Abstract
T Coronae Borealis (TCrB) is a recurrent nova with recorded outbursts in 1866 and 1946 and possible outbursts in 1217 and 1787. It is predicted to explode again in 2025 or 2026 based on multiple observational studies. The system consists of a massive (Mwd ≳ 1.35 M⊙) white dwarf (WD) and a red giant (M3-M4 III). We have performed 1D hydrodynamic simulations with NOVA to predict the behavior of the next outburst. These simulations consist of a range of mass accretion rates onto ∼1.35 M⊙ WDs, designed to bound the conditions necessary to achieve ignition of an explosion after an ≈80 yr interoutburst period. We have used both carbon-oxygen and oxygen-neon initial compositions, in order to include the possible ejecta abundances to be measured in the observations of the next outburst. As the WD in the TCrB system is observed to be massive, theoretical predictions reported here imply that the WD is growing in mass as a consequence of the thermonuclear runaway. Therefore, the secular evolution of the WD may allow it to approach the Chandrasekhar limit and either explode as a Type Ia supernova or undergo accretion-induced collapse, depending on its underlying composition. We have followed the evolution of just the WD, after removing the ejected matter from the surface layers. Our intent is to illuminate the mystery of the unique, second maximum in the two well-observed outbursts and we have found conditions that bracket the predictions.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 89 |
| Journal | Astrophysical Journal |
| Volume | 982 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Apr 1 2025 |
Funding
R.M.W. took part in the observations and early simulations for this paper and we are grateful for his help. We are extremely grateful to U. Munari and S. Kenyon for their comments on an early draft, which helped clarify the material in this manuscript. We are also grateful to the anonymous referee for the comments, which also helped improve this manuscript. We acknowledge useful discussion and encouragement from A. Córsico, M. Darnley, E. Aydi, J. José, M. Hernanz, S. Kafka, L. Izzo, P. Molaro, M. della Valle, and A. Shafter. This work was supported in part by the U.S. DOE under Contract No. DE-FG02- 97ER41041. S.S. and M.B. acknowledge partial support from a NASA Emerging Worlds grant to ASU (80NSSC22K0361) as well as support to S.S. from his ASU Regents’ Professorship, This project has received funding [in part] from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation program under grant agreement No. 101079231 (EXOHOST), and from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) under the UK government Horizon Europe funding guarantee (grant No. 10051045). W.R.H. is supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Nuclear Physics, and C.E.W. acknowledges support from NASA. This work has made use of data provided by Digital Access to a Sky Century @ Harvard (DASCH), which has been partially supported by NSF grants AST-0407380, AST-0909073, and AST-1313370. This research made use of the AAVSO Photometric All-Sky Survey (APASS), funded by the Robert Martin Ayers Sciences Fund and NSF AST-1412587. We are extremely grateful to U. Munari and S. Kenyon for their comments on an early draft, which helped clarify the material in this manuscript. We are also grateful to the anonymous referee for the comments, which also helped improve this manuscript. We acknowledge useful discussion and encouragement from A. Córsico, M. Darnley, E. Aydi, J. José, M. Hernanz, S. Kafka, L. Izzo, P. Molaro, M. della Valle, and A. Shafter. This work was supported in part by the U.S. DOE under Contract No. DE-FG02- 97ER41041. S.S. and M.B. acknowledge partial support from a NASA Emerging Worlds grant to ASU (80NSSC22K0361) as well as support to S.S. from his ASU Regents’ Professorship, This project has received funding [in part] from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation program under grant agreement No. 101079231 (EXOHOST), and from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) under the UK government Horizon Europe funding guarantee (grant No. 10051045). W.R.H. is supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Nuclear Physics, and C.E.W. acknowledges support from NASA. This work has made use of data provided by Digital Access to a Sky Century @ Harvard (DASCH), which has been partially supported by NSF grants AST-0407380, AST-0909073, and AST-1313370. This research made use of the AAVSO Photometric All-Sky Survey (APASS), funded by the Robert Martin Ayers Sciences Fund and NSF AST-1412587.