\subsection{$K$-band Spectroscopy}

The IR excess flux from Be star disks will tend to dilute the
photospheric and emission lines in the near-IR spectral range,
and the strength of the Br$\gamma$ emission line in particular
offers a sensitive test of the IR excess fluxes derived from
interferometry.   Thus, we also obtained low
resolution $K$-band spectroscopy of all the targets except
$\kappa$~Dra with the University of Texas McDonald Observatory 2.7~m
telescope and CoolSpec spectrometer \citep{les00}.
We used a $1\farcs0$ entrance slit and a grating with
75 grooves mm$^{-1}$ in second order, yielding a spectral
resolving power of $R\approx 1520$ (Table~5).
The detector was a NICMOS3 HgCdTe $256\times256$ pixel array.
The spectra were reduced using the methods described by \citet{lik06}
except that in our case the sky background was estimated from
the intensity at off-star positions along the projected slit.

We also made a number of spectra at different air masses of the
broad-lined, A0~V stars HR~567 (HD~11946) and HR~2398 (HD~46553),
which we used to remove the numerous atmospheric features in this
spectral band.  The stellar spectra of these two stars are essentially
featureless with the exception of the photospheric Br$\gamma$
line \citep{wal97}, and we formed pure atmospheric spectra by
dividing our observed spectra by the average stellar spectra
of the similar stars HR~5793 and HR~7001 (after broadening
for the lower resolution of our spectra and for the higher
projected rotational velocities of HR~567 and HR~2398)
that we obtained from the spectral library of
\citet{wal97}\footnote{ftp://ftp.noao.edu/catalogs/medresIR/K\_band/}.
The target spectra were then divided by these atmospheric
spectra (after small line depth corrections to account for
differing air masses) to obtain the final continuum rectified
versions that are presented below (\S5).

\section{Be Star Disk Models}

The observed interferometric visibilities can be interpreted by
assuming that the Be star disks have a relatively simple
spatial intensity in the sky, perhaps a uniform ellipsoid,
ring, or Gaussian ellipsoid \citep{tyc06}.
However, the quality of the interferometric data is sufficient
to begin to explore more physically motivated models for the
disk appearance.  Here we present a relatively simple model
for the near-IR emission that is derived from the Be
circumstellar disk model of \citet{hum00}.  The advantages of
this approach are that we can compare the resulting disk gas
densities with prior work on the near-IR spectrum and
that we can also predict the disk emission line strengths
for comparison with our observed spectra.  In the following
subsections we outline the basic assumptions and characteristics
of the model that we then apply to fit the CHARA Array
observations of visibility.  We discuss the model predictions
for spectroscopy below in \S4.

\subsection{Disk Geometry and Model Parameters}

\citet{hum00} present a simple model for the circumstellar
disks of Be stars that they use to explore the emission line
shapes.   The basic concept is that the disk is axisymmetric
and begins at the stellar surface.  The gas density in the
disk is given by
\begin{equation}
\rho (R,Z) = \rho_0 R^{-n} \exp \left[-{1\over2}\left({Z\over{H(R)}}\right)^2\right]
\end{equation}
where $R$ and $Z$ are the radial and vertical cylindrical
coordinates (in units of stellar radii), $\rho_0$ is the base
density at the stellar equator, $n$ is a radial density
exponent, and $H(R)$ is the disk vertical scale height.
This gas scale height is given by
\begin{equation}
H(R)={C_S\over V_K} R^{3\over2}
\end{equation}
where $C_S$ is the sound speed and $V_K$ is the
Keplerian velocity at the stellar equator.  We assume that
the outer boundary of the disk occurs at a radius
$R_d$ that is equal to the Roche radius of the Be star
for these four binary targets (Table~1).  This assumption
is probably more critical for the mid-IR emission spectrum,
but it not important for the $K^\prime$ emission that is generally
confined to regions well within the Roche radii of our targets.

\citet{hum00} assume that the temperature is constant throughout
the disk and is given by $T_d = {2\over3} T_{\rm eff}$ where
$T_{\rm eff}$ is the stellar effective temperature.
In fact, recent physical models for Be disks by \citet{car06}
show that the gas temperature is actually a function of
both $R$ and $Z$, but their work shows that the temperature is
about $60\% ~T_{\rm eff}$ in the outer, optically thin
parts of the disk, so we adopt this value for the isothermal
approximation used here.

We assume that the star itself is spherical and of uniform
brightness in the $K^\prime$ band.  Neither of these assumptions
is probably correct for a rotationally distorted and gravity
darkened Be star \citep{tow04}, but the photospheres of the
targets are small enough (see Table~6 below) that these details are
inconsequential for the baselines and wavelength of the
CHARA Array observations.  We suppose that the disk is observed
with the disk normal oriented to our line of sight with
an inclination angle $i$ and a position angle $\alpha$
measured east from north in the sky. Note that this position
angle convention is $90^\circ$ different from that adopted
in the H$\alpha$ interferometric studies where the
position angle of the projected major axis is usually given.
Thus, the four parameters that define a disk model are
the base density $\rho_0$, the density exponent $n$,
and the orientation angles $i$ and $\alpha$.

\subsection{$K^\prime$-band Continuum Images and Interferometric Visibility}

We determine the surface brightness of the disk plus star over
a projected rectilinear coordinate grid on the sky
by solving the equation of transfer
along a ray through the center of each grid position,
\begin{equation}
I = S_{d} (1 - e^{-\tau}) +
            I_{\star} e^{-\tau}
\end{equation}
where $I$ is the derived specific intensity,
$S_{d}$ is the source function for the disk gas
(taken as the Planck function for the disk temperature $T_d$),
$I_{\star}$ is the specific intensity for a uniform
disk star (taken as the Planck function for $T_{\rm eff}$),
and $\tau$ is the integrated optical depth along
the ray.  The main shortcoming in this expression is
the neglect of a scattered light term to account for
Thomson scattering of photospheric intensity
(see, for example, eq.\ [6] in \citealt{bjo94}).
For the typical electron densities that we find for
our Be star targets, this term will amount to only a
few percent of the stellar specific intensity at
locations close to the star, which is usually much less
than the disk source function in the optical thick portions,
so this simplification is acceptable in the $K^\prime$ band.

The disk optical depth in the near-IR is predominantly
due to bound-free and free-free processes, and we can express
the increment in optical depth with an incremental step
$ds$ along a given ray as
\begin{equation}
d\tau = C(\lambda, T_d) \rho (R,Z)^2 ~ds
\end{equation}
where the coefficient $C(\lambda, T_d)$ is given by
equation (5) in \citet{dou94} (see also \citealt{wat86}).
This coefficient includes terms for the Gaunt factors for
bound-free and free-free emission that we evaluated for the
$K^\prime$ band using the tables in \citet{wat84}.
We adopted an ionization model for the disks of the two
hotter Be stars, $\gamma$~Cas and $\phi$~Per, that
assumed ionized H, singly-ionized He, and doubly-ionized C,
N, and O atoms, while for the cooler Be stars, $\zeta$~Tau
and $\kappa$~Dra, we assumed ionized H, neutral He, and
singly ionized C, N, and O.  Note that we evaluated the
optical depth coefficient only at the central wavelength
of the $K^\prime$ filter since the coefficient varies
slowly with wavelength.  Also note that
we have accounted only for continuum emission in this band
since the Br$\gamma$ emission contribution is small compared
to the flux integrated over the $K^\prime$ band (\S5).

The image of the Be star in the sky in constructed by
integrating the optical depth along each ray according to
equations (2) and (5), and then populating each pixel of
the image using equation (4).  The pixel scale on the sky is
set by the adopted angular diameter of the star (derived
from the parallax and radius in Table~1).  We show an
example calculation for $\gamma$~Cas in the left panel of
Figure~1.  Portions of the disk projected against the sky
include only the first term of equation (4), and the
disk intensity attains a maximum of $S_{d} \approx 55\% I_{\star}$
in the inner optically thick regions.  At a radius where the
optical depth is approximately unity, the disk becomes optically
thin and fades with increasing radius.  Part of the
background disk is occulted by the star while the part in
foreground attenuates the photospheric intensity.
We also include a binary star option to add the disk of
a secondary into the image at a position appropriate for
the time of observation.

