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A century or less separates the thermonuclear-powered eruptions of recurrent novae (RNe) in the hydrogen-rich envelopes of massive white dwarfs. The colliding ejecta of successive RN events are predicted to always generate very large (tens of parsecs) super-remnants; only two examples are currently known. T CrB offers an excellent opportunity to test this prediction. As it will almost certainly undergo its next, once in ∼80 yr RN event between 2024 and 2026, we carried out very deep narrowband and continuum imaging to search for the predicted, piled-up ejecta of the past millennia. While nothing is detected in continuum or narrowband [O iii ] images, a ∼30 pc diameter, faint nebulosity surrounding T CrB is clearly present in deep H α , [N ii ], and [S ii ] narrowband Condor Array Telescope imagery. We predict that these newly detected nebulosities, as well as the recent ejecta that have not yet reached the super-remnant, are far too optically thin to capture all but a tiny fraction of the photons emitted by RN flashes. We thus predict that fluorescent light echoes will not be detectable following the imminent nova flash of T CrB. Dust may be released by the T CrB red giant wind in preeruption outbursts, but we have no reliable estimates of its quantity or geometrical distribution. While we cannot predict the morphology or intensity of dust-induced continuum light echoes following the coming flash, we encourage multiepoch Hubble Space Telescope optical imaging as well as James Webb Space Telescope infrared imaging of T CrB during the year after it erupts.

RX Pup is a symbiotic binary that experienced a nova outburst in the 1970s. Here we report a discovery of a ∼1300 yr old nova shell around the system and a possible detection of a ∼7000 yr old nova shell. Together with the nova shell ejected in the 1970s, this makes RX Pup the first system with three nova shells observed. This triad of eruptions suggests a change in the nova recurrence time. The most likely explanation is an alteration in the mass transfer rate attributed to evolutionary changes of the mass donor in the system. Notably, comparative analyses with theoretical models indicate an increase in the average mass transfer rate by a factor of 3 over the past 10,000 yr. This makes RX Pup a unique system, which allows us to probe millennium-scale evolution of mass transfer rates in binary systems.

The recurrent nova RS Ophiuchi (RS Oph) underwent its most recent eruption on 2021 August 8 and became the first nova to produce both detectable GeV and TeV emission. We used extensive X-ray monitoring with the Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer Mission (NICER) to model the X-ray spectrum and probe the shock conditions throughout the 2021 eruption. The rapidly evolving NICER spectra consisted of both line and continuum emission that could not be accounted for using a single-temperature collisional equilibrium plasma model with an absorber that fully covered the source. We successfully modeled the NICER spectrum as a nonequilibrium ionization collisional plasma with partial covering absorption. The temperature of the nonequilibrium plasma shows a peak on day 5 with a kT of approximately 24 keV. The increase in temperature during the first five days could have been due to increasing contribution to the X-ray emission from material behind fast polar shocks or a decrease is the amount of energy being drained from the shocks into particle acceleration during that period. The absorption showed a change from fully covering the source to having a covering fraction of roughly 0.4, suggesting a geometrical evolution of the shock region within the complex global distribution of the circumstellar material. These findings show evidence of the ejecta interacting with some dense equatorial shell initially, and with less dense material in the bipolar regions at later times during the eruption.

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^{\prime} $ - and $i^{\prime} $ -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 H α 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 ${M}_{\mathrm{WD}}\mbox{--}\dot{M}$ 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.

The evolution of cataclysmic variables (CVs) is driven by period changes ( $\dot{P}$ ), for which the long-venerable consensus is the magnetic braking model (MBM). The MBM has its only distinctive assumption being a power-law “recipe” describing the angular momentum loss (AML) in the binary, producing a single unique evolutionary track with $\dot{P}$ as a function of the orbital period. This required prediction can be used to test the most-fundamental assumption of MBM, but it has never been tested previously. In this paper, I collect $\dot{P}$ measures for 52 CVs of all types. First, 44% of the CVs have positive $\dot{P}$ , with such being impossible in MBM. Second, even among the CVs with negative $\dot{P}$ , their $\dot{P}$ measures are always more negative than required by MBM, with an average deviation of 110×. Third, three CVs have large chaotic variations in $\dot{P}$ that are impossible for MBM, proving that some unknown mechanism exists and is operating that dominates for these systems. Fourth, the MBM does not account for the long-term effects on evolution arising from the large sudden period decreases seen across many nova events, with this unaccounted effect dominating for the majority of nova systems and changing the sign of the overall evolutionary $\dot{P}$ . Fifth, three recurrent novae are observed to suddenly change $\dot{P}$ by an order of magnitude across a nova event, with this being impossible in the MBM. In all, the required MBM $\dot{P}$ predictions all fail for my 52 CVs, usually by orders of magnitude, so the MBM AML-recipe is wrong by orders of magnitude.

