THE 2001-2003 LOW STATE OF NOVA LACERTAE 1950 (DK LAC)
- Astronomy Department, Indiana University, Swain Hall West, Bloomington, IN 47405 (United States)
- Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, Carnegie Institute of Washington, 5241 Broad Branch Rd. NW, Washington, DC 2001 (United States)
- American Association of Variable Star Observers, 49 Bay State Rd., Cambridge, MA 02138-1203 (United States)
We report on extensive photometry of DK Lac obtained during the interval 1990-2009, which includes a 2 mag low state during 2001-2003. Much of the photometry consists of exposures obtained with a typical spacing of several days, but also includes 26 sequences of continuous photometry each lasting 2-7 hr. We find no evidence for periodicities in our data. We do find that the random variations in the low state are approximately twice those in the high state, when expressed in magnitudes. The lack of orbital-timescale variations is attributed to the nearly face-on presentation of the disk. There is a 0.2 mag decline in the high-state brightness of the system over 19 years, which is consistent with the behavior of other old novae in the decades following outburst. High-state spectra are also presented and discussed. We find that the equivalent width of H{alpha} falls by about double from 1991 to 2008. The photometric properties are discussed in the context of the hibernation scenario for the behavior of novae between outbursts, in which we conclude that low states in old novae are probably unrelated to their possible entrance into hibernation.
- OSTI ID:
- 21583176
- Journal Information:
- Astronomical Journal (New York, N.Y. Online), Vol. 141, Issue 4; Other Information: DOI: 10.1088/0004-6256/141/4/122; ISSN 1538-3881
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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