\placefigure{fig1}

The interferometric visibilities are then calculated by
making Fourier transforms of such disk images, and we did this
following the techniques described by \citet{auf06}.
The comparison with the observed visibility is done by
determining the discrete Fourier transform of the
image for the $(u,v)$ spatial frequency pair of the
observation (see eq.\ [19] in \citealt{auf06}),
and this calculation is done successively and
summed over five wavelength bins according to the
transmission curve of the $K^\prime$ filter \citep{mca05}.
This procedure assumes that spectral energy distributions
in the $K^\prime$ band of our targets are similar to
the stellar transmission curve (Rayleigh-Jeans tail),
and this is probably acceptable in the $K^\prime$ band
where the disk emission is just beginning to become an
important component of the total flux \citep{wat86}.
The Fourier transforms along the major and minor
axes of the projected disk image for the $\gamma$~Cas example
are illustrated in the right hand panel of Figure~1 (here
without accounting for bandwidth smearing).   The top curve shows
the slower decline in $V$ for the smaller minor axis while the
bottom curve illustrates the rapid decline for the better
resolved major axis.   Note that the star itself is so
small ($\theta_{LD}=0.50$ mas) that its visibility curve
in the absence of a disk would decline to only $V=0.87$
at a baseline of 300~m.

Figure 2 shows how the image and visibilities change by
altering the disk inclination angle from $51^\circ$ to
$80^\circ$ (the dotted lines in the right hand panel copy
the original visibility curves from Fig.~1).
The rays through the outer positions along the major
axis now traverse more optical depth because of the
oblique view through the disk, and this brightens the
outer regions making the disk effectively larger in this
dimension (so that the decline in $V$ with baseline
is steeper).  On the other hand, the minor axis now
appears more foreshortened and the visibility decline
is reduced.  Thus, the $V$ variation with position
angle in the sky (with respect to the major axis)
is very sensitive to the disk inclination angle $i$.

\placefigure{fig2}

The changes resulting from a decrease in disk base density
$\rho_0$ are illustrated in Figure~3.  Now the density is lower
throughout the disk, and consequently the optically thick part of
the disk appears smaller in both dimensions (and the $V$ curves
decline more slowly with baseline).  Changes in the opposite
sense result from a decrease in the density exponent as shown
in Figure~4 (from $n=2.7$ to 2.0).   The radial density decline
is less steep in this case so that much more of the inner disk
is optically thick, leading to a larger appearance in the sky
(steeper decline in the $V$ curves).  These examples show that
the visibility curves are most sensitive to the disk size as
given by the boundary between the optically thick and thin
regions.  Since the optical depth unity radius in the disk plane
depends on $\rho_0^2 r^{-2n+3/2}$, there will be a locus of
parameters that will produce visibility
curves with similar decline rates in the main lobe and with
subtle differences appearing only at intermediate and longer baselines.
Thus, accurate determinations of both $\rho_0$ and $n$ will
require visibility measurements over a broad range of baselines.

\placefigure{fig3}

\placefigure{fig4}

\subsection{Model Fitting Results}

We found best fit solutions for the four disk parameters
by fitting the model and observed $K^\prime$ visibilities
using a numerical grid search technique.  We used an iterative
search on each of the individual parameters to find the set
that provided the lowest overall $\chi^2_\nu$ statistic.
The results are listed in Table~6 for both single star and
binary star models (see below).  The seventh row of Table~6
reports the minimum $\chi^2_\nu$ values, and these are all
much larger than the expected value of unity for acceptable fits.
Recall that the internal errors on $V$ may underestimate
the actual errors by a factor of 2.8 for these measurements
(\S2.2), so we might instead expect to find best fits with
$\chi^2_\nu \approx 2.8^2 = 7.84$.  This is more or less
consistent with the fitting results for all but $\gamma$~Cas,
where the residuals are still larger than expected.
We estimated the errors in the
fitting parameters by renormalizing the minimum $\chi^2_\nu$
to unity and then finding the excursion in the parameter
that increased $\chi^2_\nu$ to a value of $1+1/(N_V-4)$
(for $N_V$ visibility measurements and 4 fitting parameters).
Since the disk parameters $\rho_0$ and $n$ are so closely
coupled in the fits (\S3.2), we searched the locus of the
pair-wise fits for the same increase in $\chi^2_\nu$,
and we quote the half-range in these parameters for their
errors.

\placetable{tab6}

The first two rows of Table~6 give the orientation parameters,
the disk plane normal inclination $i$ and position angle $\alpha$ (east from north).
Note that there is a $180^\circ$ ambiguity in the value of $\alpha$
(i.e., whether the disk north pole is in the eastern or western half
of the sky), so we assume the range $0\leq \alpha < 180^\circ$.
The third and fifth rows list the logarithm (base 10) of the disk base
density $\log \rho_0$ and the disk density exponent $n$, respectively
(base electron density is $\log N_e = \log \rho_0 + 23.6$).
These are compared with the same parameters in rows four and six, respectively,
estimated from model fits of the IR flux excess from {\it IRAS}
observations that were computed by \citet{wat87}.  \citet{wat87}
make a number of simplifying assumptions about the disk geometry
that make a direct comparison of results unreliable, but in
general there is reasonable agreement except in the two cases
where a binary companion may influence the results, $\phi$~Per
and $\kappa$~Dra (see below).  Row 8 gives a derived model
quantity related to the IR flux excess,
$E(V-K) = 2.5\log (1+F_d/F_\star)$,
where $F_d$ and $F_\star$ are the integrated disk and
stellar flux, respectively.  If we assume that the disk flux
is relatively small in the optical, then this quantity can be directly compared
to the observed IR flux excess measurements by \citet{dou94}
that are listed in row 9.  The model and observed values of
$E(V-K)$ are comparable but not always a good match.
We suspect the differences may relate to the temporal variations
in the disk emission (from  $\sim 1990$ for the IR magnitudes to
$\sim2005$ for the CHARA Array measurements).  Rows 10 and 11
compare the adopted stellar angular diameter $\theta_{LD}$
with the model disk emission FWHM diameter along the projected
major axis.  The disk emission FWHM was estimated from the width
at $50\%$ of the emission intensity in the optically thick part
just above the photosphere.

We know that all four targets are close binaries with faint, low-mass
companions, but the nature of the companion is only known in the
case of $\phi$~Per \citep{gie98}.   The secondary of $\phi$~Per is
a hot helium star, the stripped down remains of what was once the
more massive star before mass transfer began.  If we assume that
all our Be star targets are likewise the mass gainers that have
been spun up by the angular momentum carried with mass transfer,
then they may also have helium star companions (or possibly
white dwarf or neutron star companions).  We present here a sample
calculation of how such a binary companion would affect the $K^\prime$
visibilities.  For the purpose of this demonstration,
we assume that the companion is a hot
($T_{\rm eff} = 30000$~K) and small ($R=1 R_\odot$) helium star
(except in the case of $\phi$~Per where we have better estimates for
these parameters; see Table~1).   According to the interacting binary
scenario, the angular momentum vector of the mass gainer Be star
should be parallel with the orbital angular momentum vector,
so the disk plane corresponds to the orbital plane.
Consequently, we can apply the orientation parameters for
the disk, $i$ and $\alpha$, also to the orbit of the secondary.
We know the epoch of the secondary's ascending node passage from
the spectroscopic radial velocity curves (Table~1), so the only
remaining unknown for the secondary's astrometric orbit is the
sense of motion on the sky (increasing or decreasing position
angle with time).  We follow the normal convention of assigning
an inclination in the range $0^\circ\leq i < 90^\circ$ for counterclockwise
apparent motion and in the range $90^\circ < i\leq 180^\circ$ for clockwise
motion (so that the longitude of the node is $\Omega = \alpha + 270^\circ$
for $i < 90^\circ$ and $\Omega = \alpha + 90^\circ$ for $i > 90^\circ$).
We made fits of the visibility for these two binary orbit cases,
and we show in Table~6 the results for the best fit sense of motion.
The minimum $\chi^2_\nu$ was significantly reduced only for the case of
$\phi$~Per (where the properties of the secondary are known; the
estimated magnitude difference is $\triangle K^\prime = 2.9$ mag).  The
inclusion of the binary companion also resulted in a significant change in
the fitted disk properties for $\kappa$~Dra (discussed further in \S5.4).

It is valuable to compare the $K^\prime$ angular diameters with those
derived from narrow-band H$\alpha$ interferometry, and to do so we need
to fit the visibilities with a simple Gaussian ellipsoidal model
as done for the H$\alpha$ results.  We made these
fits also by a numerical grid search of the four parameters that
describe the Gaussian ellipsoidal model:
the angular FWHM of the major axis $\theta_{\rm GD}$,
the ratio of the minor to major axes $r$ ($\geq \cos i$),
the position angle of the major axis $\phi$ ($= \alpha \pm 90^\circ$),
and the fraction of the total flux contributed by the
photosphere of the Be star $c_{\rm P}$.
The best fit results are listed in Table~7 for these single star models.
Our results are compared with those from \citet{qui97}
and \citet{tyc04,tyc06} based on interferometric
observations of the H$\alpha$ emission, and the orientation parameters
appear to be in reasonable agreement.   We find, however, that the $K^\prime$
disk diameters are somewhat smaller than the H$\alpha$ diameters
($\approx 64\%$ as large), contrary to the wind model predictions of \citet{ste01}.
Note that the $\chi_\nu^2$ residuals of the Gaussian elliptical fits
are comparable to those from the physical model fits (Table~6), and
additional longer baseline observations will be required to distinguish
between them.

