We present radio observations of the symbiotic recurrent nova V3890 Sagitarii following the 2019 August eruption obtained with the MeerKAT radio telescope at 1.28 GHz and Karl G. Janksy Very Large Array (VLA) at 1.26−35 GHz. The radio light curves span from day 1 to 540 days after eruption and are dominated by synchrotron emission produced by the expanding nova ejecta interacting with the dense wind from an evolved companion in the binary system. The radio emission is detected early on (day 6) and increases rapidly to a peak on day 15. The radio luminosity increases due to a decrease in the opacity of the circumstellar material in front of the shocked material and fades as the density of the surrounding medium decreases and the velocity of the shock decelerates. Modelling the light curve provides an estimated mass-loss rate of ${\overset{\hbox{$\bullet $}}{M}}_{\textrm {wind}} \approx 10^{-8}\, {\textrm {M}}_\odot ~{\textrm {yr}}^{-1}$ from the red giant star and ejecta mass in the range of Mej = 10−5––10−6 M⊙ from the surface of the white dwarf. V3890 Sgr likely hosts a massive white dwarf similar to other symbiotic recurrent novae, thus considered a candidate for supernovae type Ia (SNe Ia) progenitor. However, its radio flux densities compared to upper limits for SNe Ia have ruled it out as a progenitor for SN 2011fe like supernovae.
KT Eridani was a very fast nova in 2009 peaking at V = 5.42 mag. We marshal large data sets of photometry to finally work out the nature of KT Eri. From the TESS light curve, as confirmed with our radial velocity curve, we find an orbital period of 2.61595 d. With our 272 spectral energy distributions from simultaneous BVRIJHK measures, the companion star has a temperature of 6200 ± 500 K. Our century-long average in quiescence has V = 14.5. With the Gaia distance (5110$^{+920}_{-430}$ pc), the absolute magnitude is $M_{V_q}$ = +0.7 ± 0.3. We converted this absolute magnitude (corrected to the disc light alone) to accretion rates, $\dot{M}$, with a full integration of the α-disc model. This $\dot{M}$ is very high at 3.5 × 10−7 M⊙ yr−1. Our search and analysis of archival photographs shows that no eruption occurred from 1928 to 1954 or after 1969. With our analysis of the optical light curve, the X-ray light curve, and the radial velocity curve, we derive a white dwarf mass of 1.25 ± 0.03 M⊙. With the high white dwarf mass and very-high $\dot{M}$, KT Eri must require a short time to accumulate the required mass to trigger the next nova event. Our detailed calculations give a recurrence time-scale of 12 yr with a total range of 5–50 yr. When combined with the archival constraints, we conclude that the recurrence time-scale must be between 40 and 50 yr. So, KT Eri is certainly a recurrent nova, with the prior eruption remaining undiscovered in a solar gap of coverage from 1959 to 1969.
more » « less- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10377631
- Publisher / Repository:
- Oxford University Press
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
- Volume:
- 517
- Issue:
- 3
- ISSN:
- 0035-8711
- Format(s):
- Medium: X Size: p. 3864-3880
- Size(s):
- ["p. 3864-3880"]
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
More Like this
-
more » « less
ABSTRACT -
null (Ed.)ABSTRACT V445 Puppis is the only helium nova observed to date; its eruption in late 2000 showed high velocities up to 8500 km s−1, and a remarkable bipolar morphology cinched by an equatorial dust disc. Here we present multifrequency radio observations of V445 Pup obtained with the Very Large Array (VLA) spanning 1.5–43.3 GHz, and between 2001 January and 2008 March (days ∼89–2700 after eruption). The radio light curve is dominated by synchrotron emission over these 7 yr, and shows four distinct radio flares. Resolved radio images obtained in the VLA’s A configuration show that the synchrotron emission hugs the equatorial disc, and comparisons to near-IR images of the nova clearly demonstrate that it is the densest ejecta – not the fastest ejecta – that are the sites of the synchrotron emission in V445 Pup. The data are consistent with a model where the synchrotron emission is produced by a wind from the white dwarf impacting the dense equatorial disc, resulting in shocks and particle acceleration. The individual synchrotron flares may be associated with density enhancements in the equatorial disc and/or velocity variations in the wind from the white dwarf. This overall scenario is similar to a common picture of shock production in hydrogen-rich classical novae, but V445 Pup is remarkable in that these shocks persist for almost a decade, much longer than the weeks or months for which shocks are typically observed in classical novae.more » « less
