We present a catalog of 93 very-well-observed nova light curves. The light curves were constructed from 229,796 individual measured magnitudes, with the median coverage extending to 8.0 mag below ...peak and 26% of the light curves following the eruption all the way to quiescence. Our time-binned light curves are presented in figures and as complete tabulations. We also calculate and tabulate many properties about the light curves, including peak magnitudes and dates, times to decline by 2, 3, 6, and 9 mag from maximum, the time until the brightness returns to quiescence, the quiescent magnitude, power-law indices of the decline rates throughout the eruption, the break times in this decline, plus many more properties specific to each nova class. We present a classification system for nova light curves based on the shape and the time to decline by 3 mag from the peak (t 3). The designations are 'S' for smooth light curves (38% of the novae), 'P' for plateaus (21%), 'D' for dust dips (18%), 'C' for cusp-shaped secondary maxima (1%), 'O' for quasi-sinusoidal oscillations superposed on an otherwise smooth decline (4%), 'F' for flat-topped light curves (2%), and 'J' for jitters or flares superposed on the decline (16%). Our classification consists of this single letter followed by the t 3 value in parentheses; so, for example, V1500 Cyg is S(4), GK Per is O(13), DQ Her is D(100), and U Sco is P(3).
Abstract
HD 163296 is a Herbig Ae star that underwent a dramatic ∼0.8 magnitude drop in brightness in the
V
photometric band in 2001 and a brightening in the near-IR in 2002. Because the star ...possesses Herbig–Haro objects traveling in outflowing bipolar jets, it was suggested that the drop in brightness was due to a clump of dust entrained in a disk wind, blocking the line of sight toward the star. In order to quantify this hypothesis, we investigated the brightness drop at visible wavelengths and the brightening at near-IR wavelengths of HD 163296 using the Monte Carlo Radiative Transfer Code,
HOCHUNK3D
. We created three models to understand the events. Model 1 describes the quiescent state of the system. Model 2 describes the change in structure that led to the drop in brightness in 2001. Model 3 describes the structure needed to produce the observed 2002 brightening of the near-IR wavelengths. Models 2 and 3 utilize a combination of a disk wind and central bipolar flow. By introducing a filled bipolar cavity in Models 2 and 3, we were able to successfully simulate a jet-like structure for the star with a disk wind and created the drop and subsequent increase in brightness of the system. On the other hand, when the bipolar cavity is not filled, Model 1 replicates the quiescent state of the system.
We present the light curve of the old nova V603 Aql (Nova Aql 1918) from 1898-1918 and 1934-2013 using 22, 721 archival magnitudes. All of our magnitudes are either in, or accurately transformed ...into, the Johnson B and V magnitude systems. This is vital because offsets in old sequences and the visual-to-V transformation can cause errors of 0.1-1.0 mag if not corrected. Our V603 Aql light curve is the first time that this has been done for any nova. Our goal was to see the evolution of the mass accretion rate on a century timescale, and to test the long-standing prediction of the Hibernation model that old novae should be fading significantly in the century after their eruption is over. The 1918 nova eruption was completely finished by 1938 when the nova decline stopped, and when the star had faded to fainter than its pre-nova brightness of B = 11.43 + or - 0.03 mag. We find that the nova light from 1938 to 2013 was significantly fading, with this being seen consistently in three independent data sets (the Sonneberg plates in B, the American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO) V light curve, and the non-AAVSO V light curve). We find that V603 Aql has been declining in brightness at an average rate of 0.44 + or - 0.04 mag per century since 1938. This work provides remarkable confirmation of an important prediction of the Hibernation model.
