ON THE NEAR-INFRARED SPECTRUM OF FU ORIONIS

We have calculated the near-infrared spectrum of a steady accretion-disk model intended to represent the pre-main-sequence object FU Ori. The theoretical models quantitatively match the strong water vapor absorption of FU Ori observed between approximately 1.4 and 2.4-mu-m. The first-overtone 2.3-mu-m CO absorption lines found in FU Ori are also reproduced fairly well by the model calculations. The rotational broadening of the model CO lines, scaled to the observed rotational broadening at optical wavelengths, is in slightly better agreement with observations than in previous simple models. The models predict additional molecular features, which should be observed to provide further tests of the theory. Our calculations further demonstrate that steady accretion-disk models can provide quantitative explanations of the spectrum of FU Ori.