X-ray evolution of the nova V959 Mon suggests a delayed ejection and a non-radiative shock

dc.contributor.authorNelson, Thomas
dc.contributor.authorMukai, Koji
dc.contributor.authorChomiuk, Laura
dc.contributor.authorSokoloski, Jennifer L.
dc.contributor.authorLinford, Justin D.
dc.contributor.authorFinzell, Thomas
dc.contributor.authorMioduszewski, Amy J.
dc.contributor.authorRupen, Michael P.
dc.contributor.authorWeston, Jennifer
dc.contributor.authorOliveira, Raimundo Lopes de
dc.date.accessioned2020-09-11T16:34:25Z
dc.date.available2020-09-11T16:34:25Z
dc.date.issued2020-07-30
dc.description.abstractX-ray observations of shocked gas in novae can provide a useful probe of the dynamics of the ejecta. Here we report on X-ray observations of the nova V959 Mon, which was also detected in GeV gamma-rays with the Fermi satellite. We find that the X-ray spectra are consistent with a two-temperature plasma model with non-solar abundances. We interpret the X-rays as due to shock interaction between the slow equatorial torus and the fast polar outflow that were inferred from radio observations of V959 Mon. We further propose that the hotter component, responsible for most of the flux, is from the reverse shock driven into the fast outflow. We find a systematic drop in the column density of the absorber between Days 60 and 140, consistent with the expectations for such a picture. We present intriguing evidence for a delay of around 40 days in the expulsion of the ejecta from the central binary. Moreover, we infer a relatively small (a few times 10⁻⁶ Msun) ejecta mass ahead of the shock, considerably lower than the mass of 10⁴ K gas inferred from radio observations. Finally, we infer that the dominant X-ray shock was likely not radiative at the time of our observations, and that the shock power was considerably higher than the observed X-ray luminosity. It is unclear why high X-ray luminosity, closer to the inferred shock power, is never seen in novae at early times, when the shock is expected to have high enough density to be radiative.en_US
dc.description.sponsorshipWe wish to acknowledge the support of the late Neil Gehrels and the Swift mission team for their help in scheduling the observations presented in this article. This research has made use of data and software provided by the High Energy Astrophysics Science Archive Research Center (HEASARC), which is a service of the Astrophysics Science Division at NASA/GSFC and the High Energy Astrophysics Division of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. The scientific results reported in this article are based in part on observations made by the Chandra X-ray Observatory. They are also based in part on data obtained from the Suzaku satellite, a collaborative mission between the space agencies of Japan (JAXA) and the USA (NASA). L.C. is grateful for support from a Cottrell scholarship of the Research Corporation for Science Advancement, NSF grant AST1751874, and NASA GI programs Fermi-NNX14AQ36G, Fermi-80NSSC18K1746, and NuSTAR-80NSSC19K0522.en_US
dc.description.urihttps://arxiv.org/abs/2007.15702en_US
dc.format.extent17 pagesen_US
dc.genrejournal articles preprintsen_US
dc.identifierdoi:10.13016/m2gqld-ntf8
dc.identifier.citationThomas Nelson, Koji Mukai, Laura Chomiuk, Jennifer L. Sokoloski, Justin D. Linford, Thomas Finzell, Amy J. Mioduszewski, Michael P. Rupen, Jennifer Weston and Raimundo Lopes de Oliveira, X-ray evolution of the nova V959 Mon suggests a delayed ejection and a non-radiative shock, https://arxiv.org/abs/2007.15702en_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11603/19639
dc.language.isoen_USen_US
dc.relation.isAvailableAtThe University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC)
dc.relation.ispartofUMBC Center for Space Sciences and Technology
dc.relation.ispartofUMBC Faculty Collection
dc.relation.ispartofUMBC Physics Department
dc.rightsThis item is likely protected under Title 17 of the U.S. Copyright Law. Unless on a Creative Commons license, for uses protected by Copyright Law, contact the copyright holder or the author.
dc.titleX-ray evolution of the nova V959 Mon suggests a delayed ejection and a non-radiative shocken_US
dc.typeTexten_US

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