UCL Discovery
UCL home » Library Services » Electronic resources » UCL Discovery

Bow shocks, nova shells, disc winds and tilted discs: the nova-like V341 Ara has it all

Castro Segura, N; Knigge, C; Acosta-Pulido, JA; Altamirano, D; Del Palacio, S; Hernandez Santisteban, JV; Pahari, M; ... Woudt, PA; + view all (2021) Bow shocks, nova shells, disc winds and tilted discs: the nova-like V341 Ara has it all. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society , 501 (2) pp. 1951-1969. 10.1093/mnras/staa2516. Green open access

[thumbnail of staa2516.pdf]
Preview
Text
staa2516.pdf - Published Version

Download (6MB) | Preview

Abstract

V341 Ara was recently recognized as one of the closest (d ≃ 150 pc) and brightest (V ≃ 10) nova-like cataclysmic variables. This unique system is surrounded by a bright emission nebula, likely to be the remnant of a recent nova eruption. Embedded within this nebula is a prominent bow shock, where the system’s accretion disc wind runs into its own nova shell. In order to establish its fundamental properties, we present the first comprehensive multiwavelength study of the system. Long-term photometry reveals quasi-periodic, super-orbital variations with a characteristic time-scale of 10–16 d and typical amplitude of ≃1 mag. High-cadence photometry from theTransiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) reveals for the first time both the orbital period and a ‘negative superhump’ period. The latter is usually interpreted as the signature of a tilted accretion disc. We propose a recently developed disc instability model as a plausible explanation for the photometric behaviour. In our spectroscopic data, we clearly detect antiphased absorption and emission-line components. Their radial velocities suggest a high mass ratio, which in turn implies an unusually low white-dwarf mass. We also constrain the wind mass-loss rate of the system from the spatially resolved [O III] emission produced in the bow shock; this can be used to test and calibrate accretion disc wind models. We suggest a possible association between V341 Ara and a ‘guest star’ mentioned in Chinese historical records in AD 1240. If this marks the date of the system’s nova eruption, V341 Ara would be the oldest recovered nova of its class and an excellent laboratory for testing nova theory.

Type: Article
Title: Bow shocks, nova shells, disc winds and tilted discs: the nova-like V341 Ara has it all
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1093/mnras/staa2516
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/staa2516
Language: English
Additional information: This version is the version of record. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.
Keywords: accretion, accretion discs, binaries: spectroscopic, novae, cataclysmic variables, winds, outflows, shock waves
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > Dept of Space and Climate Physics
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10114907
Downloads since deposit
Loading...
86Downloads
Download activity - last month
Loading...
Download activity - last 12 months
Loading...
Downloads by country - last 12 months
1.United States
10
2.Russian Federation
2
3.India
1
4.China
1
5.Cote d'Ivoire
1
6.Germany
1

Archive Staff Only

View Item View Item