The results of a two-decade-long R -band photometric survey of novae in M31 are presented. From these data, R -band light curves have been determined for 180 novae with data sufficient for estimating the peak brightness and subsequent rate of decline. The data show a weak correlation of peak brightness with fade rate consistent with the well-known maximum magnitude versus rate of decline (MMRD) relation. As generally appreciated for Galactic novae, the large scatter in the MMRD relation precludes its use in determining distances to individual novae. The novae at maximum light are distributed with standard deviation σ = 0.89 mag about a mean R -band absolute magnitude given by 〈 M _R 〉 = −7.57 ± 0.07. The overall M31 luminosity distribution is in excellent agreement with that found for Galactic novae suggesting that the nova populations in M31 and the Galaxy are quite similar. The notion that all novae can be characterized by a standard luminosity 15 days after maximum light ( M _15 ) is also explored. Surprisingly, the distribution of M _15 values is characterized by a standard deviation only slightly smaller than that for novae at maximum light and thus offers little promise for precise extragalactic distance determinations. A dozen faint and fast novae that are likely to be previously unidentified recurrent novae have been identified from their position in the MMRD plot and in the M _15 distribution.

V2487 Ophiuchi (V2487 Oph) is a recurrent nova with classical nova eruptions in 1900 and 1998, and it is also the most extreme known superflare star. These superflares are roughly hour-long flares with amplitudes and optical energies reaching up to 1.10 mag and 10 ^39.21 erg, respectively, with the superflares recurring once a day. The V2487 Oph superflares are certainly operating with the same mechanism as all the other types of superflare stars, where magnetic loops are twisted and stretched until reconnection occurs, whereupon ambient electrons are accelerated to relativistic energies and then emit bremsstrahlung radiation from X-ray to radio. V2487 Oph is unique among known superflare stars in that one of the loop footprints is in an accretion disk. This exact mechanism was theoretically predicted by M. R. Hayashi and colleagues in 1996. Now, I have found two superflares recorded on Harvard archival photographs from 1941 and 1942. These two superflares have B -magnitude amplitudes of >1.83 and >2.00 mag and total radiated energies of 10 ^42.4 and 10 ^42.5 erg, respectively, with bolometric corrections. Each has emitted energies of ∼30 billion Carringtons, in units of the most energetic solar flare. Further, I find superflares in Zwicky Transient Factory light curves, so V2487 Oph has been superflaring from 1941 to 2023. For the observed number distribution of dN / dE = 4 E ^−2 superflares per year, for E in units of 10 ^41 erg, the emitted energy in superflare light is 10 ^42.1 erg in each year, or 10 ^44.1 erg from 1941 to 2023.

We report on studies of classical nova (CN) explosions where we follow the evolution of thermonuclear runaways (TNRs) on oxygen–neon (ONe) white dwarfs (WDs). Using NOVA, a 1D hydrodynamic computer code, we accrete solar matter until the TNR is ongoing and then switch to a mixed composition. This approach is guided by the results of multidimensional studies of TNRs in WDs, which find that sufficient mixing with WD core material occurs after the TNR is well underway, and levels of enrichment of the CNONeMg elements are reached that agree with observations of CN ejecta abundances. Because the amount of accreted material is inversely proportional to the oxygen abundance, by first accreting solar matter, the amount of accreted material is larger than in those simulations with an initially enriched composition. We vary the mass of the WD (from 0.6 M _⊙ to 1.35 M _⊙ ) and the composition of the mixed materials. Our results show large enrichments of ^7 Be in the ejected gases, implying that ONe CNe and CO CNe may be responsible for a significant fraction (∼100 M _⊙ ) of the Galactic ^7 Li (∼1000 M _⊙ ). The production of ^22 Na and ^26 Al in CN explosions and the γ -ray emission predicted by our simulations are discussed. The WDs in all our simulations eject less material than they accrete and we predict that the WD is growing in mass as a consequence of the CN outburst. ONe CNe, therefore, may be an important channel for accretion-induced collapse events.

