The symbiotic recurrent nova V745 Sco at radio wavelengths

Abstract

V745 Sco is a Galactic symbiotic recurrent nova with nova eruptions in 1937, 1989, and 2014. We study the behaviour of V745 Sco at radio wavelengths (0.6–37 GHz), covering both its 1989 and 2014 eruptions and informed by optical, X-ray, and γ -ray data. The radio light curves are synchrotron-dominated. Surprisingly, compared to expectations for synchrotron emission from explosive transients such as radio supernovae, the light curves spanning 0.6–37 GHz all peak around the same time (∼18–26 d after eruption) and with similar flux densities (5–9 mJy). We model the synchrotron light curves as interaction of the nova ejecta with the red giant wind, but find that simple spherically symmetric models with wind-like circumstellar material (CSM) cannot explain the radio light curve. Instead, we conclude that the shock suddenly breaks out of a dense CSM absorbing screen around 20 d after eruption, and then expands into a relatively low-density wind (Mout ≈ 10⁻⁹–10⁻⁸ M yr⁻¹ for vw = 10 km s⁻¹) out to ∼1 yr post-eruption. The dense, close-in CSM may be an equatorial density enhancement or a more spherical red giant wind with M˙ᵢₙ ≈ [5–10] × 10⁻⁷ M yr⁻¹, truncated beyond several ×10¹⁴ cm. The outer lower-density CSM would not be visible in typical radio observations of Type Ia supernovae: V745 Sco cannot be ruled out as a Type Ia progenitor based on CSM constraints alone. Complementary constraints from the free–free radio optical depth and the synchrotron luminosity imply the shock is efficient at accelerating relativistic electrons and amplifying magnetic fields, with e and B ≈ 0.01–0.1.