For several novae, a bright X-ray source with a spectrum resembling the class of Super Soft X-ray Sources (SSS) has been observed a few weeks to months after outburst. Novae are powered by explosive nuclear burning on the surface of a white dwarf, and enough energy is produced to power a radiatively driven wind. Owing to the evolution of the opacity of the ejecta, the observable spectrum gradually shifts from optical to soft X-rays (SSS phase). It has sometimes been assumed that at the beginning of the SSS phase no more mass loss occurs. However, high-resolution X-ray spectra of some novae have shown highly blue-shifted absorption lines, indicating a significant expansion. In this paper, I show that all novae that have been observed with X-ray gratings during their SSS phase show significant blue shifts. I argue that all models that attempt to explain the X-ray bright SSS phase have to accommodate the continued expansion of the ejecta.
Super Soft Source (SSS) spectra are powered by nuclear burning on the surface of a white dwarf. The released energy causes a radiatively-driven wind that leads to a radially extended atmosphere around the white dwarf. Significant blue shifts in photospheric absorption lines are found in the spectra of novae during their SSS phase, being an evidence of continued mass loss in this phase. We present spherically symmetric PHOENIX models that account for the expansion of the ejecta. A comparison to a plane parallel, hydrostatic atmosphere model demonstrates that the mass loss can have a significant…
(Abridged) Classical novae (CNe) have recently been reported to represent the major class of supersoft X-ray sources (SSSs) in the central region of our neighbour galaxy M 31. We carried out a dedicated monitoring of the M 31 central region with XMM-Newton and Chandra in order to find SSS counterparts of CNe, determine the duration of their SSS phase and derive physical outburst parameters. We systematically searched our data for X-ray counterparts of CNe and determined their X-ray light curves and spectral properties. Additionally, we determined luminosity upper limits for all novae from prev…
[Abridged] Classical novae (CNe) represent the major class of supersoft X-ray sources (SSSs) in the central region of our neighbouring galaxy M 31. We performed a dedicated monitoring of the M 31 central region with XMM-Newton and Chandra between Nov 2007 and Feb 2008 and between Nov 2008 and Feb 2009 respectively, in order to find SSS counterparts of CNe, determine the duration of their SSS phase and derive physical outburst parameters. We systematically searched our data for X-ray counterparts of CNe and determined their X-ray light curves and spectral properties. We detected in total 17 X-r…
We have examined the optical/X-ray light curves of seven well-observed recurrent novae, V745 Sco, M31N 2008-12a, LMC N 1968, U Sco, RS Oph, LMC N 2009a, T Pyx, and one recurrent nova candidate LMC N 2012a. Six novae out of the eight show a simple relation that the duration of supersoft X-ray source (SSS) phase is 0.70 times the total duration of the outburst ($=$ X-ray turnoff time), i.e., $t_{\rm SSS}=0.70 t_{\rm off}$, the total duration of which ranges from 10 days to 260 days. These six recurrent novae show a broad rectangular X-ray light curve shape, first half a period of which is highly…
Classical novae (CNe) represent a major class of supersoft X-ray sources (SSSs) in the central region of our neighbouring galaxy M 31. Significantly different SSS properties of CNe in the M 31 bulge and disk were indicated by recent X-ray population studies, which however considered only a small number of disk novae. We initiated a target of opportunity (ToO) program with XMM-Newton to observe the SSS phases of CNe in the disk of M 31 and improve the database for further population studies. We analysed two XMM-Newton ToO observations triggered in Aug 2011 and Jan 2012, respectively, and extrac…
The first supersoft source (SSS) identification with an optical nova in M 31 was based on ROSAT observations. Twenty additional X-ray counterparts (mostly identified as SSS by their hardness ratios) were detected using archival ROSAT, XMM-Newton and Chandra observations obtained before July 2002. Based on these results optical novae seem to constitute the major class of SSS in M 31. An analysis of archival Chandra HRC-I and ACIS-I observations obtained from July 2004 to February 2005 demonstrated that M 31 nova SSS states lasted from months to about 10 years. Several novae showed short X-ray o…
