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DOE OSTI2016

X-ray flashes in recurrent novae: M31N 2008-12A and the implications of the Swift nondetection

Models of nova outbursts suggest that an X-ray flash should occur just after hydrogen ignition. However, this X-ray flash has never been observationally confirmed. We present four theoretical light curves of the X-ray flash for two very massive white dwarfs (WDs) of 1.380 and 1.385 M{sub ⊙} and for two recurrence periods of 0.5 and 1 yr. The duration of the X-ray flash is shorter for a more massive WD and for a longer recurrence period. The shortest duration of 14 hr (0.6 days) among the four cases is obtained for the 1.385 M{sub ⊙} WD with a 1 yr recurrence period. In general, a nova explosion is relatively weak for a very short recurrence period, which results in a rather slow evolution toward the optical peak. This slow timescale and the predictability of very short recurrence period novae give us a chance to observe X-ray flashes of recurrent novae. In this context, we report the first attempt, using the Swift observatory, to detect an X-ray flash of the recurrent nova M31N 2008-12a (0.5 or 1 yr recurrence period), which resulted in the nondetection of X-ray emission during the period of 8 days before the optical detection. We discuss the impact of these observations on nova outburst theory. The X-ray flash is one of the last frontiers of nova studies, and its detection is essential for understanding the pre-optical-maximum phase. We encourage further observations.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

OGLE ATLAS OF CLASSICAL NOVAE. II. MAGELLANIC CLOUDS

The population of classical novae in the Magellanic Clouds was poorly known because of a lack of systematic studies. There were some suggestions that nova rates per unit mass in the Magellanic Clouds were higher than in any other galaxy. Here, we present an analysis of data collected over 16 years by the OGLE survey with the aim of characterizing the nova population in the Clouds. We found 20 eruptions of novae, half of which are new discoveries. We robustly measure nova rates of 2.4 ± 0.8 yr{sup −1} (LMC) and 0.9 ± 0.4 yr{sup −1} (SMC) and confirm that the K-band luminosity-specific nova rates in both Clouds are 2–3 times higher than in other galaxies. This can be explained by the star formation history in the Magellanic Clouds, specifically the re-ignition of the star formation rate a few Gyr ago. We also present the discovery of the intriguing system OGLE-MBR133.25.1160, which mimics recurrent nova eruptions.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Hydrogen Burning of 29 Si and Its Impact on Presolar Stardust Grains from Classical Novae

Abstract Presolar stardust grains found in primitive meteorites are believed to retain the isotopic composition of stellar outflows at the time of grain condensation. Therefore, laboratory measurements of their isotopic ratios represent sensitive probes for investigating open questions related to stellar evolution, stellar explosions, nucleosynthesis, mixing mechanisms, dust formation, and galactic chemical evolution. For a few selected presolar grains, classical novae have been discussed as a potential source. For SiC, silicate, and graphite presolar grains, the association is based on the observation of small N ( 12 C)/ N ( 13 C) and N ( 14 N)/ N ( 15 N) number abundance ratios compared to solar values, and abundance excesses in 30 Si relative to 29 Si, as previously predicted by models of classical novae. We report on a direct measurement of the 29 Si(p, γ ) 30 P reaction, which strongly impacts simulated δ 29 Si values from classical novae. Our new experimental 29 Si(p, γ ) 30 P thermonuclear reaction rate differs from previous results by up to 50% in the classical nova temperature range ( T = 100–400 MK), while the rate uncertainty is reduced by up to a factor of 3. Using our new reaction rate in Monte Carlo reaction network and hydrodynamic simulations of classical novae, we estimate δ 29 Si values with much reduced uncertainties. Our results establish δ 29 Si values measured in presolar grains as a sensitive probe for assessing their classical nova paternity. We also demonstrate that δ 30 Si values from nova simulations are currently not a useful diagnostic tool unless the large uncertainty of the 30 P(p, γ ) 31 S reaction rate can be significantly reduced.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

