Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics
Scientific paper
2005-01-03
Astron.J.129:1873,2005
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
43 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in the Astronomical Journal (tentatively April 2005 issue). Full resolution ver
Scientific paper
10.1086/428482
We report the results of a preliminary nova survey of Local Group dwarf ellipticals. We used the Tenagra Observatory to observe M32, NGC 205, NGC 147, and NGC 185 in their entirety every clear night over a 4.5 month interval and discovered one nova in M32 and a candidate nova in NGC 205. The nova in M32 was verified spectroscopically. The nova candidate in NGC 205 had an unusually low peak luminosity (M_V = -5.1), and we were unable to obtain spectroscopic verification. We report a high bulk nova rate for M32 of 2(+2.4,-1.0) yr^-1 and, assuming the candidate nova is correctly identified, for NGC 205 of 2(+2.2,-1.0) yr^-1. If the NGC 205 variable is not a nova, we calculate an upper limit on the bulk nova rate for NGC 205 of 1.5 yr^-1. We report upper limits on the bulk nova rates in NGC 147 of 2 yr^-1 and NGC 185 of 1.8 yr^-1 and a combined bulk nova rate for the four galaxies of 4(+4.2,-1.4) yr^-1 (2{+3.9,-1.4} yr^-1 without the NGC 205 nova candidate). From the bulk rates, integrated and extinction corrected V-band photometry, and (V-K)_0 colors we derive a luminosity specific nova rate for M32 of 12.0(+14.4,-6.0) yr^-1 [10^10 L_Sun,K]^-1 and for NGC 205 of 29.3(+32.3,-14.7) yr^-1 [10^10 L_Sun,K]^-1 and for the combined 4 galaxies of 14.1(+14.8,-4.9) yr^-1 [10^10 L_Sun,K]^-1 (7.0{+13.7,-4.9} yr^-1[10^10 L_Sun,K]^-1 without the NGC 205 nova candidate). If the higher rate is confirmed by surveys in subsequent seasons, it would imply that either dwarf ellipticals have a higher interacting binary fraction than their higher mass counter parts, or that the completeness is higher for these less complex systems and the nova rates for larger, more distant systems are systematically underestimated.
Neill James D.
Shara Michael M.
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