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Recurrence of Nova Explosions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 April 2016

Kyoji Nariai
Affiliation:
Tokyo Astronomical Observatory, University of Tokyo
Ken’ichi Nomoto
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, Ibaraki University

Extract

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It has been shown by many computations that a nova explosion is triggered by mass accretion onto a white dwarf in a close binary system. Such nova explosions will recur many times in the following way. When a certain amount of hydrogen-rich gas has been accreted on the white dwarf, a hydrogen-shell flash is ignited. Then the hydrogen-rich envelope expands greatly, which, in some cases, grows into a nova explosion. Almost all envelope mass is ejected into space or at least overflows its Roche lobe. After that the mass of the envelope increases again by accretion and the shell flash is ignited again. The period of such recurrence is given by τrec = ΔMH/(dM/dt), where dM/dt and ΔMH are the rate of accretion and the mass contained in the hydrogen-rich envelope at the ignition point.

Type
Abstracts of Workshop Papers on Novae
Copyright
Copyright © The University of Rochester 1979