THE {sup 7}Be ii RESONANCE LINES IN TWO CLASSICAL NOVAE V5668 SGR AND V2944 OPH

We report spectroscopic observations of the resonance lines of singly ionized {sup 7}Be in the blueshifted absorption line systems found in the post-outburst spectra of two classical novae—V5668 Sgr (Nova Sagittarii 2015 No. 2) and V2944 Oph (Nova Ophiuchi 2015). The unstable isotope {sup 7}Be should have been created during the thermonuclear runaway (TNR) of these novae and decayed to form {sup 7}Li within a short period (a half-life of 53.22 days). These confirmations of {sup 7}Be are the second and the third ones following the first case found in V339 Del by Tajitsu et al. The blueshifted absorption line systems in both novae are clearly divided into two velocity components, both of which contain {sup 7}Be. This means that the absorbing gases in both velocity components consist of products of TNR. We estimated the amounts of {sup 7}Be produced during the outbursts of both novae and concluded that significant {sup 7}Li should have been created. These findings strongly suggest that the explosive production of {sup 7}Li via the reaction {sup 3}He(α,γ){sup 7}Be and its subsequent decay to {sup 7}Li occurs frequently among classical novae and contributes to the process of Galactic Li enrichment.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

DAQ Software Contributions, Absolute Scale Energy Calibration and Background Evaluation for the NOvA Experiment at Fermilab

The NOvA (NuMI Off-axis v e [nu_e] Appearance) Experiment is a long-baseline accelerator neutrino experiment currently in its second year of operations. NOvA uses the Neutrinos from the Main Injector (NuMI) beam at Fermilab, and there are two main off-axis detectors: a Near Detector at Fermilab and a Far Detector 810 km away at Ash River, MN. The work reported herein is in support of the NOvA Experiment, through contributions to the development of data acquisition software, providing an accurate, absolute-scale energy calibration for electromagnetic showers in NOvA detector elements, crucial to the primary electron neutrino search, and through an initial evaluation of the cosmic background rate in the NOvA Far Detector, which is situated on the surface without significant overburden. Additional support work for the NOvA Experiment is also detailed, including DAQ Server Administration duties and a study of NOvA’s sensitivity to neutrino oscillations into a “sterile” state.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Constructing Data-Driven Predictions at the Far Detector for NOvA's Neutrino Oscillation Analysis.

NOvA, is a two-detector, long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiment located at Fermilab, Batavia, IL, USA. It is designed primarily to constrain neutrino oscillation parameters using $\nu_\mu \ (\bar{\nu}_\mu)$ disappearance and $\nu_e \ (\bar{\nu}_e)$ appearance data. The Neutrinos at Main Injector (NuMI) beamline at Fermilab provides a high purity 900 KW intense beam of neutrinos and anti-neutrinos to NOvA. The NOvA Near Detector, located 100m underground and 1km away from the beam source, observes the un-oscillated $\nu_\mu \ (\bar{\nu}_\mu)$ and beam $\nu_e \ (\bar{\nu}_e)$ event spectrum. The Far Detector, located in Ash River, MN, USA, is 809 km from the ND and records the oscillated $\nu_e \ (\bar{\nu}_e)$ and the un-oscillated $\nu_\mu \ (\bar{\nu}_\mu)$ event spectrum. NOvA uses a data-driven technique called extrapolation to predict the expected number of $\nu_\mu \ (\bar{\nu}_\mu)$ and $\nu_e \ (\bar{\nu}_e)$ events at the Far Detector using the Near Detector data. The use of data from a functionally equivalent Near Detector provides a powerful constraint on the systematic uncertainties in NOvA neutrino oscillation analyses. As NOvA continues to add data statistics, a robust constraint on systematics becomes more crucial for neutrino oscillation analysis. The details of the NOvA neutrino oscillation analysis framework and how it constrains dominant systematic uncertainties using the Near Detector data will be discussed in this poster.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Bayesian Fit to NOvA Data Subsamples for Three Flavor Oscillation Analysis

NOvA (NuMI Off-Axis $\nu_e$ Appearance) is a long baseline neutrino experiment designed to measure the oscillation of muon neutrinos to electron neutrinos over a distance of 810 km. NOvA uses a near and far detector to observe $\nu_\mu$ disappearance and $\nu_e$ appearance of neutrinos produced by the NuMI beam at Fermilab. NOvA uses a Bayesian analysis framework in addition to its Frequentist method to measure neutrino oscillation parameters such as the mixing angles, mass ordering, and CP-violating phase. We report preliminary results of Bayesian fits to representative NOvA datasets. Comparison of fits to $\nu_\mu$ disappearance and $\nu_e$ appearance enables a cross-check of NOvA results with reactor $\bar{\nu_e}$ disappearance measurements. NOvA also searches for violation of Lorentz invariance by analyzing fits of forward horn current (FHC) versus reverse horn current (RHC) samples. The results validate and advance NOvA's contributions to precision measurements of neutrino properties.

