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Using the distribution of white dwarf masses in zero-age cataclysmic variables (CVs) calculated by Politano and Webbink (these proceedings), the relative frequency of classical nova outbursts as a function of white dwarf mass is calculated. These results are compared with the results obtained by Truran and Livio (1986), who calculated the same function, but used a distribution of white dwarf masses in CVs calculated from a Salpeter initial mass function and a particular progenitor mass-white dwarf mass relationship for single stars.
We wish to calculate the frequency of classical nova outbursts as a function of white dwarf mass. To do this, we require two quantities: 1) the recurrence frequency of classical nova outbursts (i.e., how many outbursts per year) and 2) the white dwarf mass spectrum in classical novae (i.e., number of novae per white dwarf mass). We discuss each of these in turn.
