  Recent observations of blue stragglers by De Marco et al. (2004) have
revealed continuum deficits on the blue side of the Balmer discontinuity,
leading these authors to infer the presence of discs around the stars. This
intriguing possibility may throw light on aspects of the mechanisms responsible
for at least some of these objects; current theories of blue straggler
formation invoke stellar collisions or interacting binaries, both of which
appear capable of forming a circumstellar disc.
  However, by synthesizing photospheric spectra for models of rotating blue
stragglers, we demonstrate that the Balmer jump enhancements can be wholly
attributed to the influence of oblateness and gravity darkening on the
formation of the continuum. Therefore, we are led to conclude that the
observations of De Marco et al. can be ascribed a more prosaic explanation,
that of rapid stellar rotation arising from the merger/interaction formation
process.