\placetable{tab7}

\section{Model Emission Lines and Spectroscopy}

We can also use the simple disk model to estimate the
line profiles of the disk emission lines \citep{hum00}.
However, the problem is now more complex because of the
wavelength dependence of the emission, and a number of
key assumptions about the atomic populations must be made.
Despite these difficulties, it is nevertheless interesting
to check whether or not the disk density parameters
derived from interferometry lead to predicted line profiles
that are consistent with the observed ones.  Here we discuss
the line synthesis predictions for the disk models and
their comparison with our spectroscopic observations.

\subsection{Disk Emission Line Models}

The line synthesis procedure has many similarities with
the disk image calculations present above.  We assume the
same basic density law (eq.\ [2]), the same creation of a
rectilinear grid of points covering the projected positions
of the star and disk in the sky, and the solution of the
equation of transfer (eq.\ [4]) along along a ray through the
center of each grid point.  However, for the line synthesis
the expression for the optical depth (eq.\ [5]) becomes \citep{hum00}
\begin{equation}
d\tau_\lambda = {{\pi e^2}\over{mc}} f \lambda_0 ~N(H_i) ~P_\lambda(V_r, N_e) ~ds
\end{equation}
and now we consider a wavelength dependent optical depth
$\tau_\lambda$ for the region surrounding an emission line
(we adopt an equivalent radial velocity grid in 10 km~s$^{-1}$
increments from $-2000$ to $+2000$ km~s$^{-1}$).
The first term in the expression is the
scattering coefficient for a classical oscillator
that is multiplied by the oscillator strength
$f$ and the rest wavelength $\lambda_0$ for the specific transition
(H$\gamma$, H$\alpha$, and Br$\gamma$).

The next term $N(H_i)$ is the local number density of neutral
H atoms in energy level $i$.   This can be set approximately by
balancing the recombination rate with the photoionization rate
(for the case when all the bound-bound transitions are very
optically thick; \citealt*{cas87})
\begin{equation}
\alpha (T) N_e N_p = N_i \int\limits_{\nu_0}^{\infty} {{4\pi}\over{h\nu}} a_\nu J_\nu ~d\nu
\end{equation}
where $\alpha (T)$ is the recombination coefficient,
$N_e$ and $N_p$ are the electron and proton number densities,
$N_i$ is the number density of hydrogen in energy level $i$,
$a_\nu$ is the photoionization cross section, and $J_\nu$
is the mean radiation field.  If we assume that the latter
results only from unattenuated starlight, then the mean
field at a distance $r$ from the star can be written
\begin{equation}
J_\nu = W(r) I_\nu^\star
\end{equation}
where $W(r)$ is the dilution factor given by
\begin{equation}
W(r)=0.5(1-[1-r^{-2}]^{1\over2}),
\end{equation}
$r$ is the radial distance from the star $r=(R^2+Z^2)^{1\over2}$,
and $I_\nu^\star$ is the stellar specific intensity.
\citet{cas87} rewrite the photoionization/recombination
equilibrium to express the level population $N_i$ in terms of
a variable $q_i$,
\begin{equation}
N_i=N_e N_p ~\alpha (T) / \int\limits_{\nu_0}^{\infty} {{4\pi}\over{h\nu}} a_\nu W(r) I_\nu^\star ~d\nu
   \equiv N_e N_p q_i.
\end{equation}
In the stellar photosphere, $W(r)=1$, $I_\nu^\star = B_\nu (T_{\rm eff})$ (the Planck function),
and the gas will be in LTE, so that $q_i^{\rm LTE}=N_i/(N_e N_p)$
will be given by the Boltzmann-Saha equation.  In the circumstellar disk, the photoionization rate
will vary with $W(r)$ and the recombination rate will depend on $\alpha (T) \propto T^{-1/2}$,
so level populations will be given by
\begin{equation}
N_i=q_i^{\rm LTE} \sqrt{T_{\rm eff}/T_d} ~N_e N_p / W(r).
\end{equation}
The actual populations probably have a more complex
dependence on position in the disk \citep{car06}.

The final term in optical depth equation is the normalized line
profile $P_\lambda(V_r, N_e)$ that depends on the
local radial velocity $V_r$, electron density, and the adopted
temperature of the isothermal disk $T_d$.  We adopted the convolved
thermal and Stark broadened profiles calculated by T.\ Sch\"{o}ning and
K.\ Butler\footnote{http://nova.astro.umd.edu/Synspec43/data/hydprf.dat}
for H$\alpha$ and H$\gamma$, but we used only a simple thermal profile
for Br$\gamma$.  These profiles were collected into a matrix of
401 wavelength points (corresponding to our radial velocity grid),
60 positive Doppler shifts (in increments of 10 km~s$^{-1}$), and
four electron number densities ($\log N_e = [10.5, 12, 13, 14]$).

The line synthesis calculation proceeds by solving for the
intensity spectrum from each pixel in the projected image and
then summing these to create a predicted flux profile.
At each position along a ray through a pixel, we determine the
Keplerian velocity and Doppler shift, gas density, H population,
and profile shape (simply adopting the closest match in the grid),
and then we integrate the optical depth for each wavelength point.
The summed spectral intensity is then found through equation (4),
but in this calculation $I_\star$ is replaced with a specific
intensity corresponding to a photospheric absorption line with
the corresponding value of surface normal orientation and
Doppler shift for the projected position.  These intensity profiles
were calculated by first creating line blanketed LTE model atmospheres
using the ATLAS9 program written by Robert Kurucz.  These models assume
a stellar temperature and gravity derived from the parameters in Table~1,
solar abundances, and a microturbulent velocity of 2 km~s$^{-1}$.
Then a series of specific intensity spectra were calculated
using the code SYNSPEC \citep{hub95} for each of these models
and H lines.  These profiles include the effects of limb darkening
for the stellar photosphere.   Because our model assumes axial
symmetry, we complete the calculation for only the half of the
projected image with positive radial velocity and then we add
a mirror-symmetric version of the flux profile to account for
the other half with negative radial velocity.  The resulting
profiles are then rectified to unit continuum flux and
smoothed by convolution with a Gaussian function to match the
instrumental broadening of our spectroscopic observations (Table~5).
We also need to account for the disk IR continuum excess in the
case of Br$\gamma$, so we renormalize the continuum flux $F_\lambda$ to
\begin{equation}
F_\lambda^\prime = (F_\lambda + \epsilon) / (1 + \epsilon)
\end{equation}
where $\epsilon = 10^{0.4 E(V-K)} - 1$ ($E(V-K)$ given in Table~6).

\subsection{Emission Line Fitting Results}

The model emission profiles depend on three parameters,
the disk base density $\rho_0$, the density exponent $n$, and
the disk inclination $i$.  Since our main interest is in
checking the consistency of the interferometric and
spectroscopic results, we set the values of $n$ and $i$
from the fits of the CHARA Array visibilities and then
varied $\rho_0$ to find the best match with the observed
line profiles.  Our results are gathered in Table~8 for
each of the four targets.  The first three rows give the
measured equivalent widths (where a negative sign indicates
a net line flux above the continuum) for H$\alpha$, H$\gamma$,
and Br$\gamma$, respectively.  The next three rows give the
corresponding disk base density $\rho_0$ that yields
synthetic profiles with the observed equivalent width
(or that best match the profile structure in the case
of H$\gamma$ where the equivalent width is complicated by
the presence of line blends).  The final row lists
for comparison the value of $\rho_0$ as derived from the
interferometric data (single star results for $\gamma$~Cas
and $\zeta$~Tau; binary star results for $\phi$~Per and
$\kappa$~Dra).   We see that there is relatively good agreement
between the densities derived from the three different
H lines, and specifically the near agreement of the result from
Br$\gamma$ with those from the Balmer lines supports
the flux renormalization near Br$\gamma$ (eq.\ [12])
set by the interferometric determination of the IR excess.
The emission line and interferometric densities vary in tandem
among the analyses of the four stars,
but we find that the emission line densities are
systematically lower by approximately 1.7~dex.
We suspect that the problem lies in the simplying assumptions
made in the model concerning the isothermal disk temperature
and H populations that both probably lead to overestimates
of the line emission from the outer parts of the disk.

