  Context. The circumstellar disks ejected by many rapidly rotating B stars
(so-called Be stars) offer the rare opportunity of studying the structure and
dynamics of gaseous disks at high spectral as well as angular resolution. Aims.
This paper explores a newly identified effect in spectro-interferometric phase
that can be used for probing the inner regions of gaseous edge-on disks on a
scale of a few stellar radii. Methods. The origin of this effect (dubbed
central quasi-emission phase signature, CQE-PS) lies in the velocity-dependent
line absorption of photospheric radiation by the circumstellar disk. At high
spectral and marginal interferometric resolution, photocenter displacements
between star and isovelocity regions in the Keplerian disk reveal themselves
through small interferometric phase shifts. To investigate the diagnostic
potential of this effect, a series of models are presented, based on detailed
radiative transfer calculations in a viscous decretion disk. Results. Amplitude
and detailed shape of the CQE-PS depend sensitively on disk density and size
and on the radial distribution of the material with characteristic shapes in
differential phase diagrams. In addition, useful lower limits to the angular
size of the central stars can be derived even when the system is almost
unresolved. Conclusions. The full power of this diagnostic tool can be expected
if it can be applied to observations over a full life-cycle of a disk from
first ejection through final dispersal, over a full cycle of disk oscillations,
or over a full orbital period in a binary system.