Zhao, Larry [Fermilab]↗
NASA NTRS1978

A hydrodynamic study of a slow nova outburst

The paper reports use of a Lagrangian implicit hydrodynamics computer code incorporating a full nuclear-reaction network to follow a thermonuclear runaway in the hydrogen-rich envelope of a 1.25 solar-mass white dwarf. In this evolutionary sequence the envelope was assumed to be of normal (solar) composition and the resulting outburst closely resembles that of the slow nova HR Del. In contrast, previous CNO-enhanced models resemble fast nova outbursts. The slow-nova model ejects material by radiation pressure when the high luminosity of the rekindled hydrogen shell source exceeds the local Eddington luminosity of the outer layers. This is in contrast to the fast nova outburst where ejection is caused by the decay of the beta(+)-unstable nuclei. Nevertheless, radiation pressure probably plays a major role in ejecting material from the fast nova remnants. Therefore, the sequence from slow to fast novae can be interpreted as a sequence of white dwarfs with increasing amounts of enhanced CNO nuclei in their hydrogen envelopes, although other parameters such as the white-dwarf mass and accretion rate probably contribute to the observed variation between novae.

Sparks, W. M.↗
NASA NTRS1984

The mysterious 10 micron emission feature in the spectrum of Nova Aquilae 1982

Broad-band 1.2-23 micron photometry and 1 percent resolution 7-14 micron spectrophotometry of Nova Aql 1982 are presented. This nova developed similarly to other dusty novae in that the appearance of thermal infrared emission from a circumstellar dust shell was coincident with a downward transition at visual wavelengths. A strong 10 micron emission feature appeared in the spectrum of Nova Aql 1982 during the dust shell development phase. This feature was not entirely similar to emission features previously observed in other stars with circumstellar shells. The contrast of the nova's 10 micron feature was larger than those observed in the SiC-rich shells of carbon stars. On the other hand, although the nova emission feature was reminiscent of the 10 micron silicate emission feature observed in oxygen-rich supergiants, it peaked at a slightly longer wavelength and there was no corresponding 20 micron emission feature. The contrast of the feature increased with time. It is concluded that an anomalous dust grain component, tentatively identified as SiC, nucleated and grew in the circumstellar shell of Nova Aql 1982.

Ney, E. P.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Novae as distance indicators

It is shown that nova shells are characteristically prolate with equatorial bands and polar caps. Failure to take this geometry into consideration can lead to large errors in expansion parallaxes for individual novae. Extinction in the bulge of M31 is investigated by projecting Arp's and Rosino's novae onto a composite B - 6200 A color map of the bulge. Of the 86 novae, 32 project onto a smooth background with no underlying structure due to the presence of a dust cloud along the line of sight. The distribution of maximum magnitudes versus fade rates for these 'unreddened' novae is indistinguishable from the distribution for the entire set of novae. It is concluded that novae suffer very little extinction from the filamentary and patchy distribution of dust seen in the bulge of M31.

Ford, Holland C.↗
NASA NTRS1990

The H-alpha light curves of novae in M31

H-alpha and B light curves are presented for 11 M31 novae, four of which were well observed near maximum. These data, along with the H-alpha light curves of two Galactic novae, demonstrate that a nova's maximum H-alpha flux occurs days or weeks after its continuum maximum at a monochromatic intensity 1-2 magnitudes above its peak flux in B. Moreover, after this maximum is achieved, a typical nova will radiate a third as many photons in H-alpha as in the entire B bandpass. The most interesting part of a nova's H-alpha light curve, however, is its decline. It is found that, regardless of a nova's speed, its H-alpha decay rate after maximum is almost identical to its decay rate in B. This behavior suggests that most of a nova's optical luminosity during early decline is continuum emission from the nebula, rather than direct radiation from the central source.

