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We present the first estimate of the Galactic nova rate based on optical transient surveys covering the entire sky. Using data from the All-Sky Automated Survey for Supernovae (ASAS-SN) and Gaia—the only two all-sky surveys to report classical nova candidates—we find 39 confirmed Galactic novae and 7 additional unconfirmed candidates discovered from 2019 to 2021, yielding a nova discovery rate of ≈14 yr⁻¹. Using accurate Galactic stellar mass models and three-dimensional dust maps and incorporating realistic nova light curves, we have built a sophisticated Galactic nova model to estimate the fraction of Galactic novae discovered by these surveys over this time period. The observing capabilities of each survey are distinct: the high cadence of ASAS-SN makes it sensitive to fast novae, while the broad observing filter and high spatial resolution of Gaia make it more sensitive to highly reddened novae across the entire Galactic plane and bulge. Despite these differences, we find that ASAS-SN and Gaia give consistent Galactic nova rates, with a final joint nova rate of 26 ± 5 yr⁻¹. This inferred nova rate is substantially lower than found by many other recent studies. Critically assessing the systematic uncertainties in the Galactic nova rate, we argue thatmore »the role of faint, fast-fading novae has likely been overestimated, but that subtle details in the operation of transient alert pipelines can have large, sometimes unappreciated effects on transient recovery efficiency. Our predicted nova rate can be directly tested with forthcoming red/near-infrared transient surveys in the southern hemisphere.

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We present Hubble Space Telescope optical images, Keck-OSIRIS near-infrared (NIR) integral field spectroscopy data cubes and Keck-Near InfraRed Camera-2 (NIRC2) NIR images of nova V5668 Sgr from 2016 to 2019. The observations indicate enhanced emission at the polar caps and equatorial torus for low-ionization lines, and enhanced high-ionization emission lines only at the polar caps. The radial velocities are compatible with a homogeneous expansion velocity of v = 590 km s−1 and a system inclination angle of 24°. These values were used to estimate an expansion parallax distance of 1200 ± 400 pc. The NIRC2 data indicate the presence of dust in 2016 and 2017, but no dust emission could be detected in 2019. The observational data were used for assembling 3D photoionization models of the ejecta. The model results indicate that the central source has a temperature of 1.88 × 105 K and a luminosity of 1.6 × 1035 erg s−1 in August of 2017 (2.4 yr post eruption), and that the shell has a mass of 6.3 × 10−5 M⊙. The models also suggest anisotropy of the ionizing flux, possibly by the contribution from a luminous accretion disc.

Abstract There is a long-standing discrepancy between the observed Galactic classical nova rate of ∼10 yr −1 and the predicted rate from Galactic models of ∼30–50 yr −1 . One explanation for this discrepancy is that many novae are hidden by interstellar extinction, but the degree to which dust can obscure novae is poorly constrained. We use newly available all-sky three-dimensional dust maps to compare the brightness and spatial distribution of known novae to that predicted from relatively simple models in which novae trace Galactic stellar mass. We find that only half (53%) of the novae are expected to be easily detectable ( g ≲ 15) with current all-sky optical surveys such as the All-Sky Automated Survey for Supernovae (ASAS-SN). This fraction is much lower than previously estimated, showing that dust does substantially affect nova detection in the optical. By comparing complementary survey results from the ASAS-SN, OGLE-IV, and Palomar Gattini IR surveys using our modeling, we find a tentative Galactic nova rate of ∼30 yr −1 , though this could be as high as ∼40 yr −1 , depending on the assumed distribution of novae within the Galaxy. These preliminary estimates will be improved in future work through moremore »sophisticated modeling of nova detection in ASAS-SN and other surveys.« less

We catalogue the 443 bright supernovae (SNe) discovered by the All-Sky Automated Survey for Supernovae (ASAS-SN) in 2018−2020 along with the 519 SNe recovered by ASAS-SN and 516 additional mpeak ≤ 18 mag SNe missed by ASAS-SN. Our statistical analysis focuses primarily on the 984 SNe discovered or recovered in ASAS-SN g-band observations. The complete sample of 2427 ASAS-SN SNe includes earlier V-band samples and unrecovered SNe. For each SN, we identify the host galaxy, its UV to mid-IR photometry, and the SN’s offset from the centre of the host. Updated peak magnitudes, redshifts, spectral classifications, and host galaxy identifications supersede earlier results. With the increase of the limiting magnitude to g ≤ 18 mag, the ASAS-SN sample is nearly complete up to mpeak = 16.7 mag and is 90 per cent complete for mpeak ≤ 17.0 mag. This is an increase from the V-band sample, where it was roughly complete up to mpeak = 16.2 mag and 70 per cent complete for mpeak ≤ 17.0 mag.

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,more »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.« less

ABSTRACT We characterize the extreme heartbeat star system MACHO 80.7443.1718 in the Large Magellanic Cloud using Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) photometry and spectroscopic observations from the Magellan Inamori Kyocera Echelle (MIKE) and SOAR Goodman spectographs. MACHO 80.7443.1718 was first identified as a heartbeat star system in the All-Sky Automated Survey for SuperNovae (ASAS-SN) with $P_{\rm orb}=32.836\pm 0.008\, {\rm d}$. MACHO 80.7443.1718 is a young (∼6 Myr), massive binary, composed of a B0 Iae supergiant with $M_1 \simeq 35\, {\rm M}_\odot$ and an O9.5V secondary with $M_2 \simeq 16\, {\rm M}_\odot$ on an eccentric (e = 0.51 ± 0.03) orbit. In addition to having the largest variability amplitude amongst all known heartbeats stars, MACHO 80.7443.1718 is also one of the most massive heartbeat stars yet discovered. The B[e] supergiant has Balmer emission lines and permitted/forbidden metallic emission lines associated with a circumstellar disc. The disc rapidly dissipates at periastron that could indicate mass transfer to the secondary, but re-emerges immediately following periastron passage. MACHO 80.7443.1718 also shows tidally excited oscillations at the N = 25 and N = 41 orbital harmonics and has a rotational period of 4.4 d.

ABSTRACT V3890 Sgr is a recurrent nova that has been seen in outburst three times so far, with the most recent eruption occurring on 2019 August 27 ut. This latest outburst was followed in detail by the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, from less than a day after the eruption until the nova entered the Sun observing constraint, with a small number of additional observations after the constraint ended. The X-ray light curve shows initial hard shock emission, followed by an early start of the supersoft source phase around day 8.5, with the soft emission ceasing by day 26. Together with the peak blackbody temperature of the supersoft spectrum being ∼100 eV, these timings suggest the white dwarf mass to be high, $\sim 1.3\, {\rm M_{\odot }}$. The UV photometric light curve decays monotonically, with the decay rate changing a number of times, approximately simultaneously with variations in the X-ray emission. The UV grism spectra show both line and continuum emission, with emission lines of N, C, Mg, and O being notable. These UV spectra are best dereddened using a Small Magellanic Cloud extinction law. Optical spectra from SMARTS show evidence of interaction between the nova ejecta and wind from the donormore »star, as well as the extended atmosphere of the red giant being flash-ionized by the supersoft X-ray photons. Data from NICER reveal a transient 83 s quasi-periodic oscillation, with a modulation amplitude of 5 per cent, adding to the sample of novae that show such short variabilities during their supersoft phase.« less