Pan-chromatic observations of the remarkable nova Large Magellanic Cloud 2012
- American Astronomical Society, 2000 Florida Ave., Nw, Suite 300, DC 20009-1231 (United States)
- Dipartimento di Fisica “Enrico Fermi,” Universita di Pisa, and INFN-Sezione Pisa, Largo B. Pontecorvo 3, I-56127, Pisa (Italy)
- X-Ray and Observational Astronomy Group, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leicester, Leicester, LE1 7RH (United Kingdom)
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, 11794-3800 (United States)
- Astrophysics Research Institute, IC2 Liverpool Science Park, 146 Brownlow Hill, L3 5RF (United Kingdom)
- Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, MS-3, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States)
- European Space Astronomy Centre, P.O. Box 78, E-28691 Villanueva de la Canada, Madrid (Spain)
- School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287 (United States)
- Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637 (United States)
We present the results of an intensive multiwavelength campaign on nova LMC 2012. This nova evolved very rapidly in all observed wavelengths. The time to fall two magnitudes in the V band was only 2 days. In X-rays the super soft phase began 13 ± 5 days after discovery and ended around day 50 after discovery. During the super soft phase, the Swift/XRT and Chandra spectra were consistent with the underlying white dwarf (WD) being very hot, ∼1 MK, and luminous, ∼10{sup 38} erg s{sup −1}. The UV, optical, and near-IR photometry showed a periodic variation after the initial and rapid fading had ended. Timing analysis revealed a consistent 19.24 ± 0.03 hr period in all UV, optical, and near-IR bands with amplitudes of ∼0.3 mag which we associate with the orbital period of the central binary. No periods were detected in the corresponding X-ray data sets. A moderately high inclination system, i = 60 ± 10{sup ∘}, was inferred from the early optical emission lines. The HST/STIS UV spectra were highly unusual with only the N v (1240 Å) line present and superposed on a blue continuum. The lack of emission lines and the observed UV and optical continua from four epochs can be fit with a low mass ejection event, ∼10{sup −6} M{sub ⊙}, from a hot and massive WD near the Chandrasekhar limit. The WD, in turn, significantly illuminated its subgiant companion which provided the bulk of the observed UV/optical continuum emission at the later dates. The inferred extreme WD characteristics and low mass ejection event favor nova LMC 2012 being a recurrent nova of the U Sco subclass.
- OSTI ID:
- 22342087
- Journal Information:
- Astronomical Journal (New York, N.Y. Online), Vol. 149, Issue 3; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 1538-3881
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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