Lucas, PW, Minniti, D, Kamble, A et al. (18 more authors) (2020) VVV-WIT-01: highly obscured classical nova or protostellar collision? Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 492 (4). pp. 4847-4857. ISSN 0035-8711
Abstract
A search of the first Data Release of the VISTA Variables in the Via Lactea (VVV) Survey discovered the exceptionally red transient VVV-WIT-01 (H − Ks = 5.2). It peaked before March 2010, then faded by ∼9.5 mag over the following 2 yr. The 1.6–22 μm spectral energy distribution in March 2010 was well fit by a highly obscured blackbody with T ∼ 1000 K and AKs∼6.6 mag. The source is projected against the Infrared Dark Cloud (IRDC) SDC G331.062−0.294. The chance projection probability is small for any single event (p ≈ 0.01–0.02), which suggests a physical association, e.g. a collision between low mass protostars. However, blackbody emission at T ∼ 1000 K is common in classical novae (especially CO novae) at the infrared peak in the light curve due to condensation of dust ∼30–60 d after the explosion. Radio follow-up with the Australia Telescope Compact Array detected a fading continuum source with properties consistent with a classical nova but probably inconsistent with colliding protostars. Considering all VVV transients that could have been projected against a catalogued IRDC raises the probability of a chance association to p = 0.13–0.24. After weighing several options, it appears likely that VVV-WIT-01 was a classical nova event located behind an IRDC.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2020 The Author(s). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society. This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society following peer review. The version of record P W Lucas, D Minniti, A Kamble, D L Kaplan, N Cross, I Dekany, V D Ivanov, R Kurtev, R K Saito, L C Smith, M Catelan, N Masetti, I Toledo, M Hempel, M A Thompson, C Contreras Peña, J Forbrich, M Krause, J Dale, J Borissova, J Emerson, VVV-WIT-01: highly obscured classical nova or protostellar collision?, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Volume 492, Issue 4, March 2020, Pages 4847–4857, is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/staa155. |
Keywords: | stars: formation, novae, cataclysmic variables, ISM: clouds, infrared: stars |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Engineering & Physical Sciences (Leeds) > School of Physics and Astronomy (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 11 Jul 2022 13:32 |
Last Modified: | 11 Jul 2022 13:32 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Oxford University Press |
Identification Number: | 10.1093/mnras/staa155 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:188768 |