Ciardullo, Robin↗
NASA NTRS1990

IUE observations of galactic and extragalactic recurrent novae

A collection of International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) light curves and sample spectra for the galactic recurrent novae observed in the ultraviolet are presented. These data are compared to that of the Nova LMC (Large Magellanic Cloud) 1990 number 2 which is shown to also be a recurrent novae. Based on the analysis of the outburst of N LMC 1990 number 2 it is suggested that all of the recurrent novae observed in the ultraviolet have luminosities at maximum light which exceed the Eddington limit. V745 Sco and RS Oph, the two recurrent novae with late type giant companions, show strong Mg II throughout the outburst. Those with low luminosity companions, U Sco and V394 CrA do not show Mg II but do show strong He II 1640 earlier in the outburst. Typical emission line velocities are greater than those observed in many of the classical novae. These characteristics suggest that the white dwarfs in recurrent novae systems are close to the Chandrasekhar limit.

Shore, Steven N.↗
NASA NTRS1991

IRAS observations of classical novae. II - Modeling the detections

The analysis of IRAS data on 64 classical novae extracted since an initial study of 41 novae (Harrison and Gehrz, 1988) is reported, and it is concluded that 45 of the 105 novae investigated were detected by IRAS. A model is presented that compares the IRAS detections of novae with predictions of the strength of the far-infrared forbidden line emission from the gaseous ejecta. The distances are known for 23 of the 45 detected novae so that this sample of 23 can be used to compare the fluxes observed at earth with fluxes predicted by the line emission model. The fluxes from 9 of these 23 novae can be explained by line emission given relatively conservative assumptions about the physical conditions in their shells. Accepting more extreme values for these parameters makes it possible to attribute three more detections to possible line emission. There are 11 novae whose IRAS detections remain difficult to explain, even when dust emission and free-free emission are considered as alternatives to line emission.

Harrison, T. E.↗
NASA NTRS1992

An observational case against nova hibernation

We use WHT spectroscopy and imaging to show that nova Vul 1670 (= CK Vul) has been incorrectly identified, and thus its luminosity cannot be used as evidence that novae fade into a 'hibernation' phase within 300 yr of their outbursts. INT spectroscopy is used to correct the magnitude of nova Sge 1783 (= WY Sge) for inclination, this result also implying that novae do not fade significantly. We therefore suggest that, while novae decline in the first 60 yr after outburst, thereafter their luminosity remains constant, and they never undergo a 'hibernation' phase. We show that this idea is consistent with the space density of novae and novalike variables, the outburst interval of SS Cyg and the current luminosities of old novae.

Naylor, T.↗
NASA NTRS1995

The evolutionary thermal response of a white dwarf to compressional heating by periodic dwarf nova accretion events

The thermal response of the underlying white dwarf in a cataclysmic variable to the periodic deposition of mass by a dwarf nova accretion event is simulated with a quasi-static stellar evolution code incorporating time variable accretion. After accretion at rates typical of dwarf nova outbursts (approx. 10(exp -7) to 10(exp -8)/yr) for outburst durations of days to 2 weeks, the radial infall is shut off and the evolution of the white dwarf is followed during dwarf nova quiescence. The matter is assumed to accrete softly with the same entropy as the white dwarf outer layers. In some sequences accretion is resumed and shut off repeatedly at intervals of months to simulate the thermal evolution of the white dwarf in typical dwarf novae such as SS Cygni and U Geminorum, between successive dwarf nova outbursts. Thermal timescales for white dwarf cooling following a given dwarf nova outburst depend upon the accretion rate, outburst duration, and white dwarf mass; they are nominally in the range 0.2-0.8 years for parameters typical of dwarf novae (white dwarf masses in the range 1.2-0.6 solar mass, outburst accretion rates in the range 1 x 10(exp -7)-10(exp -8) solar mass/yr, outburst durations in the range 7-14, days and quiescent intervals of 30-300 days). If the e-folding timescale of the white dwarf cooling is shorter than the quiescent interval bewteen outbursts, then the effect of compressional heating is too small to be observationally detectable.