\placetable{tab8}

The synthetic model profiles are directly compared with the
observed ones in the next section, and we find that all the
strong emission lines (formed in optically thick regions)
appear to be much broader than predicted.  We show one example
of this difference in Figure~5 for the H$\alpha$ line in
$\gamma$~Cas.  The basic synthetic model that matches the
observed equivalent width shows the strong double peaks
associated with Keplerian motion in the disk.   The observed
profile, on the other hand, lacks well defined peaks and
shows much broader line wings.  We also show in Figure~5 a
smoothed version of the synthetic profile formed by convolution
with a Voigt function fit using a damping parameter $\Gamma = 934$
km~s$^{-1}$, and this broadened version matches the observed
profile quite well.  Thus, it appears that the line broadening
due to Keplerian motion in the disk is insufficient to explain
the shapes of the strong lines (although the weaker H$\gamma$
profiles are in better agreement; see \S5).  There are a number
of possible explanations for the discrepancy: \\
(1) We have assumed that the H$\alpha$ source function is
constant with radius in the disk, but more detailed models
by \citet{car06} show that the temperature and presumably
the source function decrease with radius.  This suggests that
the H$\alpha$ emission is probably stronger in the inner
disk than portrayed in our model, and since large orbital
motions in the inner disk produce the line wings, the model
almost certainly underestimates the wing emission. \\
(2) Macroscopic motions such as stellar wind outflow \citep{ste95}
and turbulence may be important (especially close to the star
where the emission is particularly strong). \\
(3) Non-coherent scattering of photons into the wings of strong
emission lines may extend their widths by as much as a few
hundred km~s$^{-1}$ \citep{hum92,hum95}, but this may be insufficient
to explain the extreme broadening observed in H$\alpha$. \\
(4) Thomson scattering by free electrons in the inner disk
may create extended line wings \citep{poe79}. \\
(5) Collisional Stark broadening will produce similar extended
wings, but tests with our model suggest that the base density
would need to be increased by about two orders of magnitude for
the Stark wings to become prominent.  This might be possible if
disk gas consists of dense clumps. \\
(6) Raman scattering of photons from the vicinity of the
ultraviolet Ly$\beta$ line could lead to broad wings in H$\alpha$
\citep*{yoo02} if there is a sufficient column density of
neutral hydrogen in the disk ($N({\rm H~I}) \sim 10^{20-23}$ cm$^{-2}$).
This process might be especially applicable to edge-on
and/or cooler disks.

\placefigure{fig5}

\section{Individual Targets}

\subsection{$\gamma$ Cas}

The star $\gamma$~Cas is perhaps the best documented Be star
in the sky, and it has displayed Be, Be-shell, and normal B-type
spectra over the course of the last century \citep{doa82}.
It currently displays strong H$\alpha$ emission, and the
H$\alpha$ disk size was recently determined through
observations from NPOI \citep{tyc06}.  Our best fit disk (Table~6)
and Gaussian elliptical models (Table~7) are generally consistent
with the H$\alpha$ interferometric results and indicate that
we view this Be star disk at an intermediate inclination.
The disk density exponent we derive, $n=2.7\pm0.3$, matches within
errors the value $n=2.8\pm0.1$ found by \citet{hon00} based on an
analysis of the 2.4 -- 45 $\mu$m spectrum from ISO-SWS.  We show
the model $K^\prime$ image of $\gamma$~Cas in the left hand panel
of Figure~6 and the corresponding visibility image (without the
effects of bandwidth smearing) is shown in the right hand panel.
Both images are scaled logarithmic representations made to accentuate
the low level features.   The $(u,v)$ frequencies of the CHARA Array
observations are shown in the upper half of the visibility image
with symbol sizes proportional to the observed visibility.
They also appear in point-symmetric locations in the lower half
where they represent the residual-to-error ratio (vertical segment
for $V_{\rm obs}>V_{\rm cal}$ and horizontal for $V_{\rm obs}<V_{\rm cal}$).
The residuals from the fit are large for our observations of $\gamma$~Cas,
but they do not appear to indicate any systematic deviation from
the model since we find some of the largest positive and negative
deviations in the same part of the $(u,v)$ diagram.  We suspect that
the high value of $\chi^2_\nu$ reflects an incomplete accounting
of the full error budget.

\placefigure{fig6}

\citet{har00} discovered that $\gamma$~Cas is a single-lined spectroscopic
binary, and their orbit was confirmed in subsequent Doppler shift measurements
by \citet{mir02}.  We made a fit of the visibilities by including a possible
hot subdwarf companion that was placed in the model images using the
spectroscopic ephemeris from \citet{mir02} (Table~1).  This modification made
a slight improvement in the residuals of the fit, and models with a
secondary hotter than $T_{\rm eff} = 30$~kK showed somewhat better agreement.

The profiles of the H$\alpha$, H$\gamma$, and Br$\gamma$ emission lines
are plotted as thick lines in Figure~7.  We also plot the synthetic
model profiles as thin lines for each feature.  The model profiles of the
weaker H$\gamma$ and Br$\gamma$ features make a reasonable match of the
observed profiles, but, as noted above, the H$\alpha$ profile is much
broader and smoother than predicted.  \citet*{rob02} suggest that there
may be significant turbulence in the inner disk of $\gamma$~Cas that is
associated with magnetic dynamo processes, and such turbulent motions
could help to explain the wings observed in H$\alpha$.

\placefigure{fig7}

\subsection{$\phi$ Per}

The binary system $\phi$~Per is the only one of the four targets
where we known the nature of the secondary and can reliably
predict its flux contribution in the near-IR \citep{gie98}.
The companion is a hot subdwarf whose spectrum appears
clearly in UV spectroscopy from {\it HST}, and from the relative
strengths of its spectral lines, we can estimate with confidence
its temperature, radius, and hence its near-IR flux contribution.
Indeed the fit of the CHARA Array visibilities is better for
the binary model than the single star model (Table~6).
Here the inclusion of the binary flux leads to a downwards
revision of the disk size.  We show in left hand panel of Figure~8
the image of the entire binary for the observation made
on HJD 2,453,656.9 (orbital phase 0.644), which is similar to the
binary orientation for most of the observations (Table~4).
The right hand panel shows the visibility image that is now
modulated with the interference pattern introduced by the
binary companion.  Since the presence of the secondary does
affect the visibility pattern, additional interferometric data
should lead to an astrometric orbit that will allow us to test
whether or not the disk and orbit are co-planar \citep{cla98}.

\placefigure{fig8}

The position angle of the disk that we find is about $20^\circ$
different than that from the recent narrow-band H$\alpha$ measurements
from \citet{tyc06} (Table~7).  Our solution is somewhat influenced by our
assumptions about the properties of the secondary's orbit, and
additional observations at other binary phases will be required
to settle the issue of the disk and orbit orientations.
We also find a much lower density exponent $n=1.8$ than
the value of $n=3.0$ found by \citet{wat87} based on fitting
the IR-excess from {\it IRAS} data, but their result is sensitive
to the adopted disk radius.  For example, \citet{wat86} demonstrated
that a density exponent of $n=2.4$ also fit the IR-excess provided
the disk radius was limited to $R_d=6.5 R_\odot$, so the difference
in our results probably hinges on differences in the model assumptions.

Figure~9 shows the H$\alpha$, H$\gamma$, and Br$\gamma$ profiles for
$\phi$~Per.  The peaks in the H$\gamma$ profile reversed in strength
between our observations in 2004 and 2005.  This is an important reminder
that the disk is time variable and is also probably somewhat asymmetrical
in appearance \citep{hum95,hum01}, properties that are beyond the scope of
our simple disk models.   Both the H$\alpha$ and Br$\gamma$ line are
observed to be broader than predicted by the disk model.

\placefigure{fig9}

\subsection{$\zeta$ Tau}

\citet{har84} derived the best radial velocity curve to date for this
single-lined binary, and we adopt his period here but we took the
epoch from the the more recent spectroscopic study by \citet{kay97}.
A comparison of the single star and binary fits to the interferometry
shows essentially no differences in the resulting $\chi^2_\nu$ values,
so we will discuss the single star results here.  The spatial and
visibility images resulting from the fit are shown in Figure~10.
Our results indicate that we are viewing this system close to
edge-on, and the decline in visibility is especially marked along
the direction of the projected major axis of the disk.  Our
derived orientation in the sky is in reasonable agreement with
the H$\alpha$ results from \citet{tyc04}, and the density law agrees
within errors with that obtained from fitting the IR-excess
flux \citep{wat87}.

\placefigure{fig10}

The spectral line profiles of $\zeta$~Tau are illustrated in Figure~11.
Again we find that the observed H$\alpha$ line is much broader than
the model profile, and here we see evidence of a significant
asymmetry in the disk in the differing heights of the blue and
red emission peaks.  The long term variations in these asymmetries
are documented by \citet{guo95}.  \citet{vak98} made H$\alpha$
interferometric observations in narrow bands matching the blue and
red peaks, and their results support the idea that the disk density
is modulated by a prograde one-armed oscillation.
The H$\gamma$ line shows a deep central ``shell'' feature that
is consistent with the formation of such shell lines in Be stars
observed near $i=90^\circ$ \citep{han96}.  The fact that our model
H$\gamma$ line depth is shallower than the observed depth probably indicates
that the outer parts of the disk are cooler than assumed in
our isothermal model.

