Hot gas and the origin of the nebular continuum in novae

Details Hot gas and the origin of the nebular continuum in novae Hot gas and the origin of the nebular continuum in novae

Apr 1994

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1994apj...425..755s&link_type=abstract

Astrophysical Journal, Part 1 (ISSN 0004-637X), vol. 425, no. 2, p. 755-766

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomy

23

Cataclysmic Variables, High Temperature Gases, Novae, Stellar Mass Ejection, Balmer Series, Electron Density (Concentration), Electron Energy, Emission Spectra, Iue, Metallicity, Stellar Envelopes, Ultraviolet Astronomy

Scientific paper

A featureless blue continuum (with constant fnu) is a defining feature of declining classical novae. The fact that fnu is constant into the infrared, and the absence of a Balmer jump, suggests that this continuum originates in hot tenous gas. The electron temperature and density of the hot gas phase of classical nova QU Vul 1984 are estimated from ground-based optical and IUE ultraviolet observations. This region has a temperature of 105 - 106, and a density in the range of 2 x 104 to 3 x 105/cu cm. In addition, a colder, denser shell composed of many 'clumps' or condensations is present, and it is responsible for most of the optical-to-ultraviolet emission lines. The hot has, however, may be much more massive and could dominate the energetics of the ejecta. The total returned mass could be as high as 10-4 and 4 x 10-3 solar mass, depending on conditions in the hot gas. The large mass of the shell, in combination with the high metallicity found in this nova, supports the idea that novae may be an important contributor to the chemical enrichment of the interstellar medium.

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