Context. The structure of the inner parts of Be star disks (20 stellar radii)
is well explained by the viscous decretion disk (VDD) model, which is able to
reproduce the observable properties of most of the objects studied so far. The
outer parts, on the ther hand, are not observationally well-explored, as they
are observable only at radio wavelengths. A steepening of the spectral slope
somewhere between infrared and radio wavelengths was reported for several Be
stars that were previously detected in the radio, but a convincing physical
explanation for this trend has not yet been provided. Aims. We test the VDD
model predictions for the extended parts of a sample of six Be disks that have
been observed in the radio to address the question of whether the observed
turndown in the spectral energy distribution (SED) can be explained in the
framework of the VDD model, including recent theoretical development for
truncated Be disks in binary systems. Methods. We combine new multi-wavelength
radio observations from the Karl. G. Jansky Very Large Array (JVLA) and Atacama
Pathfinder Experiment (APEX) with previously published radio data and archival
SED measurements at ultraviolet, visual, and infrared wavelengths. The density
structure of the disks, including their outer parts, is constrained by
radiative transfer modeling of the observed spectrum using VDD model
predictions. In the VDD model we include the presumed effects of possible tidal
influence from faint binary companions. Results. For 5 out of 6 studied stars,
the observed SED shows strong signs of SED turndown between far-IR and radio
wavelengths. A VDD model that extends to large distances closely reproduces the
observed SEDs up to far IR wavelengths, but fails to reproduce the radio SED.
... (abstract continues but did not fit here)Comment: 20 pages, 8 figure