\placefigure{fig11}

\subsection{$\kappa$ Dra}

\citet{juz91} and \citet{saa05} show that $\kappa$~Dra is
a low amplitude, single-lined spectroscopic binary with a
period of 65.6~d.  \citet{saa04} describe a long-term
cyclic variation of about 22~y that is present in the
emission lines, and they suggest that this period may
correspond to the disk's modulation due to an interaction
with a third star in an eccentric orbit.  The semimajor
axis of the third star would be on the order of 100~mas
for the adopted distance, but we find no obvious evidence
(separated fringe packets) for such a companion even at the
shortest baselines.  Thus, we have confined our test fits
here to the single star and binary star ($P=65$~d) cases.

The fit for the single star case is odd in several respects.
The density exponent is unusually small and the inclination
of $i=90^\circ$ is at odds with estimates from spectroscopy
($i=35^\circ - 45^\circ$; \citealt{juz91}).
The binary fit has similar residuals, but it brings the
density exponent and inclination into better accord
with expectations.  Thus, we will adopt the binary model
that is based on a hot, subdwarf companion, but we caution
that additional interferometric observations are required
to make reliable estimates for the companion's orbit and
flux contribution.

The model spatial and visibility images are shown in
Figure~12, and we see in this case that the binary modulation
is equal to or greater than the disk variation in importance.
The CHARA Array measurements presented here are the first
interferometric observations of this target, so there
are no H$\alpha$ results for comparison.
\citet{qui97} found that the intrinsic continuum polarization
angle is generally perpendicular to the projected disk
major axis in the sky.  \citet{cla90}
estimated the intrinsic polarization angle for $\kappa$~Dra as
$23^\circ$ east from north (in agreement with the estimate of
$27^\circ$ from a recent polarization analysis by K.\
Bjorkman, private communication), and this agrees within
errors with the position angle of $\alpha = 21^\circ \pm 3^\circ$
from the fit of the interferometric visibilities.

\placefigure{fig12}

The line profiles are shown in Figure~13.  We find that the
H$\alpha$ emission strength is approximately that expected
for the epoch of our observations and the long term variation
(see Fig.~4 of \citealt{saa04}).  Once again the H$\alpha$
profile (and perhaps the H$\gamma$ profile) appear to be broader
than predicted by the Keplerian model.

\placefigure{fig13}

\section{Conclusions}

The CHARA Array observations represent the first $K^\prime$
interferometric measurements of northern Be stars, and we find
that the disks of all four targets are at least partially
resolved.  The derived disk inclination angle and position
angle in the sky generally agree with similar estimates
from narrow-band H$\alpha$ interferometry where available.
We find, for example, that the disk of $\zeta$~Tau appears
with a nearly edge-on orientation, which is consistent with the
prediction for Be stars with shell spectral features \citep{han96}.
All four of the targets are close binaries with faint companions,
and these companions appear to influence the $K^\prime$ visibilities
of $\phi$~Per and $\kappa$~Dra, an interesting but complicating
factor for the interpretation of the disk properties.
We find, for example, that the radial gradient in disk density
(density exponent $n$ in Table~6)
is smaller in binaries with smaller semimajor axes, which
suggests that binary companions do influence the disk properties.

We developed a simple Keplerian disk model to create synthetic
angular images of the disks, and we used these models to
create model interferometric visibility patterns and
spectral emission line profiles for comparison with our
observations.   These models assume isothermal disks
and ignore scattering in the radiative transfer process,
two significant limitations that should be addressed in
a more complete model.  The disks are characterized by
two physical parameters, the base density and density exponent,
and two observational parameters, the disk normal inclination
and position angle.  We fit the CHARA Array visibilities for
all four parameters for both single and binary star models,
and our results are in good agreement with prior studies of
the IR-excess in these stars.  The parameters derived from
the interferometry lead to model emission lines that match
the observed ones if the base densities are reduced by a factor
of about 1.7~dex.  This mismatch is not unexpected considering
the many simplifying assumptions made in the model.

We find that the angular diameters of the Be disks in the $K^\prime$-band
are consistently smaller than those found from H$\alpha$ interferometry.
We think that this difference results from the larger H$\alpha$
opacity and the hydrogen ionization structure in the disk.
The $K^\prime$ disk emission comes primarily from free-free processes in the
mainly ionized gas, and the free-free optical depth will vary with disk
radius according to the square of the density.  In the
thin disk approximation, the optical depth at radial distance $R$
will vary as $\tau \propto \rho_0^2 ~R^{-2n+3/2} / \cos i$
(see eq.\ [2] and [3]).  On the other hand, the H$\alpha$ emission
depends on the relatively low neutral hydrogen number density,
and we assumed above that this varies inversely with the stellar
dilution factor (eq.\ [9]; $W(r)\propto R^{-2}$ at large radius and $Z=0$).
Thus, we expect the H$\alpha$ optical depth to vary
approximately as $\tau \propto \rho_0^2 ~R^{-2n+3/2+2} / \cos i$,
i.e., with a shallower effective density exponent of $n-1$.
Consequently, the H$\alpha$ optical depth reduction with
increasing disk radius will be less pronounced than in
the case of the IR optical depth, resulting in a
larger spatial extension in the H$\alpha$ emission
compared to that for the $K^\prime$ emission.

This expectation is borne out in the predicted spatial images.
We show an example of the derived spatial structure in Figure~14
for our single star model of $\gamma$~Cas.  The solid line
shows the summed $K^\prime$-band intensity of the image
projected onto the major axis of the disk and
measured in stellar radii from the center of the star.
We used our model to create an
H$\alpha$ image adopting the base density from the fit
of the observed emission line (Table~8).  The intensity
was formed by summing across a 2.8~nm wavelength band centered
on H$\alpha$ in order to match the H$\alpha$ interferometric
observations of \citet{tyc06}.
Note that changing the adopted bandwidth will simply
result in a rescaling of the contrast between the central star
and the surrounding disk emission.  The disk image appears
darker along the line of nodes and along the line of sight because
of the minimal shear broadening that occurs at those disk
azimuthal angles and the subsequent reduction in the range of
wavelength over which H$\alpha$ is optically thick.  The dashed line in Figure~14
shows the summed H$\alpha$ image intensity projected onto the major axis.
We see that H$\alpha$ emission is indeed more extended along the major axis
and that the half maximum intensity radii are located at $2.6 R_\star$ and
$7.4 R_\star$ for the $K^\prime$ band and H$\alpha$ summed intensities,
respectively.  The ratio of these half maximum intensity radii is
0.35, which is comparable to the observed ratio of 0.55 of the
FWHM of the major axes of the $K^\prime$-band
and H$\alpha$ emission in the Gaussian elliptical fits
(Table~7).  Thus, the differences in the radial exponent dependence of
density squared and the neutral hydrogen fraction may partially explain
the larger appearance of the H$\alpha$ disks.

\placefigure{fig14}

The CHARA Array observations demonstrate the promise of these
kinds of measurements for our understanding of Be stars.
Many Be stars were probably spun up by mass transfer in a
past close interaction, and future observations over a range
in $(u,v)$ and orbital phase coverage will reveal the nature of
their companions.   The disks of Be stars are driven by dynamic
processes and evolve over timescales of months to years, so
long-term observations will help elucidate the physics of
disk formation and dispersal.  There is ample evidence that
the disks are structured and prone to the formation of spiral
arm features \citep{oka02}.  Furthermore, in Be binaries like
$\phi$~Per, the portion of the disk closest to the hot companion
may appear brighter due to local heating by the companion's
radiation \citep{gie98,hum01}.  The techniques of phase closure
using multiple telescopes in long baseline interferometry \citep{kra05}
will soon give us the means to study these disk processes directly
among the nearby Be stars.