The 21st century X-ray observatories XMM-Newton, Chandra, and Swift gave us completely new insights into the X-ray behaviour of nova outbursts. These new-generation X-ray observatories provide particularly high spectral resolution and high density in monitoring campaigns, simultaneously in X-rays and UV/optical. The entire evolution of several nova outbursts has been observed with the Swift XRT and UVOT instruments, allowing studies of the gradual shift of the peak of the SED from UV to X-rays, time scales to the onset and duration of the X-ray brightest supersoft source (SSS) phase, and pre- …
Transient short-period <100s oscillations have been found in the X-ray light curves of three novae during their SSS phase and in one persistent SSS. We pursue an observational approach to determine possible driving mechanisms and relations to fundamental system parameters such as the white dwarf mass. We performed a systematic search for short-period oscillations in all available XMM-Newton and Chandra X-ray light curves of persistent SSS and novae during their SSS phase. To study time evolution, we divided each light curve into short time segments and computed power spectra. We then construct…
We present a study of the C K-edge using high-resolution LETGS Chandra spectra of four novae during their super-soft-source (SSS) phase. We identified absorption lines due to C~ii K$α$, C~iii K$α$ and C~ iii K$β$ resonances. We used these astronomical observations to perform a benchmarking of the atomic data, which involves wavelength shifts of the resonances and photoionization cross-sections. We used improved atomic data to estimate the C~ii and C~iii column densities. The absence of physical shifts for the absorption lines, the consistence of the column densities between multiple observatio…
X-ray grating spectra provide the confirmation of continued mass loss from novae in the super-soft source (SSS) phase of the outburst. In this work expanding nova atmosphere models are developed and used to study the effect of mass loss on the SSS spectra. The very high temperatures combined with high expansion velocities and large radial extension make nova in the SSS phase very interesting but also difficult objects to model. The radiation transport code PHOENIX was applied to SSS novae before, but careful analysis of the old results has revealed a number of problems which lead to new method…
We present the results of a search for UV and optical counterparts of the SSS population in M31. We find that out of the 56 sources we included in our search, 16 are associated with regions of ongoing or recent star formation. We discuss two particularly interesting sources that are identified optically as early type stars, one of which displayed long term X-ray evolution similar to that observed in classical novae. We discuss the physical origin of supersoft X-rays in these and the other SSS in young regions, and their possible link to the so-called "prompt" component of the Type Ia supernova…
[Abridged] Classical novae (CNe) represent the major class of supersoft X-ray sources (SSSs) in the central region of our neighbouring galaxy M31. We performed a dedicated monitoring of the M31 central region, aimed to detect SSS counterparts of CNe, with XMM-Newton and Chandra between Nov and Mar of the years 2009/10, 2010/11 and 2011/12. In total we detected 24 novae in X-rays. Seven of these sources were known from previous observations, including the M31 nova with the longest SSS phase, M31N~1996-08b, which was found to fade below our X-ray detection limit 13.8 yr after outburst. Of the ne…
X-ray grating observations have revealed great detail in the spectra of Novae in the Super Soft Source (SSS) phase. Notable features in the SSS spectra are blue-shifted absorption lines, P-Cygni line profiles, and the absence of strong ionization edges, all of which are indicators of an expanding atmosphere. We present, and make publicly available, a set of 672 wind-type (WT) synthetic spectra, obtained from the expanding NLTE SSS models introduced in Van Rossum 2010 with the PHOENIX stellar atmosphere code. The set presented in this paper is limited to solar abundances with the aim to focus o…