We present ∼800 days of photometric monitoring of Boyajian's Star (KIC 8462852) from the All-Sky Automated Survey for Supernovae (ASAS-SN) and ∼4000 days of monitoring from the All Sky Automated ...Survey (ASAS). We show that from 2015 to the present the brightness of Boyajian's Star has steadily decreased at a rate of 6.3 1.4 mmag yr−1, such that the star is now 1.5% fainter than it was in 2015 February. Moreover, the longer time baseline afforded by ASAS suggests that Boyajian's Star has also undergone two brightening episodes in the past 11 years, rather than only exhibiting a monotonic decline. We analyze a sample of ∼1000 comparison stars of similar brightness located in the same ASAS-SN field and demonstrate that the recent fading is significant at 99.4% confidence. The 2015-2017 dimming rate is consistent with that measured with Kepler data for the time period from 2009 to 2013. This long-term variability is difficult to explain with any of the physical models for the star's behavior proposed to date.
We present data from the archival plates at Harvard College Observatory and Sonneberg Observatory showing the field of the solar-type pre-main-sequence star GM Cep. A total of 186 magnitudes of GM ...Cep have been measured on these archival plates, with 176 in blue sensitivity, six in visible, and four in red. We combine our data with data from the literature and from the American Association of Variable Star Observers to depict the long-term light curves of GM Cep in both B and V wavelengths. The light curves span from 1895 until now, with two densely sampled regions (1935-1945 in the B band, and 2006 until now in the V band). The long-term light curves do not show any fast rise behavior as predicted by an accretion mechanism. Both the light curves and the magnitude histograms confirm the conclusion that the light curves are dominated by dips (possibly from extinction) superposed on some quiescence state, instead of outbursts caused by accretion flares. Our result excludes the possibility of GM Cep being a FUor, EXor, or McNeil's Nebula-type star. Several special cases of T Tauri stars were checked, but none of these light curves were compatible with that of GM Cep. The lack of periodicity in the light curve excludes the possibility of GM Cep being a KH 15D system.
In 1975, E. R. Robinson conducted the hallmark study of the behavior of classical nova light curves before eruption, and this work has now become part of the standard knowledge of novae. He made ...three points: 5 out of 11 novae showed pre-eruption rises in the years before eruption, one nova (V446 Her) showed drastic changes in the variability across eruptions, and all but one of the novae (excepting BT Mon) have the same quiescent magnitudes before and after the outburst. This work has not been tested since it came out. We have now tested these results by going back to the original archival photographic plates and measuring large numbers of pre-eruption magnitudes for many novae using comparison stars on a modern magnitude scale. We find in particular that four out of five claimed pre-eruption rises are due to simple mistakes in the old literature, that V446 Her has the same amplitude of variations across its 1960 eruption, and that BT Mon has essentially unchanged brightness across its 1939 eruption. Out of 22 nova eruptions, we find two confirmed cases of significant pre-eruption rises (for V533 Her and V1500 Cyg), while T CrB has a deep pre-eruption dip. These events are a challenge to theorists. We find no significant cases of changes in variability across 27 nova eruptions beyond what is expected due to the usual fluctuations seen in novae away from eruptions. For 30 classical novae plus 19 eruptions from 6 recurrent novae, we find that the average change in magnitude from before the eruption to long after the eruption is 0.0 mag. However, we do find five novae (V723 Cas, V1500 Cyg, V1974 Cyg, V4633 Sgr, and RW UMi) that have significantly large changes, in that the post-eruption quiescent brightness level is over ten times brighter than the pre-eruption level. These large post-eruption brightenings are another challenge to theorists.
We present 13 epochs of near-infrared (0.8-5 mu m) spectroscopic observations of the pre-transitional, "gapped" disk system in SAO 206462. In all, six gas emission lines (Br alpha , Br gamma , ...PaBeta, Pa gamma , Pa delta , Paksi, and the 0.8446 mu m line of O i) along with continuum measurements made near the standard J, H, K, and L photometric bands were measured. A mass accretion rate of approximately 2 x 10-8M yrsup -1 was derived from the Br gamma and PaBeta lines. However, the fluxes of these lines varied by a factor of over two during the course of a few months. The continuum also varied, but by only ~30%, and even decreased at a time when the gas emission was increasing. The H i line at 1.083 mu m was also found to vary in a manner inconsistent with that of either the hydrogen lines or the dust. To further constrain the origin of the gas and dust emission will require multiple spectroscopic and interferometric observations on both shorter and longer timescales that have been sampled so far.
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