T Pyxidis is the prototypical recurrent nova (RN) with a mysterious nova shell. We report new observations of the shell with HST. The knots in the shell are expanding with velocities 500-715 km/s, for a distance of 3500 pc. The fractional expansion of the knots is constant, and this implies no significant deceleration. Hence, the knots were ejected by an eruption close to the year 1866. Knots have turned on after 1995, and this demonstrates that the knots are powered by shocks from the collision of the 1866 ejecta with fast ejecta from later RN eruptions. The 1866 ejecta has a total mass of 10^-4.5 Msun, which with the low ejection velocity shows that the 1866 event was an ordinary nova eruption, not a RN eruption. The accretion rate before the ordinary nova event must have been low (around the 4x10^-11 Msun/yr expected for gravitational radiation alone) and the matter accumulated on the surface of the white dwarf for ~750,000 years. The current accretion rate (>10^-8 Msun/yr) is 1000X higher than expected for a system below the period gap, with the plausible reason being that the 1866 event started a continuing supersoft source that drives the accretion. A key fact about T Pyx is that its accretion rate has been secularly declining since before the 1890 eruption, with the current rate being only 3% of its earlier rate. The decline in the observed accretion rate shows that the supersoft source is not self-sustaining, and we calculate that the accretion in T Pyx will effectively stop in upcoming decades. With this, T Pyx will enter a state of hibernation, lasting for an estimated 2,600,000 years, before gravitational radiation brings the system into contact again. Thus, T Pyx has an evolutionary cycle going from an ordinary CV state, to its current RN state, to a future hibernation state, and then repeating this cycle.
We study the spectroscopic and ionized structural evolution of T Pyx during its 2011 outburst, and also study the variation in degree of polarization during its early phase. Optical spectroscopic data of this system obtained from day 1.28--2415.62 since discovery, and optical, broadband imaging polarimetric observations obtained from day 1.36--29.33 during the early phases of the outburst are used in the study. The physical conditions and the geometry of the ionized structure of the nova ejecta has been modelled for a few epochs using the photo-ionization code, CLOUDY in 1D and pyCloudy in 3D.…
The 2011 Eruption of the Recurrent Nova T Pyxidis; the Discovery, the Pre-eruption Rise, the Pre-eruption Orbital Period, and the Reason for the Long Delay
We report a 20-year campaign to track the 1.8 hour photometric wave in the recurrent nova T Pyxidis, using the global telescope network of the Center for Backyard Astrophysics. During 1996-2011, that wave was highly stable in amplitude and waveform, resembling the orbital wave commonly seen in supersoft binaries. The period, however, was found to increase on a timescale P/P-dot=3x10^5 years. This suggests a mass transfer rate in quiescence of ~10^-7 M_sol/yr, in substantial agreement with the accretion rate based on the star's luminosity. This is ~2000x greater than is typical for cataclysmic …
We present Hubble Space Telescope ultraviolet spectroscopy of the recurrent nova T Pyxidis obtained more than 5 years after its 2011 outburst indicating that the system might not have yet reached its deep quiescent state. The ultraviolet data exhibit a 20% decline in the continuum flux from the pre-outburst deep quiescence state to the post-outburst near quiescent state. We suggest that a decline across each recurring nova eruption might help explain the proposed 2mag steady decline of the system since 1866. Using an improved version of our accretion disk model as well as International Ultravi…
The spectroscopic evolution of the recurrent nova T Pyxidis during its 2011 outburst. II.The optically thin phase and the structure of the ejecta in recurrent novae
The spectroscopic evolution of the recurrent nova T Pyxidis during its 2011 outburst I. The optically thick phase and the origin of moving lines in novae
新星T Pyx是在发现爆发后的第一天开始用高分辨率光谱仪（R ~ 65000）观测到的，一直持续到2011年5月底最后一次看到这颗恒星。Na I、Ca II、CH、CH $^+$的星际吸收线和H I 21 cm发射线的观测档案已被用来确定运动学距离。星际漫吸收功能已被用来确定独立的消光以前的假设。样品铁峰线轮廓显示的光学深度和径向速度的离散组件的演变。我们建议到T Pyx $\geq$的距离为4.5kpc，严格的下限为3.5 kpc（以前接受的距离）。我们得出一个消光，E（B-V）$\approx0.5\pm$ 0.1，这是高于以前的估计。4月15日的第一次观测显示了He I、He II、C III和N III发射谱线，以及巴尔末和He I谱线的P Cyg剖面上的最大速度为$\approx$ 2500 km s $^{-1}$，这是火球阶段的特征。在4月23日的第二个光谱中，这些离子是检测不到的，我们使用复合时间来估计喷出物的质量，$10^{-5}f$ M $_\odot$为填充因子$f$。许多吸收线系统上检测到的巴耳末，铁峰，钙II，钠I线，反映在更广泛的发射线组件，这表明了一个“加速”位移速度。我们还表明，这些反射的时间序列，这是共同的所有线路，只出现在喷出物，可以描述的重组前向外移动的膨胀气体没有恒星风或拱碰撞。
A spectrum of the quiescent counterpart of the Recurrent Nova candidate M31N 1966-08a (= M31N 1968-10c) obtained with LRS2 on the Hobby-Eberly Telescope reveals the object to be a foreground Galactic dMe flare star, and not a nova in M31.
