Multiwavelength Observations of Multiple Eruptions of the Recurrent Nova M31N 2008-12a

We report the optical, UV, and soft X-ray observations of the 2017–2022 eruptions of the recurrent nova M31N 2008-12a. We find a cusp feature in the r′ - and i′ -band light curves close to the peak, which could be related to jets. The geometry of the nova ejecta based on morpho-kinematic modeling of...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Basu, J, Pavana, M, Anupama, GC, Barway, S, Singh, KP, Swain, V, Srivastav, S, Kumar, H, Bhalerao, V, Sonith, LS, Selvakumar, G
Format: Journal article
Language:English
Published: American Astronomical Society 2024
Description
Summary:We report the optical, UV, and soft X-ray observations of the 2017–2022 eruptions of the recurrent nova M31N 2008-12a. We find a cusp feature in the r′ - and i′ -band light curves close to the peak, which could be related to jets. The geometry of the nova ejecta based on morpho-kinematic modeling of the Hα emission line indicates an extended jet-like bipolar structure. Spectral modeling indicates an ejecta mass of 10−7–10−8 M ⊙ during each eruption and an enhanced helium abundance. The supersoft source phase shows significant variability, which is anticorrelated to the UV emission, indicating a common origin. The variability could be due to the reformation of the accretion disk. We infer a steady decrease in the accretion rate over the years based on the intereruption recurrence period. A comparison of the accretion rate with different models on the MWD–Ṁ plane yields the mass of a CO white dwarf, powering the H-shell flashes every ∼1 yr, to be >1.36 M ⊙ and growing with time, making M31N 2008-12a a strong candidate for the single degenerate scenario of the Type Ia supernovae progenitor.