[Abridged] Classical novae (CNe) represent the main class of supersoft X-ray sources (SSSs) in the central region of our neighbouring galaxy M 31. Only three confirmed novae and three SSSs have been discovered in globular clusters (GCs) of any galaxy so far, of which one nova and two SSSs (including the nova) were found in M 31 GCs. To study the SSS state of CNe we carried out a high-cadence X-ray monitoring of the M 31 central area with XMM-Newton and Chandra. We analysed X-ray and optical data of a new transient X-ray source in the M 31 GC Bol 126, discovered serendipitously in Swift observa…
Novae undergo a supersoft X-ray phase of varying duration after the optical outburst. Such transient post-nova supersoft X-ray sources (SSSs) are the majority of the observed SSSs in M31. In this paper, we use the post-nova evolutionary models of Wolf et al. to compute the expected population of post-nova SSSs in M31. We predict that depending on the assumptions about the WD mass distribution in novae, at any instant there are about 250-600 post-nova SSSs in M31 with (unabsorbed) 0.2-1.0 keV luminosity L_x>10^36 erg/s. Their combined unabsorbed luminosity is of the order of ~10^39 erg/s. Their…
Eight X-ray observations of V4743 Sgr (2002), observed with Chandra and XMM-Newton are presented. The nova turned off some time between days 301.9 and 371, and the X-ray flux subsequently decreased from day 301.9 to 526 following an exponential decline time scale of $(96 \pm 3)$ days. We use the absorption lines present in the SSS spectrum for diagnostic purposes, and characterize the physics and the dynamics of the expanding atmosphere during the explosion of the nova. The information extracted from this first stage is then used as input for computing full photoionization models of the ejecta…
Classical novae (CNe) have recently been reported to represent the major class of supersoft X-ray sources (SSSs) in the central area of our neighbouring galaxy M 31. This paper presents a review of results from recent X-ray observations of M 31 with XMM-Newton and Chandra. We carried out a dedicated optical and X-ray monitoring program of CNe and SSSs in the central area of M 31. We discovered the first SSSs in M 31 globular clusters (GCs) and their connection to the very first discovered CN in a M 31 GC. This result may have an impact on the CN rate in GCs. Furthermore, in our optical and X-r…
Recent Swift X-ray monitoring campaigns of novae have revealed extreme levels of variability during the early super-soft-source (SSS) phase. The first time this was observed was during the 2006 outburst of the recurrent nova RS Oph which was also extensively covered by grating observations with XMM-Newton and Chandra. I focus here on an XMM-Newton observation taken on day 26.1, just before Swift confirmed the start of the SSS phase, and a Chandra observation taken on day 39.7. The first observation probes the evolution of the shock emission produced by the collision of the nova ejecta with the…
[Abridged] We present more than 4 years of Swift X-ray observations of the 2013 superoutburst, subsequent decline and quiescence of the WZ Sge-type dwarf nova SSS J122221.7-311525 (SSS122222) from 6 days after discovery. Only a handful of WZ Sge-type dwarf novae have been observed in X-rays, and until recently GW Lib was the only binary of this type with complete coverage of an X-ray light curve throughout a superoutburst. We collected extensive X-ray data of a second such system to understand the extent to which the unexpected properties of GW Lib are common to the WZ Sge class. We analysed t…
University of Leicester（莱斯特大学）；University of Wisconsin（威斯康星大学）；INAF-Osservatorio di Padova（意大利国家天体物理研究所帕多瓦天文台）；Arizona State University（亚利桑那州立大学）；Technion（以色列理工学院）；European Space Agency (ESA)（欧洲空间局）；European Space Astronomy Centre (ESAC)（欧洲空间天文中心）
Supersoft X-ray sources (SSS) have been identified as white dwarfs accreting from binary companions and undergoing nuclear-burning of the accreted material on their surface. Although expected to be a relatively numerous population from both binary evolution models and their identification as Type Ia supernova progenitor candidates, given the very soft spectrum of SSSs relatively few are known. Here we report on the X-ray and optical properties of 1RXS J050526.3-684628, a previously unidentified accreting nuclear-burning white dwarf located in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). XMM-Newton observ…