M31 is an ideal laboratory for observing and studying recurrent novae. To date, there have been 18 recurrent nova discovered in M31, six of which have recurrence periods less than nine years. M31N 2017-12a (AT2017jdm) is a transient that was reported near the center of M31, with the time of outburst estimated to be 2017 December 24.141 +/- 0.42 based on constraints from previous data. Here we present the photometric observations of M31N 2017-12a, which we confirm as a recurrence of M31N 2007-10b.
The classical nova V2491 Cyg was once suggested to be a recurrent nova. We have broadly reproduced the light curve of V2491 Cyg by a nova outburst model on a cold $1.36~M_\odot$ white dwarf (WD), which strongly suggests that V2491 Cyg is a classical nova outbursting on a cold very massive WD rather than a recurrent nova outbursting on a warmer WD like the recurrent nova RS Oph. In a long-term evolution of a cataclysmic binary, an accreting WD has been settled down to a thermal equilibrium state with the balance of gravitational energy release and neutrino loss. The central temperature of the W…
Models have long predicted that the frequency-averaged masses of white dwarfs in Galactic classical novae are twice as large as those of field white dwarfs. Only a handful of dynamically well-determined nova white dwarf masses have been published, leaving the theoretical predictions poorly tested. The recurrence time distributions and mass accretion rate distributions of novae are even more poorly known. To address these deficiencies, we have combined our extensive simulations of nova eruptions with the Strope et al (2010) and Schaefer et al (2010) databases of outburst characteristics of Gala…
We report spectroscopic observations of the $Hα$ emission line of the recurrent nova RS~Oph obtained between 12 and 23 August 2021 during the recent outburst. On the basis of the sharp P~Cyg profile superimposed onto the strong H-alpha emission, we estimate that the outflowing velocity of the material surrounding RS Oph is in the range 32 km/s < V_{out} < 68 km/s. The new GAIA distance indicates that the red giant should be probably classified in between II and III luminosity class. The spectra are available upon request from the authors and on Zenodo.