\acknowledgments

We are grateful for helpful advice received from John Monnier,
Christopher Tycner, Philippe Stee, and Andrew Boden.
This material is based on work supported by the National Science
Foundation under grants AST--0205297, AST--0307562, and AST--0401460.
We are grateful for travel support (for M.\ V.\ McSwain)
from Hokkai-Gakuen University in Sapporo where
preliminary results from this study were presented.
Institutional support has been provided from the GSU College
of Arts and Sciences and from the Research Program Enhancement
fund of the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia,
administered through the GSU Office of the Vice President for Research.
We gratefully acknowledge all this support.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaArXiv


We'll add your track to 57 Apple Music playlists, from a premium account. The track will stay there 4 months and it'll be streamed 24/7. A song in these eighteen playlists one playlist gets a whopping 600-1100 streams a day: get royalties and new fans streaming music.


text:
According to Telesio, the "conservatio sui is the foundation from which all sensitive and cognitive functions arise. Defending an empirical approach in epistemology, Telesio tried to annul the traditional distinction between sense perception and reason, and he denied that there exists something like a purely mental sphere and a corresponding intellect which Aristotle in De anima III had called nous"
Sense perception and memory are historically depending on the brain
Sense perception and memory participate in understanding
Memory is not visual
The following OntoUML diagram shows Bernardino Telesio's model of knowledge
Bernardino Telesio's model of knowledge
Brain "Telesio combined the medical theory of spirit with a basically Stoic notion, that of the hegemonikon, according to which the spirit in the brain is responsible for all the states and operations traditionally ascribed to the tripartite soul: "the animal … is governed by one substance residing in the brain" (Quod animal universum ch. XXV; Var. lib. p. 254). Whereas in Quod animal universum he went on to explain the affects in terms of physiology, in De rerum natura he added a theory of sense perception and a theory of knowledge on physical grounds."
Understanding "Understanding is a process which requires sense perception and memory.
According to Telesio, our memory is not visual.
What we remember are movements which our spirit has experienced and given out when being in contact with external forces. If now the spirit undergoes a similar experience, for example the pain of getting burned, it will ascribe this perception to a similar or identical cause and call it 'fire' (DRN book VIII, ch. 1; vol. III, p. 160). The ability of making rational conclusions (ratiocinari) consists in comparing new expierences to old ones and in supplementing hidden or unknown aspects when refering them to former experiences"
SensePerception Understanding is a process which requires sense perception historicalDependence on Brain; participation Understanding
Memory "Understanding is a process which requires memory. According to Telesio, our memory is not visual." historicalDependence on Brain; participation Understanding
NotVisual According to Telesio, our memory is not visual. characterizes Memory
Boenke, Michaela, "Bernardino Telesio", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2018 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.).
Epistemology, OntoUML, Philosophy of mind, RenaissanceBernardino Telesio (1509–1588)
Bernardino Telesio (1509–1588) "With regard to psychology, Telesio took a materialist standpoint. According to his general rejection of the metaphysical (and therefore inappropriate) principles of matter and form, he rejected Aristotle's definition of the soul as forma corporis, i.e. as form and entelechy of an organic body (Aristotle, De anima II,1).
According to Telesio, the soul is a separate being, but not in the sense of the Platonists, who define it as an immortal essence acting as the governor and mover of the body during its embodied life. Telesio held the soul to be a specific part of the body, defining it as the spiritus coursing through the nervous system and having its main seat in the brain. The spiritus which overtakes the role of the anima of the philosophical tradition is produced by the white 'semen'. Telesio calls it the spiritus e semine eductus" So,
Human is a subkind of thing
Spirit is a component of human
The brain is a component spirit
Sense perception depends on the brain, it can take the form of pleasure and pain.
The following OntoUML diagram shows Bernardino Telesio's model psychology:
Telesio on psychology
Thing "Telesio's vision of the genesis of nature is simple to the point of being archaic, yet at the same time astonishingly modern in the sense that he seems to have been one of the very first defenders of a theory of natural evolution without metaphysical or theological presuppositions. According to his De rerum natura, the only things which must be presupposed are passive matter and active force, the latter of which Telesio thought of as twofold, heat and cold."
Human "And just as there is no metaphysical difference between living and non-living bodies, there also does not exist a qualitative difference between animals and humans—in both, it is the same spirit which coordinates the functions and operations of the different bodily parts." subkind of Thing
Spirit "With regard to psychology, Telesio took a materialist standpoint. According to his general rejection of the metaphysical (and therefore inappropriate) principles of matter and form, he rejected Aristotle's definition of the soul as forma corporis, i.e. as form and entelechy of an organic body (Aristotle, De anima II,1).
According to Telesio, the soul [ie spirit] is a separate being, but not in the sense of the Platonists, who define it as an immortal essence acting as the governor and mover of the body during its embodied life. Telesio held the soul to be a specific part of the body, defining it as the spiritus coursing through the nervous system and having its main seat in the brain. The spirits [spirit] which overtakes the role of the anima of the philosophical tradition is produced by the white 'semen'. Telesio calls it the spiritus e semine eductus.
"This [separate substance] will therefore be the spiritus, which took its origin from the semen, as we will explain elsewhere (and it is to be found in all things made from semen, namely those which are white and bloodless, with the exception of the bones and similar things); and only the spirit is what perceives in the animal, and moves sometimes with the whole body, sometimes with single parts thereof, and solely governs the whole animal. That is to say, it performs those actions which, according to the concurring opinion of all, are typical of the soul." (Vol. II, p. 208)." componentOf Human
Brain "Telesio combined the medical theory of spirit with a basically Stoic notion, that of the hegemonikon, according to which the spirit in the brain is responsible for all the states and operations traditionally ascribed to the tripartite soul: "the animal … is governed by one substance residing in the brain" (Quod animal universum ch. XXV; Var. lib. p. 254). Whereas in Quod animal universum he went on to explain the affects in terms of physiology, in De rerum natura he added a theory of sense perception and a theory of knowledge on physical grounds." componentOf Spirit
SensePerception Sense perception: 'In his opinion, to speak of sense organs is inappropriate, as the so-called sense organs are nothing else than "parts of the body which are either more subtle or soft than others, or perforated and open. One should not believe in the slightest that they are made thus in order to offer some capacity or support of perceiving to the sensitive soul (which seems to be the duty of organs), but in order to provide an easy and open entry to the forces of external things and to those things themselves."
As the sense of touch provides the most narrow contact between outer object and sensing spirit, it assumes the role of the primary sense, which was traditionally identified with the sense of vision (DRN book VII, ch. IX, vol. III, p. 34.)
The informatio theory being rejected, Telesio comes close to a neuronal explanation of sense perception, which is a mechanical process arising from the transfer of tactile impressions through the nerves to the brain." historicalDependence on Brain
Pleasure; Pain "It is the spirit residing in the brain which experiences nervous dilatations and contractions, and which judges these sensations according to the basic scheme of pleasure and pain, giving out corresponding reactions like moving towards something or avoiding contact (DRN book VII ch. II–V). " historicalRole of SensePerception
OntoUML, Philosophy of mind, Political philosophyBernardino Telesio (1509–1588)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


It's been four long years since the unstoppable alien killing machine known only as Predator devastated Riverdale in the first ARCHIE VS. PREDATOR miniseries — that's plenty of time for survivors Betty and Veronica to cook up some brutal revenge! This July, original series writer Alex de Campi returns to the cult classic crossover with ARCHIE VS. PREDATOR 2, a five-issue team-up between Archie Comics, Dark Horse Comics, and 20th Century Fox.
Artist Robert Hack of CHILLING ADVENTURES OF SABRINA is lending his signature horrifying style to the wild sequel adventure. "There's so much to love about playing in this iconic universe, but key to me is the humor of it all," he added. "And, of course, a book like AVP2 definitely appeals to that subversive streak in me that wants to take the humor and the horror just that little bit too far." de Campi and Hack will be joined by colorist Kelly Fitzpatrick and letterer Jack Morelli.
ARCHIE VS. PREDATOR #2 arrives in comic shops on July 24, 2019.
Subscriptions are now available from the Archie Comics Website.