We monitored four supersoft sources - two persistent ones, CAL 83 and MR Vel, and the recent novae YZ Ret (Nova Ret 2020) and V1674 Her (Nova Her 2021) - with NICER. The two persistent SSS were observed with unvaried X-ray flux level and spectrum, respectively, 13 and 20 years after the last observations. Short period modulations of the supersoft X-ray source (SSS) appear where the spectrum of the luminous central source was fully visibl (in CAL 83 and V1674 Her) and were absent in YZ Ret and MR Vel, in which the flux originated in photoionized or shocked plasma, while the white dwarf (WD) was…
With rapid response capabilities, and a daily planning of its observing schedule, the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory is ideal for monitoring transient and variable sources. Here we present a sample of the 12 novae with the most detailed ultraviolet (UV) follow-up by Swift -- the first uniform analysis of such UV light-curves. The fading of these specific light-curves can be modelled as power-law decays (plotting magnitude against log time), showing that the same physical processes dominate the UV emission for extended time intervals in individual objects. After the end of the nuclear burning i…
Classical supersoft X-ray sources (SSSs) are understood as close binary systems in which a massive white dwarf (WD) accretes from its companion at rates sustaining steady hydrogen burning on its surface generating bolometric luminosities of $10^{36}-2\times10^{38}$ erg/s. Here, we perform for the first time the global supersoft X-rays to near-infrared (NIR) spectral energy distribution (SED) for the brightest SSSs in LMC and SMC. We test a model in which the ultraviolet--NIR is dominated by the emission from a compact (unresolved) circumstellar nebula represented by the ionized gas out-flowing…
Novae had not been widely considered as high-energy (>100 MeV) gamma-ray sources before the launch of the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT). In March 2010, the LAT made the first gamma-ray detection of a nova in the symbiotic binary V407 Cygni. The LAT observations uniquely probed the high-energy particle acceleration mechanism in the environs of the V407 Cyg binary system consisting of a white dwarf and its red giant companion. Subsequently in June 2012, two more novae were detected with the LAT, Nova Sco 2012 and Nova Mon 2012, thus heralding novae as a new gamma-ray source class. For Nova Mo…
Novae have long been expected to be sources of emission at several MeV from the decay of radioactive elements in the novae ejecta, however, they were not anticipated to be sources of continuum emission in the GeV energy domain. In March 2010 the Large Area Telescope (LAT) on-board the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope discovered for the first time >100 MeV gamma-ray emission from a nova within our galaxy, V407 Cyg. The high-energy spectrum and light curve was explained as a consequence of shock acceleration in the nova shell as it interacts with the local ambient medium. While this was an exciti…
We searched optical/UV/IR counterparts of seven supersoft X-ray sources (SSS) in M31 in the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) "Panchromatic Hubble Andromeda Treasury" (PHAT) archival images and photometric catalog. Three of the SSS were transient, the other four are persistent sources. The PHAT offers the opportunity to identify SSS hosting very massive white dwarfs that may explode as type Ia supernovae in single degenerate binaries, with magnitudes and color indexes typical of symbiotic stars, high mass close binaries, or systems with optically luminous accretion disks. We find evidence that the …
Classifying optical (out)bursts in cataclysmic variables: the distinct observational characteristics of dwarf novae, micronovae, stellar flares and magnetic gating
Novae, which are the sudden visual brightening triggered by runaway thermonuclear burning on the surface of an accreting white dwarf, are fairly common and bright events. Despite their astronomical significance as nearby laboratories for the study of nuclear burning and accretion phenomena, many aspects of these common stellar explosions are observationally not well-constrained and remain poorly understood. Radio observations, modeling and interpretation can potentially play a crucial role in addressing some of these puzzling issues. In this review on radio studies of novae, we focus on the po…