Optical (BVRI) photometry of the first three weeks of the 2016 outburst of the recurrent Nova LMC 1968 is presented and discussed. The 2016 I-band light-curve is an exact replica, even in the most minute details, of that for the 2010 eruption. The maximum is inferred to have occurred on 2016 Jan 21.2 at I=11.5 mag, corresponding to an absolute magnitude M(I)=-7.15. A ~1 day plateau is present in all bands about six days past optical maximum, simultaneous with the emergence of super-soft X-ray emission in Swift observations, signalling the widespread ionization of the ejecta. The nova entered a…
We present an analysis of the red giant component of the recurrent nova V3890 Sgr, using data obtained before and after its 2019 eruption. Its effective temperature is $T_{\rm eff}=3050\pm$200 K for $\log{g}=0.7$, although there are modest changes in $T_{\rm eff}$. There is an overabundance of both carbon ($0.20\pm0.05$~dex) and sodium ($1.0\pm0.3$~dex) relative to their solar values, possibly the result of ejecta from the 1990 nova eruption being entrained into the red giant photosphere. We find $^{12}$C/$^{13}$C $=25\pm2$, a value similar to that found in red giants in other recurrent novae.…
T CrB is a symbiotic recurrent nova known to exhibit active phases, characterised by apparent increases in the hot component temperature and the appearance of flickering, i.e. changes in the observed flux on the time-scale of minutes. Historical UV observations have ruled out orbital variability as an explanation for flickering and instead suggest flickering is caused by variable mass transfer. We have analysed optical and X-ray observations to investigate the nature of the flickering as well as the active phases in T CrB. The spectroscopic and photometric observations confirm that the active …
The mass growth rate of mass-accreting white dwarfs (WDs) is a key factor in binary evolution scenarios toward Type Ia supernovae. Many authors have reported very different WD mass increasing rates. In this review, we clarify the reasons for such divergence, some of which come from a lack of numerical techniques, usage of old opacities, different assumptions for binary configurations, inadequate initial conditions, and unrealistic mass-loss mechanisms. We emphasize that these assumptions should be carefully chosen in calculating the long-term evolution of accreting WDs. Importantly, the mass-l…
We report the determination of abundances and isotopic ratios for C, O and Si in the photosphere of the red giant component of the recurrent nova T Coronae Borealis from new 2.284--2.402 $μ$m and 3.985--4.155 $μ$m spectroscopy. Abundances and isotopic ratios in the photosphere may be affected by (i) processes in the red giant interior which are brought to the surface during dredge-up, (ii) contamination of the red giant, either during the common envelope phase of the binary evolution or by material synthesised in recurrent nova eruptions, or a combination of the two. We find that the abundance…
The spectroscopic evolution of the symbiotic-like recurrent nova V407 Cygni during its 2010 outburst. II. The circumstellar environment and the aftermath
We present and analyze optical photometry and high resolution SALT spectra of the symbiotic recurrent nova V3890 Sgr at quiescence. The orbital period, P=747.6 days has been derived from both photometric and spectroscopic data. Our double-line spectroscopic orbits indicate that the mass ratio is q=M_g/M_WD=0.78+/-0.05, and that the component masses are M_WD=1.35+/-0.13 Msun, and M_g=1.05+/-0.11 Msun. The orbit inclination is approximately 67-69 degr. The red giant is filling (or nearly filling) its Roche lobe, and the distance set by its Roche lobe radius, d=9 kpc, is consistent with that resu…
Linear Spectropolarimetry of the 2011 Eruption of the Recurrent Nova T Pyx
Universidad Internacional de Valencia (VIU)（瓦伦西亚国际大学）；Centro de Estudios de Física del Cosmos de Aragón (CEFCA), Unidad Asociada al CSIC（阿拉贡宇宙物理研究中心（CEFCA），CSIC联合单位）
A remarkable recurrent nova in M31 - The optical observations
2013年11月下旬，M31经常性新星M31 N 2008- 12 a在五年内第五次爆发。目的：在这封信中，我们解决的光学光变曲线和祖系统的M31 N 2008- 12 a。研究方法：2013年的光学成像数据从利物浦望远镜，拉帕尔马，丹麦1.54米望远镜，拉西拉，和档案哈勃太空望远镜近红外，光学和近紫外数据的爆发进行天体测量和光度分析。结果如下：2013年爆发的光度测量，结合之前的三次爆发，使一个非常快的新星，t2（V）~4天的模板光变曲线的建设成为可能。档案数据允许恢复的祖先系统的光学和近紫外数据，表明一个红巨星二次与明亮的吸积盘，或者是一个系统与亚巨星二次，但占主导地位的磁盘。结论：M31 N 2008- 12 a的爆发和一些历史性的X射线探测表明，这是一个独特的系统，重现时间约为1年。这意味着一个非常高质量的白矮星和高吸积率的存在。我们鼓励更多的观测，特别是在2014年底。
We report the discovery of the diatomic molecule SiO in the gas phase in the environment of the recurrent nova T Coronae Borealis. While some of the SiO is photospheric, a substantial portion must arise in the wind from the red giant component of T CrB. A simple fit to the SiO feature, assuming local thermodynamic equilibrium, suggests a SiO column density of 2.8x10^17 /cm2 and temperature ~1000K; the SiO column density is similar to that present in the winds of field red giants. A search for SiO maser emission is encouraged both before and after the next anticipated eruption. We find that the…