Sion, Edward M.↗
NASA NTRS1997

Gamma Rays from Classical Novae

NASA at the University of Chicago, provided support for a program of theoretical research into the nature of the thermonuclear outbursts of the classical novae and their implications for gamma ray astronomy. In particular, problems which have been addressed include the role of convection in the earliest stages of nova runaway, the influence of opacity on the characteristics of novae, and the nucleosynthesis expected to accompany nova outbursts on massive Oxygen-Neon-Magnesium (ONeMg) white dwarfs. In the following report, I will identify several critical projects on which considerable progress has been achieved and provide brief summaries of the results obtained:(1) two dimensional simulation of nova runaway; (2) nucleosynthesis of nova modeling; and (3) a quasi-analytic study of nucleosynthesis in ONeMg novae.

Source record↗
DOE OSTI2025

Measuring the Muon Neutrino Magnetic Moment in the NOvA Near Detector

Measuring an enhanced neutrino magnetic moment would be a clear indication of physics beyond the Standard Model, shedding light on the correct beyond Standard Model theory or the potential Majorana nature of neutrinos. It would manifest in the NOvA near detector as an excess of neutrino-on-electron elastic scattering interactions at low electron recoil energies. Leveraging an intense and highly pure muon neutrino beam, along with a finely segmented liquid scintillator detector technology specifically designed for electromagnetic shower separation, enables NOvA to achieve a potentially world-leading sensitivity in probing the effective muon neutrino magnetic moment. This analysis, based on neutrino data collected between 2014 and 2021, corresponding to an exposure of $13.8\times10^{20}$ protons-on-target, yields a result consistent with the Standard Model-only hypothesis with a p-value of 0.31. An upper limit on the effective muon neutrino magnetic moment is set at $\mu_{\nu_\mu}<19.1\times 10^{-10}\mu_B$ at $90\%$ confidence level. Despite facing statistical limitations stemming from low cross section of the signal process, systematic uncertainties have a significant impact on this result. To address these challenges, the NOvA Test Beam experiment focuses on mitigating some of the largest systematic uncertainties within NOvA by investigating particle interactions and energy deposition in a small-scale replica NOvA detector. This thesis describes the calibration of the NOvA Test Beam detector, which is a crucial step in analysing the Test Beam data before they can be utilised to reduce NOvA systematic uncertainties.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Measurements of three-flavor neutrino oscillations from a PISCES two-detector fit to the NOvA Experiment data

NOvA is a long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiment with two functionally identical detectors: a Near Detector (ND) at Fermilab, placed 1 km from the neutrino source, and a Far Detector (FD) located 810 km away from the ND in Minnesota. NOvA s primary physics goals are to measure the neutrino oscillation parameters $\theta_{23}$ and $\Delta m^2_{32}$ with high precision, determine the neutrino mass hierarchy, and constrain the value of $\delta_{CP}$, primarily via the study of muon neutrino to electron neutrino oscillation. Extracting values for oscillation parameters from fits to data usually relies on treating systematic uncertainties as nuisance parameters, a strategy that suffers from poor scalability as the number of uncertainties becomes larger. This work introduces PISCES (Parameter Inference with Systematic Covariance and Exact Statistics), a novel method that circumvents this scalability problem by encoding systematic uncertainties into a covariance matrix. PISCES utilizes a nested minimization in which optimal systematic pulls are first computed using the covariance matrix in an inner minimization step, then the oscillation parameters are profiled over in the outer minimization. PISCES also uses a Poisson Likelihood term, making it ideal for the inclusion of low-statistic samples in the fits. PISCES is a flexible framework that also supports complex fits, such as a joint Near and Far detector fit. In the standard NOvA analysis, oscillation parameters are extracted using an extrapolation technique in which the ND data indirectly constrain the FD prediction via a ratio method. PISCES, on the other hand, enables a simultaneous ND+FD fit, allowing the high-statistics ND data to directly constrain systematic uncertainties across all samples. This thesis presents the full PISCES joint ND+FD fit for the NOvA three-flavor analysis, details its implementation, and evaluates its performance through extensive robustness tests and fake data studies. It also provides a comparison between the PISCES joint ND+FD results and the standard NOvA extrapolation method using the full NOvA 10-year data set. The results demonstrate that PISCES can successfully fit NOvA data while incorporating the constraints from the ND detectors consistently, using physically motivated systematic uncertainties to account for data/MC discrepancies.

Rajaoalisoa, Miriama [Cincinnati U.]↗