Nirupam Roy1, Laura Chomiuk1, 2, Jennifer L. Sokoloski3,
Jennifer Weston3, Michael P. Rupen1, Traci Johnson1, 4,
Miriam I. Krauss1, Thomas Nelson5, Koji Mukai6, 7,
Amy Mioduszewski1, Michael F. Bode8, Stewart P. S. Eyres9
and Tim J. O'Brien10
Abstract.
Novae, which are the sudden visual brightening triggered by runaway
thermonuclear burning on the surface of an accreting white dwarf, are fairly
common and bright events. Despite their astronomical significance as nearby
laboratories for the study of nuclear burning and accretion phenomena, many
aspects of these common stellar explosions are observationally not
well-constrained and remain poorly understood. Radio observations, modeling
and interpretation can potentially play a crucial role in addressing some of
these puzzling issues. In this review on radio studies of novae, we focus on
the possibility of testing and improving the nova models with radio
observations, and present a current status report on the progress in both the
observational front and theoretical developments. We specifically address the
issues of accurate estimation of ejecta mass, multi-phase and complex ejection
phenomena, and the effect of a dense environment around novae. With highlights
of new observational results, we illustrate how radio observations can shed
light on some of these long-standing puzzles.
Keywords: novae, cataclysmic variables -- radio continuum: stars -- white dwarfs
1National Radio Astronomy Observatory, P.O. Box O, Socorro, NM 87801 USA
2Department of Physics and Astronomy, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
3Columbia Astrophysics Laboratory, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA
4Physics and Astronomy Department, Carleton College, 1 N. College St., Northfield, MN 55057, USA
5School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Minnesota, 116 Church St. SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
6CRESST and X-ray Astrophysics Laboratory, NASA/GSFC, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
7Center for Space Science and Tech., Univ. of Maryland Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD 21250 USA
8Astrophysics Research Institute, Liverpool John Moores University, Birkenhead, CH41 1LD, UK
9Jeremiah Horrocks Institute, University of Central Lancashire, Preston, PR1 2HE, UK
10Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, UK