The Rise of Nova V1674 Herculis

Fuente: arXiv
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Autores principales: Quimby, Robert M., Metzger, Brian D., Shen, Ken J., Shafter, Allen W., Corbett, Hank, Overton, Madeline
Formato: Preprint
Publicado: 2024
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author Quimby, Robert M.
Metzger, Brian D.
Shen, Ken J.
Shafter, Allen W.
Corbett, Hank
Overton, Madeline
author_facet Quimby, Robert M.
Metzger, Brian D.
Shen, Ken J.
Shafter, Allen W.
Corbett, Hank
Overton, Madeline
contents Observational constraints on classical novae are heavily biased to phases near optical peak and later because of the simple fact that novae are not typically discovered until they become bright. The earliest phases of brightening, coming before discovery, are typically missed, but this is changing with the proliferation of wide-field optical monitoring systems including ZTF, ASAS-SN, and Evryscope. Here, we report on unprecedented observations of the fast nova V1674 Her beginning >10 mag below its optical peak and including high-cadence (2 min.) observations that chart a rise of ~8 mag in just 5 hours. Two clear breaks are identified as the light curve transitions first from rising slowly to rising rapidly, followed by a transition to an even faster, nearly linear rate of increasing flux with time. The depths of the observations allow us to place tight constraints on the size of the photosphere under the assumption of blackbody emission from a white dwarf emitting at its Eddington luminosity. We find that the white dwarf was unlikely to have overflowed its Roche lobe prior to the launch of a fast wind, which poses a challenge for explaining the Fermi $γ$-ray detections as the interaction of a fast wind with a slow-torus of gas stripped from the inflated white dwarf envelope by the companion. High-cadence observations of novae from Evryscope and the planned Argus Array can record the diversity of rising nova light curves and help resolve how the interplay between thermonuclear fusion, binary interaction, and shocks power their earliest light.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2410_16460
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle The Rise of Nova V1674 Herculis
Quimby, Robert M.
Metzger, Brian D.
Shen, Ken J.
Shafter, Allen W.
Corbett, Hank
Overton, Madeline
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
Observational constraints on classical novae are heavily biased to phases near optical peak and later because of the simple fact that novae are not typically discovered until they become bright. The earliest phases of brightening, coming before discovery, are typically missed, but this is changing with the proliferation of wide-field optical monitoring systems including ZTF, ASAS-SN, and Evryscope. Here, we report on unprecedented observations of the fast nova V1674 Her beginning >10 mag below its optical peak and including high-cadence (2 min.) observations that chart a rise of ~8 mag in just 5 hours. Two clear breaks are identified as the light curve transitions first from rising slowly to rising rapidly, followed by a transition to an even faster, nearly linear rate of increasing flux with time. The depths of the observations allow us to place tight constraints on the size of the photosphere under the assumption of blackbody emission from a white dwarf emitting at its Eddington luminosity. We find that the white dwarf was unlikely to have overflowed its Roche lobe prior to the launch of a fast wind, which poses a challenge for explaining the Fermi $γ$-ray detections as the interaction of a fast wind with a slow-torus of gas stripped from the inflated white dwarf envelope by the companion. High-cadence observations of novae from Evryscope and the planned Argus Array can record the diversity of rising nova light curves and help resolve how the interplay between thermonuclear fusion, binary interaction, and shocks power their earliest light.
title The Rise of Nova V1674 Herculis
topic High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2410.16460