CaltechAUTHORS
Published March 2007 | Version public
Journal Article Metadata-only

An ancient nova shell around the dwarf nova Z Camelopardalis

Creators

  • 1. ROR icon American Museum of Natural History
  • 2. ROR icon California Institute of Technology
  • 3. ROR icon Carnegie Observatories
  • 4. ROR icon University of California, Los Angeles
  • 5. ROR icon Columbia University
  • 6. ROR icon Indiana University Bloomington
  • 7. ROR icon Tel Aviv University
  • 8. ROR icon Kitt Peak National Observatory

Abstract

Cataclysmic variables (classical novae and dwarf novae) are binary star systems in which a red dwarf transfers hydrogen-rich matter, by way of an accretion disk, to its white dwarf companion1. In dwarf novae, an instability is believed to episodically dump much of the accretion disk onto the white dwarf. The liberation of gravitational potential energy then brightens these systems by up to 100-fold every few weeks or months. Thermonuclear-powered eruptions thousands of times more luminous occur in classical novae5, accompanied by significant mass ejection6 and formation of clearly visible shells from the ejected material. Theory predicts that the white dwarfs in all dwarf novae must eventually accrete enough mass to undergo classical nova eruptions9. Here we report a shell, an order of magnitude more extended than those detected around many classical novae, surrounding the prototypical dwarf nova Z Camelopardalis. The derived shell mass matches that of classical novae, and is inconsistent with the mass expected from a dwarf nova wind or a planetary nebula. The shell observationally links the prototypical dwarf nova Z Camelopardalis with an ancient nova eruption and the classical nova process.

Additional Information

© 2007 Macmillan Publishers Limited. Received 1 September 2006; accepted 2 January 2007. This work was supported by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Telescope time at the Kitt Peak National Observatory, Lick Observatory and the Palomar Observatory is gratefully acknowledged. Kitt Peak National Observatory of the National Optical Astronomy Observatory is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc. (AURA) under cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation.

Additional details

Identifiers

Eprint ID
55866
Resolver ID
CaltechAUTHORS:20150317-154121420

Funding

NASA

Dates

Created
2015-03-18
Created from EPrint's datestamp field
Updated
2021-11-10
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Caltech Custom Metadata

Caltech groups
Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences (GPS)