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Paper: V2487 Ophiuchi: A strong candidate for a recurrent nova and a progenitor of Type Ia supernova
Volume: 261, The Physics of Cataclysmic Variables and Related Objects
Page: 629
Authors: Hachisu, I.; Kato, M.; Kato, T.; Matsumoto, K.
Abstract: The light curve of the 1998 outburst of V2487 Ophiuchi (Nova Oph 1998) shows a very rapid decline (t3 ~9 day) and a mid-plateau phase from 10 to 30 days after the optical maximum, which are characteristics common to the U Sco subclass of the recurrent novae. We have numerically reproduced light curves of the 1998 outburst based on a thermonuclear runaway model with optically thick winds. The results show the mass of the white dwarf (WD) is as massive as 1.35 +/- 0.01 Modot; the envelope mass of the WD at the optical maximum is ~6 times 10-6 Modot; the hydrogen content of the WD envelope is as low as X ~0.1 by mass weight. The mass transfer rate in quiescence is roughly estimated to be ~1.5 times 10-7 Modot yr-1 and, therefore, that the recurrence period of nova outbursts is about 40 yr. Since the WD mass may be now growing at a rate of ~2 times 10-8 Modot yr-1, V2487 Oph is a strong candidate for a progenitor of a Type Ia supernova.
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