The source of the Galactic lithium (Li) has long been a puzzle. With the discovery of Li in novae, extensive research has been conducted. However, there still exists a significant disparity between the observed abundance of Li in novae and the existing theoretical predictions. Using the Modules for Experiments in Stellar Astrophysics, we simulate the evolution of novae with element diffusion and appropriately increase the amount of ^3 He in the mixtures. Element diffusion enhances the transport efficiency between the nuclear reaction zone and the convective region on the surface of the white dwarf (WD) during nova eruptions, which results in more ^7 Be being transmitted to the WD surface and ultimately ejected. Compared to the previous predictions, the abundance of ^7 Be in novae simulated in our model significantly increases. The result is able to explain almost all observed novae. Using the method of population synthesis, we calculate Li yield in the Galaxy. We find that the Galactic occurrence rate of novae is about 130 yr ^−1 , and about 110 M _⊙ Li produced by nova eruption is ejected into the interstellar medium (ISM). About 73% of Li in the Galactic ISM originates from novae and approximately 15%–20% of the entire Galaxy. This means that novae are the important source of Li in the Galaxy.

The recurrent nova T Pyxidis (T Pyx) has erupted six times since 1890, with its last outburst in 2011, and the relatively short recurrence time between classical nova explosions indicates that T Pyx must have a massive white dwarf (WD) accreting at a high rate. It is believed that, since its outburst in 1890, the mass transfer rate in T Pyx was very large due to a feedback loop where the secondary is heated by the hot WD. The feedback loop has been slowly shutting off, reducing the mass transfer rate, and thereby explaining the magnitude decline of T Pyx from ∼13.8 (before 1890) to 15.7 just before the 2011 eruption. We present an analysis of the latest Hubble Space Telescope far-ultraviolet and optical spectra, obtained 12 yr after the 2011 outburst, showing that the mass transfer rate has been steadily declining and is now below its preoutburst level by about 40%: $\dot{M}\sim 1-3\times {10}^{-7}{M}_{\odot }$ yr ^−1 for a WD mass of ∼1.0–1.4 M _⊙ , an inclination of 50°–60°, reddening of E ( B − V ) = 0.30 ± 0.05, and a Gaia Data Release 3 distance of ${2860}_{-471}^{+816}$ pc. This steady decrease in the mass transfer rate in the ∼decade after the 2011 outburst is in sharp contrast with the more constant preoutburst ultraviolet continuum flux level from archival International Ultraviolet Explorer spectra. The flux (i.e., $\dot{M}$ ) decline rate is 29 times faster now in the last ∼decade than observed since 1890 to ∼2010. The feedback loop shut off seems to be accelerating, at least in the decade following its 2011 outburst. In all eventualities, our analysis confirms that T Pyx is going through an unusually peculiar short-lived phase.

We report the detection of carbon monoxide (CO) and dust, formed under hostile conditions, in recurrent nova V745 Sco about 8.7 days after its 2014 outburst. The formation of molecules or dust has not been recorded previously in the ejecta of a recurrent nova. The mass and temperature of the CO and dust are estimated to be T _CO = 2250 ± 250 K, M _CO = (1–5) × 10 ^−8 M _⊙ , and T _dust = 1000 ± 50 K, M _dust ∼ 10 ^−8 –10 ^−9 M _⊙ , respectively. At the time of their detection, the shocked gas was at a high temperature of ∼10 ^7 K as evidenced by the presence of coronal lines. The ejecta were simultaneously irradiated by a large flux of soft X-ray radiation from the central white dwarf. Molecules and dust are not expected to form and survive in such harsh conditions; they are like snowflakes in a furnace. However, it has been posited in other studies that, as the nova ejecta plow through the red giant's wind, a region exists between the forward and reverse shocks that is cool, dense and clumpy where the dust and CO could likely form. We speculate that this site may also be a region of particle acceleration, thereby contributing to the generation of γ -rays.

In 2021 August, the Fermi Large Area Telescope, H.E.S.S., and MAGIC detected GeV and TeV γ -ray emission from an outburst of recurrent nova RS Ophiuchi. This detection represents the first very high-energy γ -rays observed from a nova, and it opens a new window to study particle acceleration. Both H.E.S.S. and MAGIC described the observed γ -rays as arising from a single, external shock. In this paper, we perform detailed, multi-zone modeling of RS Ophiuchi’s 2021 outburst, including a self-consistent prescription for particle acceleration and magnetic field amplification. We demonstrate that, contrary to previous work, a single shock cannot simultaneously explain RS Ophiuchi’s GeV and TeV emission, in particular the spectral shape and distinct light-curve peaks. Instead, we put forward a model involving multiple shocks that reproduces the observed γ -ray spectrum and temporal evolution. The simultaneous appearance of multiple distinct velocity components in the nova optical spectrum over the first several days of the outburst supports the presence of distinct shocks, which may arise either from the strong latitudinal dependence of the density of the external circumbinary medium (e.g., in the binary equatorial plane versus the poles) or due to internal collisions within the white dwarf ejecta (which power the γ -ray emission in classical novae).

