Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

Binary orbits as the driver of γ-ray emission and mass ejection in classical novae

Nature volume 514, pages 339–342 (2014)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Classical novae are the most common astrophysical thermonuclear explosions, occurring on the surfaces of white dwarf stars accreting gas from companions in binary star systems1. Novae typically expel about 10−4 solar masses of material at velocities exceeding 1,000 kilometres per second. However, the mechanism of mass ejection in novae is poorly understood, and could be dominated by the impulsive flash of thermonuclear energy2, prolonged optically thick winds3 or binary interaction with the nova envelope4. Classical novae are now routinely detected at gigaelectronvolt γ-ray wavelengths5, suggesting that relativistic particles are accelerated by strong shocks in the ejecta. Here we report high-resolution radio imaging of the γ-ray-emitting nova V959 Mon. We find that its ejecta were shaped by the motion of the binary system: some gas was expelled rapidly along the poles as a wind from the white dwarf, while denser material drifted out along the equatorial plane, propelled by orbital motion6,7. At the interface between the equatorial and polar regions, we observe synchrotron emission indicative of shocks and relativistic particle acceleration, thereby pinpointing the location of γ-ray production. Binary shaping of the nova ejecta and associated internal shocks are expected to be widespread among novae8, explaining why many novae are γ-ray emitters5.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Radio light curves and spectra of V959 Mon.
Figure 2: Radio imaging of V959 Mon.
Figure 3: Simple illustration of the 2012 outburst of V959 Mon.

References

  1. Gehrz, R. D., Truran, J. W., Williams, R. E. & Starrfield, S. Nucleosynthesis in classical novae and its contribution to the interstellar medium. Publ. Astron. Soc. Pacif. 110, 3–26 (1998)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  2. Starrfield, S., Truran, J. W., Sparks, W. M. & Kutter, G. S. CNO abundances and hydrodynamic models of the nova outburst. Astrophys. J. 176, 169–176 (1972)

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  3. Kato, M. & Hachisu, I. Optically thick winds in nova outbursts. Astrophys. J. 437, 802–826 (1994)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  4. MacDonald, J. The effect of a binary companion on a nova outburst. Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 191, 933–949 (1980)

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  5. The Fermi-LAT collaboration. Fermi establishes classical novae as a distinct class of γ-ray sources. Science 345, 554–558 (2014)

  6. Soker, N. & Livio, M. Interacting Winds and the shaping of planetary nebulae. Astrophys. J. 339, 268–278 (1989)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  7. Porter, J. M., O’Brien, T. J. & Bode, M. F. On the asphericity of nova remnants caused by rotating white dwarf envelopes. Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 296, 943–948 (1998)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  8. Shankar, A., Livio, M. & Truran, J. W. The common envelope phase in classical novae: one-dimensional models. Astrophys. J. 374, 623–630 (1991)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  9. Dubus, G. Gamma-ray binaries and related systems. Astron. Astrophys. Rev. 21, 64 (2013)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  10. Abdo, A. A. et al. Gamma-ray emission concurrent with the nova in the symbiotic binary V407 Cygni. Science 329, 817–821 (2010)

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  11. Munari, U. et al. Photometric evolution, orbital modulation and progenitor of Nova Mon 2012. Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 435, 771–781 (2013)

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  12. Hoard, D. W. et al. Nova-like cataclysmic variables in the infrared. Astrophys. J. 786, 68 (2014)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  13. Seaquist, E. R. & Bode, M. F. in Classical Novae (eds Bode, M. F. & Evans, A. ) 141–166 (Cambridge Univ. Press, 2008)

    Book  Google Scholar 

  14. Roy, N. et al. Radio studies of novae: a current status report and highlights of new results. Bull. Astron. Soc. India 40, 293–310 (2012)

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  15. Nelson, T. et al. X-ray and UV observations of Nova Mon 2012. Astron. Telegram 4321, (2012)

  16. Seaquist, E. R. et al. A detailed study of the remnant of nova GK Persei and its environs. Astrophys. J. 344, 805–825 (1989)

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  17. O'Brien, T. J. et al. An asymmetric shock wave in the 2006 outburst of the recurrent nova RS Ophiuchi. Nature 442, 279–281 (2006)

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  18. Kantharia, N. G. et al. Rapid rise in the radio synchrotron emission from the recurrent nova system V745 Sco. Astron. Telegram 5962, (2014)

