Multiwavelength observations of nova SMCN 2016-10a – one of the brightest novae ever observed

Abstract We report on multiwavelength observations of nova Small Magellanic Cloud Nova 2016-10a. The present observational set is one of the most comprehensive for any nova in the Small Magellanic Cloud, including low-, medium-, and high-resolution optical spectroscopy and spectropolarimetry from So...

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Veröffentlicht in:Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 2018-02, Vol.474 (2), p.2679-2705
Hauptverfasser: Aydi, E, Page, K L, Kuin, N P M, Darnley, M J, Walter, F M, Mróz, P, Buckley, D A H, Mohamed, S, Whitelock, P, Woudt, P, Williams, S C, Orio, M, Williams, R E, Beardmore, A P, Osborne, J P, Kniazev, A, Ribeiro, V A R M, Udalski, A, Strader, J, Chomiuk, L
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Sprache:eng
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Zusammenfassung:Abstract We report on multiwavelength observations of nova Small Magellanic Cloud Nova 2016-10a. The present observational set is one of the most comprehensive for any nova in the Small Magellanic Cloud, including low-, medium-, and high-resolution optical spectroscopy and spectropolarimetry from Southern African Large Telescope, Folded Low-Order Yte-Pupil Double-Dispersed Spectrograph, and Southern Astrophysical Research; long-term Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment V- and I-bands photometry dating back to 6 yr before eruption; Small and Moderate Aperture Research Telescope System optical and near-IR photometry from ∼11 d until over 280 d post-eruption; Swift satellite X-ray and ultraviolet observations from ∼6 d until 319 d post-eruption. The progenitor system contains a bright disc and a main sequence or a sub-giant secondary. The nova is very fast with t2 ≃ 4.0 ± 1.0 d and t3 ≃ 7.8 ± 2.0 d in the V band. If the nova is in the SMC, at a distance of ∼61 ± 10 kpc, we derive MV, max ≃ −10.5 ± 0.5, making it the brightest nova ever discovered in the SMC and one of the brightest on record. At day 5 post-eruption the spectral lines show a He/N spectroscopic class and an Full Width at Half Maximum of ∼3500 km s−1, indicating moderately high ejection velocities. The nova entered the nebular phase ∼20 d post-eruption, predicting the imminent super-soft source turn-on in the X-rays, which started ∼28 d post-eruption. The super-soft source properties indicate a white dwarf mass between 1.2  and 1.3 M⊙ in good agreement with the optical conclusions.
ISSN:0035-8711
1365-2966
DOI:10.1093/mnras/stx2678