CLASSICAL NOVAE IN ANDROMEDA: LIGHT CURVES FROM THE PALOMAR TRANSIENT FACTORY AND GALEX

Journal Article · Wed Jun 20 00:00:00 EDT 2012 · Astrophysical Journal

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/752/2/133· OSTI ID:22036997

Yi, Cao; Yuqing, Lou ^[1]; Kasliwal, Mansi M; Neill, James D; Kulkarni, S R; Quimby, Robert M ^[2]; Ben-Ami, Sagi ^[3]; Bloom, Joshua S; Cenko, S Bradley; Nugent, Peter E ^[4]; Law, Nicholas M ^[5]; Ofek, Eran O ^[6]; Poznanski, Dovi ^[7]

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1. Tsinghua Center for Astrophysics (THCA), Department of Physics, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China)
2. Astronomy Department, California Institute of Technology, 1200 East California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States)
3. Department of Particle Physics and Astrophysics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100 (Israel)
4. Department of Astronomy, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-3411 (United States)
5. Dunlap Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Toronto, 50 St. George Street, Toronto, M5S 3H4 Ontario (Canada)
6. Benoziyo Center for Astrophysics, Faculty of Physics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100 (Israel)
7. School of Physics and Astronomy, Tel-Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978 (Israel)

We present optical light curves of 29 novae in M31 during the 2009 and 2010 observing seasons of the Palomar Transient Factory (PTF). The dynamic and rapid cadences in PTF monitoring of M31, from one day to ten minutes, provide excellent temporal coverage of nova light curves, enabling us to record the photometric evolution of M31 novae in unprecedented detail. We also detect eight of these novae in the near-ultraviolet (UV) band with the Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) satellite. Novae M31N 2009-10b and M31N 2010-11a show prominent UV emission peaking a few days prior to their optical maxima, possibly implying aspherical outbursts. Additionally, our blueshifted spectrum of the recent outburst of PT And (M31N 2010-12a) indicates that it is a recurrent nova in M31 and not a dwarf nova in the Milky Way as was previously assumed. Finally, we systematically searched for novae in all confirmed globular clusters (GCs) of M31 and found only M31N 2010-10f associated with Bol 126. The specific nova rate in the M31 GC system is thus about one per year, which is not enhanced relative to the rate outside the GC system.

• OSTI ID: 22036997
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 752, Issue 2; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0004-637X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTROPHYSICS
COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY
ASTROPHYSICS
DIAGRAMS
EMISSION SPECTRA
GAMMA ASTRONOMY
MILKY WAY
NOVAE
PHOTON EMISSION
STAR EVOLUTION
TRANSIENTS
ULTRAVIOLET RADIATION
ULTRAVIOLET SPECTRA
VISIBLE RADIATION