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Nova Ejecta Abundances Resulting from Multi-Cycle Evolutionary Calculations

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 April 2016

Dina Prialnik
Affiliation:
Department of Geophysics and Planetary Sciences
Attay Kovetz
Affiliation:
School of Physics and Astronomy, Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv 69978, Israel

Extract

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The theory of nova outbursts invokes accretion of hydrogen-rich material by a white dwarf (WD) in a close binary system, due to Roche lobe overflow of a red dwarf companion, leading to periodic outbursts — powered by thermonuclear runaways — that result in mass ejection. Observed characteristics of novae are reproduced by varying the values of three basic and independent parameters: the accreting white dwarf’s mass, its core temperature, and the mass transfer rate. In a recent study (Prialnik & Kovetz 1995) we have carried out a systematic investigation of nova outbursts on WD progenitors composed of C and O in equal mass fractions, concluding that the entire range of observed nova characteristics could be accounted for. A subset of 34 out of 64 evolutionary sequences (obtained with different parameter combinations) reproduced classical novae, and here we focus on the break-up of the heavy element abundances in the ejecta of these models, in comparison with observations, based on a recent analysis of observed nova abundances by Livio & Truran (1994).

Type
Novae & Symbiotic Stars
Copyright
Copyright © Kluwer 1996

References

Iben, I. Jr., Tutukov, A.V., 1985, Ap. J. Supp., 58, 661 Google Scholar
Livio, M., Truran, J.W., 1994, Ap. J., 425, 797 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Prialnik, D., Kovetz, A., 1995, Ap. J., 445, 789 Google Scholar