It would be fair to say that the proposed Zonqor point development has galvanised a seemingly dormant environmentalist lobby into sudden action. But as any environmentalist will tell you, large scale opposition to single projects is not the most reliable token of ecological sensitivity.
To most green NGOs, these one-off controversies should ideally be seen against a wider palette of environmental concerns. And Petra Caruana Dingli, a council member of Din l-Art Helwa, was recently heard arguing (at a parliamentary committee meeting last week) that it is actually the government's national Strategic Plan for the Environment and Development as a whole that needs to be revisited… not just its plans for Zonqor point.
At DLH's office in Valetta, I find the former MEPA Director for Environmental Protection poring over printouts of the document known by the acronym 'SPED' (to which one is tempted to respond: 'Andale, andale, arriba, arriba, arriba…!'). Before getting down to the nitty gritty, it might be worth establishing what this 'SPED' thing is, anyway, and why it is so important.
The original Structure Plan, she adds, contained policy guidelines on Urban Conservation Areas, Rural Areas, Outside Development Zone issues… all the things one expects to have clear guidelines on to work with.
So if the new document is almost exactly the same as the old one, one assumes that the step from 'objectives' to 'detailed policy' didn't actually take place…?
Along with other NGOs, DLH (including Petra Caruana Dingli) was not overly impressed by the resulting document.
Caruana Dingli counters that this only means the current document is unenforceable for the present.
OK, so far we've discussed how this strategic plan was concocted, but this doesn't tell us much about how it will actually work in practice. What sort of plan was DLH expecting? And in what way, exactly, is the current document flawed (beyond its inception, which we've already discussed)?
She reiterates her view, expressed at the parliamentary committee meeting, that the entire document is 'not fit for purpose'.
What sort of reaction did her criticism elicit at the parliamentary meeting?
Meanwhile, all this must be viewed in the context of a number of other decisions that seem to arise directly out of a weakening of the country's planning and enforcement sector. The choice of ODZ land at Zonqor is the most obvious example. But there was also a recent reform of MEPA (which is in the process of having its 'environment' sector transferred elsewhere) to relax restrictions on development in the name of 'cutting back red tape'. The government is also embarked on a policy of land reclamation, and the latest surprise announcement concerns a Gozo cruise liner terminal at Simar quarry.
Is it possible, then, that the government might have had a strategic objective of its own in making this document unworkable in practice?
She turns a few pages to another highlighted section.
Here she points out that a map is attached to this section, and that the area earmarked for the American University (selected for that purpose by the CEO of MEPA) is marked as an area of high landscape value.
Worst of all, Caruana Dingli continues, the new policy document cannot be implemented for the simple reason that there is no official body entrusted with the task.
Yet another problem concerns the future updating of SPED. "At the moment, the way it is, the document is supposed to be reviewed in 2020, so it only has a five-year lifespan. You'd expect a longer-term vision than that from a national strategy document: most strategies are conceived for periods of 20 years alone. But it doesn't specify the milestones, either.
There is one last level at which the new strategic plan has already backfired… the Structure Plan it was supposed to replace is no longer in force, and the local plans that will provide it (one hopes) with the enforcement infrastructure it needs are not yet finalised. In the interim, there is nothing of any substance to actually support the new policy guidelines.


Hey me , Happy 23rd.
Look at you it has been 23 years on earth, how's your stay at this planet so far?
Here's me, at 3.49am on my birthday typing on how I am sinking in as a twenty-three year old.
Dear future me, what do you think? Did you cringe reading this?
HAPPY TEACHERS' DAY to me.
Thank you for teaching yourself life lessons like moving away from toxic people, appreciated your loved ones, baby steps outta your comfort zone, influencing youths, enjoying what you do for a living and most importantly be happy. I can't wait to be better things in life, be a better me, and just keep going. May I be able to continue whatever I enjoy and what I feel right, for as long as I want to.
We still have 3 more months to finish off the year, but I am proud of me so far for this is one of my best achievement year. I really think I did quite a lot, and some that I never thought I would.
Good job me, I did SNSC Level 1, got my Class 3 License, finished my education with a Bachelors', just to name some. I'm sure I'm up for some new ventures and a brighter future. Isit now that I can start to live for myself? I am not sure, I hope so and please be.
Year 23, what am I expecting in the next 365 days?


Roleplay as a human or a wild animal. Game is played in chat rooms and on a message board.
An online RPG where you can be anything you want.
A role-play game created by two friends. Pictures, links, and the original role-play, as well as a professionally written story.
Based on a story written about a year ago. It's filled with tons of different characters and places with chat rooms, all connected, so it's easy to travel around town and to different rooms.
Avatar chat rooms, plus roleplaying on IRC.
A nice RPG that doesn't limit you to a specific class or race. Be anything you want, anywhere you want to be.
This RPG is a PvP only battling system. Characters are almost fully customizeable.
Freeform roleplay chat site played slightly tongue-in-cheek. Rich archives of past chats, character bios, news and history.


text:
Q: Setting corner radius of an element in a custom UITableViewCell My code is almost working, but there is one issue.
As soon as the table is loaded, images looks are as follows:

But when i scroll the table everything is good:

What is missing here?
class ShopTableViewCell: UITableViewCell {

let disposeBag = DisposeBag()

@IBOutlet weak var shopImageView: UIImageView!
@IBOutlet weak var imagesCollectionView: UICollectionView!
@IBOutlet weak var nameLabel: UILabel!
@IBOutlet weak var likeButton: UIButton!
@IBOutlet weak var imageContainer: UIView!

override func layoutSubviews() {
    super.layoutSubviews()
    imageContainer.clipsToBounds = true
    imageContainer.layer.cornerRadius = imageContainer.frame.size.width / 2
    imageContainer.layer.borderWidth = 1
    imageContainer.layer.borderColor = UIColor(hex: "#BDBDBD").CGColor

A: It's because the frame property of your imageview is not updated yet.
You can make a subclass of UIImageView and do that job there,
like:
Swift
class CircleImageView: UIImageView {

  override func layoutSubviews() {
    super.layoutSubviews()

    self.layer.borderWidth = 1 / UIScreen.mainScreen().scale
    self.layer.borderColor = UIColor(hex: "#BDBDBD").CGColor
    self.layer.cornerRadius = self.bounds.size.width/2
    self.layer.masksToBounds = true
  }
}

Objective-C
@implementation CircleImageView

- (void)layoutSubviews {
    [super layoutSubviews];

    self.layer.borderWidth = 1 / [UIScreen mainScreen].scale;
    self.layer.borderColor = [UIColor whiteColor].CGColor;
    self.layer.cornerRadius = self.bounds.size.width/2;
    self.layer.masksToBounds = YES;
}

@end

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Tag Archives: Congressional Budget Office
Navy Unveils Next-Generation DDG(X) Warship Concept with Hypersonic Missiles, Lasers
Notional Navy DDG(X) hull design. PEO Ships Image
ARLINGTON, Va. – The Navy wants its next warship to fire hypersonic missiles and lasers that would be ten times more powerful than the service's existing laser weapons, according to the most detailed outlook to date of the DDG(X) next generation warship issued by the service. Read More →
SECNAV Memo: New Destroyer, Fighter or Sub: You Can Only Pick One; Cut Nuclear Cruise Missile
By: Mallory Shelbourne and Sam LaGrone
The Navy only has funds to develop follow-ons either the (top) F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, (middle) Arleigh Burke DDG-51guided-missile destroyer or (bottom) the Virginia-class submarine (SSN-774). Navy Images
This post has been updated with additional details from the June 4, 2021 memo.
The Navy only has enough money to develop either a new next-generation fighter, destroyer or submarine and will have to pick one platform to invest in, according to a recent memo obtained by USNI News. Read More →
Navy Stands Up Next-Generation Destroyer Program Office, Construction Start Planned for FY 28
Zumwalt-class guided-missile destroyer USS Michael Monsoor (DDG-1001) leads a formation including the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62), USS Spruance (DDG-111), USS Pinckney (DDG-91) and USS Kidd (DDG-100), and the Independence-variant littoral combat ship USS Coronado (LCS-4) during U.S. Pacific Fleet's Unmanned Systems Integrated Battle Problem (UxS IBP) on April 21, 2021. US Navy Photo
The Navy has stood up an office to craft the next major surface combatant after more than ten years of starts and stops. On Friday, the service held a small ceremony to open the Guided-Missile Destroyer (DDG(X)) program office, designated as PMS 460 under Program Executive Office Ships, with a goal to start construction of a new design by Fiscal Year 2028, the service said in a statement provided to USNI News. Read More →
Navy Wants $110M in FY 22 R&D Funds to Develop Next-Generation Destroyer, Submarine
USS Wayne E. Meyer (DDG-108) transits through the East China Sea on Nov. 15, 2019. US Navy Photo
The Navy is seeking nearly $110 million to help research and develop its next-generation destroyer and submarine programs, according to service budget documents. Read More →
Congressional Budget Office Primer on U.S. Military's Force Structure
The following is the May 2021 Congressional Budget Office report, The U.S. Military's Force Structure: A Primer, 2021 Update Read More →
CBO: Navy Still Needs Bigger Workforce To Dig Out of Submarine Maintenance Backlog
Los Angeles-class submarine USS Toledo (SSN-769) enters Norfolk Naval Shipyard on Jan. 21, 2021. US Navy Photo
The Navy still has major challenges in digging out of its longstanding submarine maintenance backlog even after growing the workforce at the public shipyards, according to a Congressional Budget Office report. Read More →
Navy: First Constellation Frigate Will Start Fabrication This Year as Shipyard Expands
Rendering of USS Constellation (FFG-62). Fincantieri Image
The first hull in a new Navy ship class in more than a decade is set to start construction later this year, the service's program manager said this week. Read More →
CBO Says Navy Underestimated Cost of First Frigate by 40 Percent
Italian FREMM, the basis for the FFG-62 program. Fincantieri Marine Group Image
This story was updated to include a statement from a spokesman for Navy acquisition chief James Geurts.
The lead ship in the Navy's next-generation frigate class could cost $1.6 billion, a figure that is 40 percent above the service's projections for the first-in-class vessel, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
Marines, Navy Considering 'Alternate' Amphibs to Supplement Today's Fleet
San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship USS Anchorage (LPD-23) transits the Pacific Ocean during an amphibious squadron and Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) integration (PMINT) exercise on March 27, 2018. US Navy Photo
ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Commandant's Planning Guidance has sparked several questions about the future of the amphibious ship fleet – how many ships are needed, and what kinds of ships will have a role in the future – and while answers are still in development, the expeditionary warfare community has a lot of thoughts on the matter. Read More →
CBO: Navy's Next Nuclear Attack Submarine Could Cost $5.5B a Hull
Virginia-class fast-attack submarine USS Missouri (SSN-780) on May 31, 2018. US Navy Photo
The Navy's next-generation attack submarine program may cost $69 billion more than the service is planning to spend, according to a Congressional Budget Office estimate released this week, creating a major delta between the Navy's long-term shipbuilding cost estimates and CBO's. Read More →


