Abstract Details
| Name: Judhajeet Basu Affiliation: Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bangalore Conference ID: ASI2025_147 Title : “Shock”-ing results from M31: Detailed analysis of the slow classical nova AT2023tkw (GIT20230919aa) Authors and Co-Authors : Judhajeet Basu (1, 2), Ravi Kumar (3), G.C. Anupama (1), Sudhanshu Barway (1), Peter H. Hauschildt (4), Shatakshi Chamoli (1, 2), Vishwajeet Swain (5), Varun Bhalero (5), Igor Andreoni (6), Kaustav K. Das (7), Viraj Karambelkar (7), Mansi Kasliwal (7), Avinash Singh (8), Rishabh Singh Teja (1, 2) Abstract Type : Oral Abstract Category : High Energy Phenomena, Fundamental Physics and Astronomy Abstract : Novae are cataclysmic thermonuclear runaway explosions on the surface of white dwarfs accreting matter from a secondary star. Observable signatures include an increase in brightness up to several orders of magnitude across the UVOIR spectrum followed by a decline, characteristic of each nova. Recent studies have demonstrated the power of shocks in driving novae light curves. We present the slowly evolving classical nova in M31, AT 2023tkw, discovered and classified using optical facilities in India and the USA. The successive lightcurve peaks, occurring at increasing intervals, are likely due to a series of internal shocks generated near or within the photosphere. Through spectroscopic and photometric observations, we attribute the observed behavior to shock-induced heating events leading to the expansion and contraction of the photosphere, which led to multiple episodes of mass ejection (Basu et al., submitted). Photoionization models revealed a high ejecta mass, consistent with a slow nova. Eruption observations, together with HST archival data, helped identify the secondary star and shed light on the white dwarf characteristics, accretion properties, and recurrence timescales of the M31 nova. |