  19. Ribeiro, V. A. R. M., Munari, U. & Valisa, P. Optical morphology, inclination, and expansion velocity of the ejected shell of Nova Monocerotis 2012. Astrophys. J. 768, 49 (2013)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  20. Shore, S. N. et al. The spectroscopic evolution of the γ-ray emitting classical nova Nova Mon 2012. I. Implications for the ONe subclass of classical novae. Astron. Astrophys. 553, A123 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Page, K. L. et al. The 7.1 hr X-ray-ultraviolet-near-infrared period of the γ-ray classical Nova Monocerotis 2012. Astrophys. J. 768, L26 (2013)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  22. Livio, M., Shankar, A., Burkert, A. & Truran, J. W. The common envelope phase in the outbursts of classical novae. Astrophys. J. 356, 250–254 (1990)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  23. Lloyd, H. M., O’Brien, T. J. & Bode, M. F. Shaping of nova remnants by binary motion. Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 284, 137–147 (1997)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  24. Taylor, A. R., Hjellming, R. M., Seaquist, E. R. & Gehrz, R. D. Radio images of the expanding ejecta of nova QU Vulpeculae 1984. Nature 335, 235–238 (1988)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  25. Eyres, S. P. S., Davis, R. J. & Bode, M. F. Nova Cygni 1992 (V1974 Cygni): MERLIN observations from 1992 to 1994. Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 279, 249–256 (1996)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  26. Heywood, I., O'Brien, T. J., Eyres, S. P. S., Bode, M. F. & Davis, R. J. V723 Cas (Nova Cassiopeiae 1995): MERLIN observations from 1996 to 2001. Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 362, 469–474 (2005)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  27. Passy, J. et al. Simulating the common envelope phase of a red giant using smoothed-particle hydrodynamics and uniform-grid codes. Astrophys. J. 744, 52 (2012)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  28. Ivanova, N. et al. Common envelope evolution: where we stand and how we can move forward. Astron. Astrophys. Rev. 21, 59 (2013)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  29. Cheung, C. C., Jean, P. & Shore, S. N. Fermi-LAT γ-ray observations of Nova Centauri 2013. Astron. Telegram 5649, (2013)

  30. Chomiuk, L. et al. Dramatic brightening of Nova Mon 2012 at high radio frequencies. Astron. Telegram 4352, (2012)

  31. Napier, P. J., Thompson, R. & Ekers, R. D. The Very Large Array—design and performance of a modern synthesis radio telescope. Proc. IEEE 71, 1295–1320 (1983)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  32. McMullin, J. P., Waters, B., Schiebel, D., Young, W. & Golap, K. in Astronomical Data Analysis Software and Systems XVI (eds Shaw, R. A., Hill, F. & Bell, D. J. ) 127–130 (ASP Conf. Ser. 376, Astronomical Society of the Pacific, 2007)

    Google Scholar 

  33. Greisen, E. W. in Information Handling in Astronomy—Historical Vistas (ed. Heck, A. ) 109–125 (Astrophys. Space Sci. Library 285, Springer, 2003)

    Book  Google Scholar 

  34. Shepherd, M. C., Pearson, T. J. & Taylor, G. B. DIFMAP: an interactive program for synthesis imaging. Bull. Am. Astron. Soc. 26, 987–989 (1994)

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  35. Briggs, D. S. High fidelity interferometric imaging: robust weighting and NNLS deconvolution. Bull. Am. Astron. Soc. 27, 1444 (1995)

    Google Scholar 

  36. Sault, R. J., Teuben, P. J. & Wright, M. C. H. in Astronomical Data Analysis Software and Systems IV (eds Shaw, R. A., Payne, H. E. & Hayes, J. J. E. ) 433–436 (ASP Conf. Ser. 77, Astronomical Society of the Pacific, 1995)

    Google Scholar 

  37. Fuhrmann, L. et al. Follow-up radio observations of Nova Mon 2012 at 10–142 GHz. Astron. Telegram 4376, (2012)

  38. O’Brien, T. J. et al. Nova Mon 2012 resolved as a double radio source. Astron. Telegram 4408, (2012)

Download references

Acknowledgements

The National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) is a facility of the US National Science Foundation (NSF) operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc. The EVN is a joint facility of European, Chinese, South African and other radio astronomy institutes funded by their respective national research councils. The EVN and e-VLBI research infrastructures were supported by the European Commission Seventh Framework Programme (FP/2007-2013) under grant agreements nos 283393 (RadioNet3) and RI-261525 (NEXPReS). e-MERLIN is operated by The University of Manchester at Jodrell Bank Observatory on behalf of the Science and Technology Facilities Council. The SMA is a joint project between the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory and the Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics. Support for CARMA construction came from the Moore Foundation, the Norris Foundation, the McDonnell Foundation, the Associates of the California Institute of Technology, the University of Chicago, the states of California, Illinois and Maryland, and the NSF. Ongoing CARMA development and operations are supported by the NSF and by the CARMA partner universities. L.C. is a Jansky Fellow of the NRAO. This research received funding from NASA programmes DPR S-15633-Y and 10-FERMI10-C4-0060 (C.C.C.), NASA award NNX13AO91G (T.N.), NSF award AST-1211778 (J.L.S. and J.W.), the South African SKA Project (V.A.R.M.R.) and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (N.R.).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics and Astronomy, Michigan State University, East Lansing, 48824, Michigan, USA

    Laura Chomiuk & Justin D. Linford

  2. Department of Earth and Space Sciences, Chalmers University of Technology, Onsala Space Observatory, SE-439 92 Onsala, Sweden,