Very-high-energy (VHE; 100 GeV < E ≤ 100 TeV) and high-energy (HE; 100 MeV < E ≤ 100 GeV) gamma rays were observed from the symbiotic recurrent nova RS Ophiuchi (RS Oph) during its outburst in 2021 August by various observatories, such as the High Energy Stereoscopic System (HESS), Major Atmospheric Gamma Imaging Cherenkov (MAGIC), and Fermi-Large Area Telescope (LAT). The models that have been explored so far tend to favor a hadronic scenario of particle acceleration over an alternative leptonic scenario. This paper explores a time-dependent lepto-hadronic scenario to explain the emission from the RS Oph source region. We have used simultaneous low-frequency radio data observed by various observatories along with the data provided by HESS, MAGIC, and Fermi-LAT to explain the multiwavelength spectral energy distributions corresponding to 4 days after the outburst. Our results show that a lepto-hadronic interpretation of the source not only explains the observed HE-VHE gamma-ray data but the corresponding model synchrotron component is also consistent with the first 4 days of low-radio-frequency data, indicating the presence of nonthermal radio emission at the initial stage of the nova outburst. We have also calculated the expected neutrino flux from the source region and discuss the possibility of detecting neutrinos.

The 2021 outburst of the symbiotic recurrent nova RS Oph was monitored with the Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer Mission (NICER) in the 0.2–12 keV range from day one after the optical maximum, until day 88, producing an unprecedented, detailed view of the outburst development. The X-ray flux preceding the supersoft X-ray phase peaked almost 5 days after optical maximum and originated only in shocked ejecta for 21–25 days. The emission was thermal; in the first 5 days, only a non-collisional-ionization equilibrium model fits the spectrum, and a transition to equilibrium occurred between days 6 and 12. The ratio of peak X-ray flux measured in the NICER range to that measured with Fermi in the 60 MeV–500 GeV range was about 0.1, and the ratio to the peak flux measured with H.E.S.S. in the 250 GeV–2.5 TeV range was about 100. The central supersoft X-ray source (SSS), namely the shell hydrogen burning white dwarf (WD), became visible in the fourth week, initially with short flares. A huge increase in flux occurred on day 41, but the SSS flux remained variable. A quasi-periodic oscillation every ≃35 s was always observed during the SSS phase, with variations in amplitude and a period drift that appeared to decrease in the end. The SSS has characteristics of a WD of mass >1 M _⊙ . Thermonuclear burning switched off shortly after day 75, earlier than in the 2006 outburst. We discuss implications for the nova physics.

Type Ia supernovae are the result of explosive thermonuclear burning in CO white dwarfs. The progenitors of the Ia supernovae are white dwarfs in an interacting binary system. The donor companion is either a degenerate star (white dwarf) or a non-degenerate star (e.g. red giant). Recurrent novae are interacting binaries with a massive white dwarf accreting from either a main sequence, slightly evolved, or a red giant star. The white dwarf in these systems is a massive, hot white dwarf, accreting at a high rate. Recurrent novae are thought to be the most promising single degenerate progenitors of Type Ia supernovae. Presented here are the properties of a few recurrent novae based on recent outbursts. The elemental abundances and their distribution in the ejected shell are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We review the observational characteristics of classical and recurrent novae in the optical region, in the context of observational programmes carried out using telescopes at the Vainu Bappu Observatory (VBO) and the Indian Astronomical Observatory (IAO) of the Indian Institute of Astrophysics. The article discusses the different classes of novae, based on either their outburst light curve properties, or their spectral development. Also provided is a brief discussion on the quiescence properties of novae. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We review infrared observations of classical and recurrent novae, at wavelengths >3 µm, including both broad-band and spectroscopic observations. In recent years infrared spectroscopy in particular has revolutionised our understanding of the nova phenomenon, by revealing fine-structure and coronal lines, and the mineralogy of nova dust. Infrared spectroscopic facilities that are, or will be, becoming available in the next 10-20 years have the potential for a comprehensive study of nova line emission and dust mineralogy, and for an unbiased assessment of the extragalactic nova populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]