Of all the light elements, the evolution of lithium (Li) in the Milky Way is perhaps the most difficult to explain. Li is difficult to synthesize and is easily destroyed, making most stellar sites unsuitable for producing Li in sufficient quantities to account for the proto-solar abundance. For decades, novae have been proposed as a potential explanation to this 'Galactic Li problem', and the recent detection of 7Be in the ejecta of multiple nova eruptions has breathed new life into this theory. In this work, we assess the viability of novae as dominant producers of Li in the Milky Way. We pre…
Two XMM observations of the fast classical nova V2491Cyg were carried out on days 39.93 and 49.62 after discovery, during the supersoft source (SSS) phase, yielding simultaneous X-ray and UV light curves and high-resolution X-ray spectra. The first X-ray light curve is highly variable with periodic oscillations (37.2 min) after an extended dip of factor of three lasting ~3 hours. The cause of the dip is currently unexplained and could have the same origin as similar events in V4743Sgr and RSOph, as it occurred on the same time scale. The 37-min period is not present during the dip and also not…
Exploring stellar evolution with Luminous Red Novae and Interacting Gap Transients
Institut de Ciències del Cosmos (ICCUB), Universitat de Barcelona (UB)（巴塞罗那大学宇宙科学研究所）；Departament de Física Quàntica i Astrofísica (FQA), Universitat de Barcelona (UB)（巴塞罗那大学量子物理与天体物理学系）；Institut d’Estudis Espacials de Catalunya (IEEC)（加泰罗尼亚空间研究院）
The M 31 nova M31N 2008-12a was recently found to be a recurrent nova (RN) with a recurrence time of about 1 year. This is by far the fastest recurrence time scale of any known RNe. Our optical monitoring programme detected the predicted 2014 outburst of M31N 2008-12a in early October. We immediately initiated an X-ray/UV monitoring campaign with Swift to study the multiwavelength evolution of the outburst. We monitored M31N 2008-12a with daily Swift observations for 20 days after discovery, covering the entire supersoft X-ray source (SSS) phase. We detected SSS emission around day six after o…
It has recently been discovered that some, if not all, classical novae emit GeV gamma rays during outburst, but the mechanisms involved in the production of the gamma rays are still not well understood. We present here a comprehensive multi-wavelength dataset---from radio to X-rays---for the most gamma-ray luminous classical nova to-date, V1324 Sco. Using this dataset, we show that V1324 Sco is a canonical dusty Fe-II type nova, with a maximum ejecta velocity of 2600 km s$^{-1}$ and an ejecta mass of few $\times 10^{-5}$ M$_{\odot}$. There is also evidence for complex shock interactions, inclu…
Theoretical modelling of the evolution of classical and recurrent novae plays an important role in studies of binary evolution, nucleosynthesis and accretion physics. However, from a theoretical perspective the observed statistical properties of novae remain poorly understood. In this paper, we have produced model populations of novae using a hybrid binary population synthesis approach for differing star formation histories (SFHs): a starburst case (elliptical-like galaxies), a constant star formation rate case (spiral-like galaxies) and a composite case (in line with the inferred SFH for M31)…
We discuss two important instability mechanisms that may lead to the limit-cycle oscillations of the luminosity of the accretion disks around compact objects: ionization instability and radiation-pressure instability. Ionization instability is well established as a mechanism of X-ray novae eruptions in black hole binary systems but its applicability to AGN is still problematic. Radiation pressure theory has still very weak observational background in any of these sources. In the present paper we attempt to confront the parameter space of these instabilities with the observational data. At the …
IW And stars are a subgroup of dwarf novae characterized by repetitive light variations of the intermediate-brightness state with oscillations, which is terminated by brightening. This group of dwarf novae is also known to exhibit a wide variety even within one system in long-term light curves including usual dwarf-nova outbursts, Z Cam-type standstills, and so on, besides the typical IW And-type variations mentioned above. Following the recent observations suggesting that some IW And stars seem to have tilted disks, we have investigated how the thermal-viscous instability works in tilted accr…
