Having a Blast with Chandra Observations of Novae

Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy

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Scientific paper

Chandra and XMM-Newton are revolutionizing our understanding of the X-ray behaviour of nova explosions. High resolution grating spectra of bright novae in outburst have provided remarkable new insights into the nature of the explosions themselves, and the physical state and chemical composition of the residual "supersoft sources" that emerge from within an expanding shell of ejecta. I will describe the results of some detailed Chandra observations that reveal early phase hard X-ray emission that is not yet understood, supersoft source spectra that exhibit unexpected, wild variations and blue-shifted signatures of outflow, and spectra enabling detailed dissection of a momentum-conserving blast wave. Building an understanding of the surprisingly diverse X-ray behaviour of novae witnessed to date will require future concerted Chandra and XMM-Newton campaigns to catch bright events with gratings while we can. The recurrent nova U Sco represents perhaps the next great opportunity as the nova world waits with bated breath for its next, now slightly overdue, explosion.

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