This is a statistical index to the Village Voice Pazz & Jop music critics poll, generated in the process of its tabulation for the last few years.
Click any linked column-heading to sort a table by that column. Click any album or song for an artist profile, or any voter for a voter profile.
Enthusiasm (album): points per vote. On the album poll voters divide 100 points among 10 albums, 5-30 points each.
Kvltosis: the fraction of an album's points that remain if the album poll is inversely reweighted by voters' centricities (see below).
Hipness: the fraction of an album's points that remain if the album poll is reweighted by how many singles each voter's ballot listed.
Metalism (album): the fraction of an album's points that remain if the album poll is reweighted by voters' metalism (see below).
Monolithity: the fraction of an album's points that remain if you disregard ballots that include a song by the same artist.
Vitality (album): the fraction of an album's points that came from voters new to the poll that year.
Singularity: the fraction of a song's votes that remain if you disregard ballots that include an album by the same artist.
Centricity: how close a voter came to picking to the winning 10 albums.
Breadth: how close a voter came to picking a different artist for every album/song slot in every voting year.
Metalism (voter): what fraction of a voter's votes went to metal bands (arbitrarily defined).
Artist points: sum of their album points plus 2 points per song-vote.
Enthusiasm (artist): points, as above, per ballot.
Similarity is calculated for albums, songs and artists based on voter overlap, and for ballots and voters based on album+song+artist overlap. The ballot and voter scores are weighted by album/song/artist popularity.


FlipNClean can be purchased at www.buyflipnclean.com or Click Here To Shop For Similar Items.
FlipNClean is suitable for wet and dry mopping, as well as buffing and sweeping all kinds of flooring.
FlipNClean features two unique cleaning surfaces. One side consists of velvety chenille perfect for cleaning up wet, messy spills. FlipNClean's other side is smooth microfiber, suitable for dry mopping, buffing or sweeping.
After a tough job, toss FlipNClean into your washing machine to return it to like-new condition.
Overall, we think FlipNClean is a decent product so we rated it 3 out of 5 stars. We felt that most consumers are already pleased with their current system of dusting and mopping and might not be interested in this product. However, it does do a solid job of cleaning!
What do YOU think about FlipNClean? Be sure to let us know in the comments below!
[..YouTube..] We call this a swiffer.
We call this a swiffer.
[..YouTube..] lol "forget those bacteria filled mops" HUH.
lol "forget those bacteria filled mops" HUH.
[..YouTube..] The name is what makes this product great!
The name is what makes this product great!


text:
How to think about raising your first venture fund
Lee Jacobs and Brian Balfour join Ryan at AngelList HQ for this week's episode. Back in the day, Lee was one of the first syndicate leads on AngelList and later went on to join as a Partner. He previously started an education marketplace startup called Campus Dock. Ryan got to know Lee at AngelList a few years ago, when Lee was kind enough to help him craft his deck as he went out to raise his first fund. Lee is now a full-time investor with his own fund, Edelweiss, which he started with Brian Balfour, Elaine Wherry, and Todd Masonis. Brian Balfour invests part-time at Edelweiss and spends the majority of his time as CEO of Reforge, a professional education program for experienced practitioners. We've had some of our teammates here at Product Hunt go through the program. Prior to Reforge, Brian was the VP of Growth at HubSpot, EIR at Trinity Ventures, and the founder of several startups including Boundless Learning, POPSignal, and Viximo. In this episode we talk about: * What kinds of questions Lee and Brian ask founders when they first meet them * Some of the mistakes that first-time fund managers make and how to avoid them * How to think about fund strategy and why the style of your fund should match your personality * The importance of cultivating resilience, both as a founder and as an investor Of course, we talk about some of their favorite products as well. We'll be back next week so be sure to subscribe wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts. Big thanks to Bubble, Spoka, and Dipsea for their support. 😸
Lee Jacobs and Brian Balfour join Ryan at AngelList HQ for this week's episode.
Back in the day, Lee was one of the first syndicate leads on AngelList and later went on to join as a Partner. He previously started an education marketplace startup called Campus Dock. Ryan got to know Lee at AngelList a few years ago, when Lee was kind enough to help him craft his deck as he went out to raise his first fund. Lee is now a full-time investor with his own fund, Edelweiss, which he started with Brian Balfour, Elaine Wherry, and Todd Masonis.
Brian Balfour invests part-time at Edelweiss and spends the majority of his time as CEO of Reforge, a professional education program for experienced practitioners. We've had some of our teammates here at Product Hunt go through the program. Prior to Reforge, Brian was the VP of Growth at HubSpot, EIR at Trinity Ventures, and the founder of several startups including Boundless Learning, POPSignal, and Viximo.
What kinds of questions Lee and Brian ask founders when they first meet them
Some of the mistakes that first-time fund managers make and how to avoid them
How to think about fund strategy and why the style of your fund should match your personality
The importance of cultivating resilience, both as a founder and as an investor
Of course, we talk about some of their favorite products as well.
We'll be back next week so be sure to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Breaker, Overcast, or wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts. Big thanks to Bubble, Spoka, and Dipsea for their support. 😸
"Investing is actually a very time consuming thing. For any operators out there who are also thinking about investing, I would highly encourage you to consider finding a partner who has a completely opposite superpower than you." — Brian
"The key is figuring out who you are, what your investor-strategy fit is, and designing a strategy and a way that you're going to get deal flow and what the right check size is going to be, based on who you are uniquely." — Lee
"There are some investors out there who are very thesis-driven and others that are very people-driven. The more I do this, the more I realize that we are not the best at forming and finding the most interesting ideas and markets. With so much interesting stuff going on, I'm not going to sit here and pretend I know how it is going to play out. The entrepreneurs and people who have an organic connection are going to be the ones to find the interesting problems." — Brian
Dandelion Chocolate — A bean-to-bar chocolate factory in the Mission District in San Francisco.
Five Minute Journal — The simplest, most effective way to be happier every day.
Krisp — Mute background noise during calls.
TweetDeck — Create a custom Twitter experience.
Twttr — Twitter's new prototype app.
YouTube TV— YouTube takes on the cable providers.


text:
Planning for the BHS Hall of Fame
Several local high schools have athletic Halls of Fame in their school to honor past student athletes. Bethel High School has been discussing this idea for quite some time, and now it is becoming a reality. It is official: Bethel High School will be inducting past athletes into a Hall of Fame, and they are starting to take nominations now.
Mark Goodwin, Athletic Director at Bethel High School, explains, "I think this Hall of Fame will be a popular aspect of BHS and its past. The athletic history of BHS is very extensive, and an event such as this will keep these memories alive." Goodwin adds, "The Hall of Fame will be located in the gym section of the building. The specific location is yet to be determined."
Jayme McGovern, English teacher and co-founder of the Hall of Fame, explains, "The inspiration for this endeavor came from the desire to recognize the rich athletic history that Bethel has." McGovern states, "So many great student athletes, coaches, and members of the community have passed through Bethel or contributed to athletics in some way that they deserve to be nominated and honored in our Hall of Fame."
McGovern also announces the requirements an athlete must have to qualify for the Hall of Fame. The student must have graduated from BHS at least ten years prior to the induction year, achieved notable accomplishments through his/her tenure as a student-athlete, and gone on to be a respectable member of society. Coaches and others (such as Athletic Directors and/or parents) who made significant contributions to BHS athletics can also be nominated.
Mr. Goodwin, Mrs. McGovern and many others are excited for the new Hall of Fame. They believe this will be a fabulous addition to the school, and that is a great way to honor past student-athletes and other contributors. BHS does not know who will be the first person inducted into the Hall of Fame, however we do know, "the fall of this year will be the first induction of the hall," states Mr. Goodwin.