    Jun Yang

  3. Joint Institute for VLBI in Europe, Postbus 2, NL-7990 AA Dwingeloo, The Netherlands,

    Jun Yang & Zsolt Paragi

  4. Shanghai Astronomical Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 80 Nandan Road, 200030 Shanghai, China,

    Jun Yang

  5. Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics, Alan Turing Building, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, UK,

    T. J. O’Brien & R. J. Beswick

  6. National Radio Astronomy Observatory, PO Box O, Socorro, 87801, New Mexico, USA

    Amy J. Mioduszewski & Michael P. Rupen

  7. Space Science Division, Naval Research Laboratory, 20375-5352, Washington, DC, USA

    C. C. Cheung

  8. Department of Physics, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, Maryland 21250, USA,

    Koji Mukai

  9. CRESST and X-ray Astrophysics Laboratory, NASA/GSFC, Greenbelt, 20771, Maryland, USA

    Koji Mukai

  10. School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Minnesota, 115 Church Street Southeast, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, USA,

    Thomas Nelson

  11. Department of Astronomy, Astrophysics, Cosmology and Gravity Centre, University of Cape Town, Private Bag X3, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa,

    Valério A. R. M. Ribeiro

  12. National Research Council, Herzberg Astronomy and Astrophysics, 717 White Lake Road, PO Box 248, Penticton, British Columbia V2A 6J9, Canada,

    Michael P. Rupen

  13. Columbia Astrophysics Laboratory, Columbia University, New York, 10027, New York, USA

    J. L. Sokoloski, Jennifer Weston & Yong Zheng

  14. Astrophysics Research Institute, Liverpool John Moores University, IC2, Liverpool Science Park, 146 Brownlow Hill, Liverpool L3 5RF, UK,

    Michael F. Bode

  15. Jeremiah Horrocks Institute for Mathematics, Physics and Astronomy, University of Central Lancashire, Preston PR1 2HE, UK,

    Stewart Eyres

  16. Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie, Auf dem Hügel 69, D-53121 Bonn, Germany,

    Nirupam Roy

  17. Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of New Mexico, MSC07 4220, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87131-0001, USA,

    Gregory B. Taylor

Authors
  1. Laura Chomiuk
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Justin D. Linford
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Jun Yang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. T. J. O’Brien
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Zsolt Paragi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Amy J. Mioduszewski
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. R. J. Beswick
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. C. C. Cheung
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  9. Koji Mukai
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  10. Thomas Nelson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  11. Valério A. R. M. Ribeiro
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  12. Michael P. Rupen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  13. J. L. Sokoloski
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  14. Jennifer Weston
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  15. Yong Zheng
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  16. Michael F. Bode
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  17. Stewart Eyres
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  18. Nirupam Roy
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  19. Gregory B. Taylor
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

L.C. wrote the text. L.C., J.D.L., J.Y., T.J.O., Z.P., A.J.M., C.C.C., R.J.B., T.N., Y.Z., J.W. and G.B.T. obtained and reduced the data. All authors contributed to the interpretation of the data and commented on the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Laura Chomiuk.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing financial interests.

Extended data figures and tables

Extended Data Figure 1 Radio/millimetre spectral evolution of V959 Mon.

Measurements and 1σ uncertainties from select epochs are shown as black points. Power-law or broken power-law fits are overplotted as red lines (the function is chosen to minimize the reduced χ2 value). The best-fit spectral indices are listed in each panel, along with the break frequency (νb) in the case of broken power-law fits.

Extended Data Figure 2 Spectral index map from 2012 October 3 VLBA observations.

The spectral index is measured by comparing images at 1.6 and 5 GHz. Overlaid contours are from the 1.6 GHz Stokes I map. Contour levels are −0.08, 0.08, 0.13, 0.16, 0.23, 0.32 and 0.45 mJy per beam.

Extended Data Figure 3 The expansion of V959 Mon as a function of time.

Semi-major axis (a) and semi-minor axis (b), both in units of milliarcseconds. Measurements at four distinct frequencies are plotted in different colours (see key). Error bars from JMFIT (1σ) are so small that they are not visible. Linear fits are made to each frequency separately, and are plotted as coloured lines.

Extended Data Figure 4 Model fit to the radio/millimetre light curve of V959 Mon.

A simple model of thermal expanding ejecta roughly describes the light curve evolution at day ∼200 and later, and implies an ejected mass of few 10−5 solar masses. Error bars denote 1σ uncertainty.

Extended Data Table 1 VLA observations of V959 Mon
Full size table
Extended Data Table 2 Millimetre observations of V959 Mon
Full size table
Extended Data Table 3 VLBI components of V959 Mon
Full size table

Supplementary information

Supplementary Information

This file contains Supplementary Text and References. (PDF 118 kb)

PowerPoint slides

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Chomiuk, L., Linford, J., Yang, J. et al. Binary orbits as the driver of γ-ray emission and mass ejection in classical novae. Nature 514, 339–342 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature13773

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nature13773

This article is cited by

Comments

By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing