V445 Puppis -- Dustier than a Thousand Novae

V445 Puppis, the only known Galactic helium nova, is a unique test-bed to verify supernova (SN) theories in the single degenerate channel that involve a white dwarf (WD) accreting matter from a helium-rich donor. An estimate of the mass of the helium shell on the WD is crucial to deciding whether or not it will undergo a SN detonation. In this context, this study estimates the dust and ejecta masses in the 2000 November eruption of V445 Pup. Subsequent to its outburst, the star became cocooned in a dust envelope. An analysis of the spectral energy distribution (SED) of the dust using infrared data shows that V445 Pup produced at least $10^{-3}$ solar masses of dust which is unprecedented for a classical or recurrent nova. The SED can be explained by a combination of a cold dust component at 105 +/- 10 K, mass (1.9 +/- 0.8) $\times 10^{-3}$ solar masses, and a warm dust component at 255 +/- 10 K, mass (2.2 +/- 1.2) $\times 10^{-5}$ solar masses. For a conservative choice of the gas-to-dust mass ratio in the range 10--100, the mass of the ejecta is 0.01--0.1 solar masses. Such a high mass range raises the question: why did V445 Pup not detonate as a Type 1a SN as is predicted in certain double-detonation sub-Chandrasekhar supernovae formalisms? We re-examine the nature of V445 Pup and discuss its role as a potential SN progenitor.
Comment: 8 page, 3 figures, 1 table, Accepted to ApJ Letters