Recent observations found that electrons are accelerated to $\sim$10 GeV and emit synchrotron hard X-rays in two magnetic white dwarfs (WDs), also known as cataclysmic variables (CVs). In nova outbursts of WDs, multi-GeV gamma-rays were detected inferring that protons are accelerated to 100 GeV or higher. In recent optical surveys, the WD density is found to be higher near the Sun than in the Galactic disk by a factor $\sim$2.5. The cosmic rays (CR) produced by local CVs and novae will accumulate in the local bubble for $10^6$ - $10^7$ yrs. On these findings, we search for CRs from historic CV…
The progenitors of supernovae (SNe) type Ia are usually assumed to be either a single white dwarf (WD) accreting from a non-degenerate companion (the SD channel) or the result of two merging WDs (DD channel). However, no consensus currently exists as to which progenitor scenario is the correct one, or whether the observed SN Ia rate is produced by a combination of both channels. Unlike a DD progenitor a SD progenitor is expected to emit supersoft X-rays for a prolonged period of time (~1 Myr) as a result of the burning of accreted matter on the surface of the WD. An argument against the SD cha…
Classical novae are thermonuclear explosions that occur on the surfaces of white dwarf stars in interacting binary systems (Bode & Evans 2008). It has long been thought that the luminosity of classical novae is powered by continued nuclear burning on the surface of the white dwarf after the initial runaway (Gallaher & Starrfield 1978). However, recent observations of GeV $γ$-rays from classical novae have hinted that shocks internal to the nova ejecta may dominate the nova emission. Shocks have also been suggested to power the luminosity of events as diverse as stellar mergers (Metzger & Pejch…
Models of nova outbursts suggest that an X-ray flash should occur just after hydrogen ignition. However, this X-ray flash has never been observationally confirmed. We present four theoretical light curves of the X-ray flash for two very massive white dwarfs (WDs) of 1.380 and 1.385 M_sun and for two recurrence periods of 0.5 and 1 years. The duration of the X-ray flash is shorter for a more massive WD and for a longer recurrence period. The shortest duration of 14 hours (0.6 days) among the four cases is obtained for the 1.385 M_sun WD with one year recurrence period. In general, a nova explos…
We obtained an optical spectrum of a star we identify as the optical counterpart of the M31 Chandra source CXO J004318.8+412016, because of prominent emission lines of the Balmer series, of neutral helium, and a He II line at 4686 Angstrom. The continuum energy distribution and the spectral characteristics demonstrate the presence of a red giant of K or earlier spectral type, so we concluded that the binary is likely to be a symbiotic system. CXO J004318.8+412016 has been observed in X-rays as a luminous supersoft source (SSS) since 1979, with effective temperature exceeding 40 eV and variable…
After initial claims and a long hiatus, it is now established that several binary stars emit high (0.1-100 GeV) and very high energy (>100 GeV) gamma rays. A new class has emerged called 'gamma-ray binaries', since most of their radiated power is emitted beyond 1 MeV. Accreting X-ray binaries, novae and a colliding wind binary (eta Car) have also been detected - 'related systems' that confirm the ubiquity of particle acceleration in astrophysical sources. Do these systems have anything in common ? What drives their high-energy emission ? How do the processes involved compare to those in other …
The properties of the Galactic Ridge X-ray Emission (GRXE) observed in the 2-10 keV band place fundamental constraints on various types of X-ray sources in the Milky Way. Although the primarily discrete origin of the emission is now well established, the responsible populations of these sources remain uncertain, especially at relatively low fluxes. To provide insights into this issue, we systematically characterize the Fe emission line properties of the candidate types of the sources in the solar neighborhood and compare them with those measured for the GRXE. Our source sample includes 6 symbi…
