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| Paper: |
The Potential of the VLTI for Studying Novae |
| Volume: |
401, RS Ophiuchi (2006) and the Recurrent Nova Phenomenon |
| Page: |
231 |
| Authors: |
Chesneau, O. |
| Abstract: |
The Very Large Interferometer (VLTI) offers two instruments, MIDI operating in the mid-IR and AMBER in the near-IR, able to recombine the light of 2 or 3 of the four 8m telescopes (Unit Telescopes, UTs) or 1.8m ones (Auxiliary Telescopes, ATs). Both instruments are well suited to study the first moments of a nova explosion. AMBER is able to resolve spatially a bright (K ∼2-5) near-IR source of a few milliarcsec (mas) with a spectral resolving power of 1500, and MIDI is more adapted to bright (N ∼0-4) dust-forming sources with a spatial resolution of the order of 10 mas in the N band. The outburst of the recurrent nova RS Oph was observed with four arrays worldwide, and among them for the first time the VLTI, representing a unique event in the short history of optical interferometry. The VLTI observed RS Oph with AMBER 5 days and 63 days after the outburst, in medium and low resolution mode, respectively. The richness of the data recorded at day 5 was impressively large and they still require some work on interpretation (see Chesneau et al. 2007). The data recorded at day 63 globally fit in the interpretation of Lane et al. (2007). Recently, another bright nova V1280 Sco was discovered and observed with the VLTI, first with AMBER, then with MIDI when it appeared that the ejecta were forming dust at a fast rate. A short report of these observations is presented. |
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