# Mass Transfer Processes in Classical Nova Systems Around Their Outburst Events and Beyond

novae, cataclysmic variables — stars: evolution — stars: individuals (V1974 Cyg, V1425 Aql, DN Gem) — white dwarfs   

Dissertation Summary

Electronic mail: ar@astro.keele.ac.uk; Thesis work conducted at: Dept. of Physics and Astron., Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, 69978, Israel; Ph.D. Thesis directed by: Prof. Elia Leibowitz; Ph.D. Degree awarded: 1999

A continuous photometric study of 12 novae was carried out for more than 365 nights during the past four years at the Wise Observatory in a motivation to extend our knowledge on these systems. Table 1 presents a summary of the observations and the main results.

It was believed that the accretion disc is destroyed by the nova outburst, and that it takes only a few decades for the disc to reform. The main aim of the project was, therefore, to try to find observational evidence for the presence of an accretion disc within the binary nova system shortly after its outburst event. Positive results were found in one case (permanent superhumps in Nova V1974 Cygni 1992 - Retter A., Leibowitz E.M., Ofek E.O., 1997, MNRAS, 286, 745), and most probably in another case (the classification of Nova V1425 Aql 1995 as an intermediate polar system - Retter A., Leibowitz E.M., Kovo-Kariti O., 1998, MNRAS, 293, 145). In addition, we used the Eccentric Disc model in order to derive the binary parameters of Nova V1974 Cygni 1992 (Retter et al. 1997).

Further use of the theory and simple assumptions lead to a prediction for the future of superhumps in classical nova systems, and in particular for the permanent superhumps in Nova V1974 Cygni 1992 (Retter A., Leibowitz E.M., 1998, MNRAS, 296, L37). They will either continue to prevail in its light curve, while the brightness of the nova stays well above its pre-outburst level, or the system will continue to decay and eventually evolve into a regular SU UMa system, with superhumps appearing only during superoutbursts.

The detection of permanent superhumps in Nova Cygni 1992 and the observed evolution of two other old classical novae - V603 Aquilae 1918 and CP Puppis 1942 - lead us to suggest that non-magnetic short-period nova systems are the progenitors of permanent superhump systems, which later in their life-time might evolve into SU UMa systems (Retter & Leibowitz, 1998).

We also found a photometric period in the light curve of Nova DN Gem 1912, and proposed that it is the orbital period of the binary system (Retter A., Leibowitz E.M., Naylor T., 1999, MNRAS, accepted). This interpretation makes DN Gem the fourth nova inside the period gap distribution of cataclysmic variables, and it bolsters the idea that there is no gap for classical novae. However, the small number of known nova periods is still too poor to establish this idea statistically. We further argued that the modulation is driven by an irradiation effect.

We also detected periodic variations in Nova V705 Cas 1993 (Retter A., Leibowitz E.M., 1995, IAUC, 6234; Leibowitz E.M. et al., in preparation), and in Nova Sgr 1998 (Lipkin Y., Retter A., Leibowitz E.M., 1998, IAUC, 6963). The observations of Nova Aql 1993 and Nova Oph 1994 revealed a possible photometric period in each. The reduction and analysis of the data of both novae are under way. Irregular variations were found in the light curves of Nova Cas 1995, DM Gem and RW UMi. In 1997, I lead an international photometric campaign on Nova V1974 Cyg 1992. These data are being analyzed.