-
more » « less
ABSTRACT A nova super-remnant (NSR) is an immense structure associated with a nova that forms when frequent and recurrent nova (RN) eruptions sweep up surrounding interstellar medium (ISM) into a high-density and distant shell. The prototypical NSR, measuring over 100 pc across, was discovered in 2014 around the annually erupting nova M 31N 2008-12a. Hydrodynamical simulations demonstrated that the creation of a dynamic NSR by repeated eruptions transporting large quantities of ISM is not only feasible but that these structures should exist around all novae, whether the white dwarf (WD) is increasing or decreasing in mass. But it is only the RN with the highest WD masses and accretion rates that should host observable NSRs. KT Eridani is, potentially, the eleventh RNe recorded in the Galaxy and is also surrounded by a recently unveiled H α shell tens of parsecs across, consistent with an NSR. Through modelling the nova ejecta from KT Eri, we demonstrate that such an observable NSR could form in approximately 50 000 yr, which fits with the proper motion history of the nova. We compute the expected H α emission from the KT Eri NSR and predict that the structure might be accessible to wide-field X-ray facilities.
-
more » « less
ABSTRACT The existence of a vast nova shell surrounding the prototypical dwarf nova Z Camelopardalis (Z Cam) proves that some old novae undergo metamorphosis to appear as dwarf novae thousands of years after a nova eruption. The expansion rates of ancient nova shells offer a way to constrain both the time between nova eruptions and the time for post-nova mass transfer rates to decrease significantly, simultaneously testing nova thermonuclear runaway models and hibernation theory. Previous limits on the expansion rate of part of the Z Cam shell constrain the inter-eruption time between Z Cam nova events to be >1300 yr. Deeper narrow-band imaging of the ejecta of Z Cam with the Condor Array Telescope now reveals very low surface brightness areas of the remainder of the shell. A second, even fainter shell is also detected, concentric with and nearly three times the size of the ‘inner’ shell. This is the first observational support of the prediction that concentric shells must surround the frequently erupting novae of relatively massive white dwarfs. The Condor images extend our Z Cam imaging baseline to 15 yr, yielding the inner shell’s expansion rate as v = 83 ± 37 km s−1 at 23 deg south of west, in excellent agreement with our 2012 prediction. This velocity corresponds to an approximate age of $t = 2672^{-817}_{+2102}$ yr. While consistent with the suggestion that the most recent nova eruption of Z Cam was the transient recorded by Chinese imperial astrologers in the year 77 bce, the age uncertainty is still too large to support or disprove a connection with Z Cam.
-
more » « less
ABSTRACT We present the first reliable determination of the orbital period of the recurrent nova V2487 Oph (Nova Oph 1998). We derived a value of 0.753 ± 0.016 d (18.1 ± 0.4 h) from the radial velocity curve of the intense He ii λ4686 emission line as detected in time-series X-shooter spectra. The orbital period is significantly shorter than earlier claims, but it makes V2487 Oph one of the longest period cataclysmic variables known. The spectrum of V2487 Oph is prolific in broad Balmer absorptions that resemble a white dwarf spectrum. However, we show that they come from the accretion disc viewed at low inclination. Although highly speculative, the analysis of the radial velocity curves provides a binary mass ratio q ≈ 0.16 and a donor star mass M2 ≈ 0.21 M⊙, assuming the reported white dwarf mass M1 = 1.35 M⊙. A subgiant M-type star is tentatively suggested as the donor star. We were lucky to inadvertently take some of the spectra when V2487 Oph was in a flare state. During the flare, we detected high-velocity emission in the Balmer and He ii λ4686 lines exceeding −2000 km s−1 at close to orbital phase 0.4. Receding emission up to 1200 km s−1 at about phase 0.3 is also observed. The similarities with the magnetic cataclysmic variables may point to magnetic accretion on to the white dwarf during the repeating flares.
