M31N 2007-11d: A Slowly Rising, Luminous Nova in M31
Abstract
We report a series of extensive photometric and spectroscopic observations of the luminous M31 nova M31N 2007-11d. Our photometric observations coupled with previous measurements show that the nova took at least 4 days to reach peak brightness at R ≃ 14.9 on 2007 November 20 UT. After reaching maximum, the time for the nova to decline 2 and 3 mag from maximum light (t 2 and t 3) was ~9.5 and ~13 days, respectively, establishing that M31N 2007-11d was a moderately fast declining nova. During the nova's evolution, a total of three spectra were obtained. The first spectrum was obtained one day after maximum light (5 days post-discovery), followed by two additional spectra taken on the decline at two and three weeks post-maximum. The initial spectrum reveals narrow Balmer and Fe II emission with P Cygni profiles superimposed on a blue continuum. These data, along with the spectra obtained on the subsequent decline, clearly establish that M31N 2007-11d belongs to the Fe II spectroscopic class. The properties of M31N 2007-11d are discussed within the context of other luminous novae in M31, the Galaxy, and the LMC. Overall, M31N 2007-11d appears to be remarkably similar to Nova LMC 1991, which was another bright, slowly rising, Fe II nova. A comparison of the available data for luminous extragalactic novae suggests that the ≳ 4 day rise to maximum light seen in M31N 2007-11d may not be unusual, and that the rise times of luminous Galactic novae, usually assumed to be ≾ 2 days, may have been underestimated.
Additional Information
© 2009. The American Astronomical Society. Received 2008 July 18; accepted 2008 September 8; published 2008 December 2. Print publication: Issue 2 (2009 January 10). We thank the referee, M. Della Valle, for his comments on the original manuscript, and for bringing the properties of Nova LMC 1991 to our attention. The work presented here is based in part on observations obtained with the Marcario Low Resolution Spectrograph on the Hobby-Eberly Telescope, which is operated by McDonald Observatory on behalf of the University of Texas at Austin, the Pennsylvania State University, Stanford University, the Ludwig-Maximillians-Universitaet, Munich, and the George-August-Universitaet, Goettingen. Public access time is available on the Hobby-Eberly Telescope through an agreement with the National Science Foundation. The Liverpool Telescope is operated on the island of La Palma by Liverpool John Moores University in the Spanish Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos of the Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias with financial support from the UK Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC). FTN is operated by the Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope network. Data from FTN were obtained as part of a joint programme between Las Cumbres Observatory and Liverpool JMU Astrophysics Research Institute. Support from NSF grants AST-0607682 (AWS) and AST-0707769 (R.M.Q.) is gratefully acknowledged. Facilities: HET, Keck:I, Liverpool:2m, PO:1.5m.Attached Files
Published - SHAapj09.pdf
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Additional details
- Eprint ID
- 12820
- Resolver ID
- CaltechAUTHORS:SHAapj09
- AST-0607682
- NSF
- Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC)
- AST-0707769
- NSF
- Created
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2008-12-25Created from EPrint's datestamp field
- Updated
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2021-11-08Created from EPrint's last_modified field