Related papers: A Nova Outburst Powered by Shocks
Classical novae are thermonuclear explosions that occur on the surfaces of white dwarf stars in interacting binary systems (Bode & Evans 2008). It has long been thought that the luminosity of classical novae is powered by continued nuclear…
We survey our understanding of classical novae: non-terminal, thermonuclear eruptions on the surfaces of white dwarfs in binary systems. The recent and unexpected discovery of GeV gamma-rays from Galactic novae has highlighted the…
Classical novae are the most common astrophysical thermonuclear explosions, occurring on the surfaces of white dwarf stars accreting gas from companions in binary star systems. Novae typically expel ~10^(-4) solar masses of material at…
A classical nova results from runaway thermonuclear explosions on the surface of a white dwarf that accretes matter from a low-mass main-sequence stellar companion. In 2012 and 2013, three novae were detected in gamma rays and stood in…
Classical novae are cataclysmic binary star systems in which the matter of a companion star is accreted on a white dwarf (WD). Accumulation of hydrogen in a layer eventually causes a thermonuclear explosion on the surface of the WD,…
Novae have been reported as transients for more than two thousand years. Their bright optical outbursts are the result of explosive nuclear burning of gas accreted from a binary companion onto a white dwarf. Novae containing a white dwarf…
Classical novae in the Milky Way have now been well-established as high-energy GeV $\gamma$-ray sources. In novae with main-sequence companions, this emission is believed to result from shocks internal to the nova ejecta, as a later fast…
The unprecedented sky coverage and observing cadence of the All-Sky Automated Survey for SuperNovae (ASAS-SN) has resulted in the discovery and continued monitoring of a large sample of Galactic transients. The vast majority of these are…
Classical and recurrent nova explosions occur on top of white dwarfs accreting H-rich matter from a companion main sequence or red giant star, in a close binary system. In the recent years, since the launch of the Fermi gamma-ray satellite…
I review X-ray observations of classical and recurrent novae in outburst. Significant X-ray flux is emitted by the nova shell, with a peak luminosity up to 10**35 erg/cm**2/s in the 0.2-10 keV range.In recurrent nova systems, or in novae…
The Fermi LAT discovery that classical novae produce >100 MeV gamma-rays establishes that shocks and relativistic particle acceleration are key features of these events. These shocks are likely to be radiative due to the high densities of…
We present one-dimensional hydrodynamical simulations including radiative losses, of internal shocks in the outflows from classical novae, to explore the role of shocks in powering multi-wavelength emission from radio to gamma-ray…
Nova outbursts are the result of strong thermonuclear runaways on the surface of a white dwarf accreting Hydrogen-rich material from a small mass companion. These giant explosions cause the star to increase its brightness by hundreds of…
Detection of X-rays from classical novae, both in outburst and post-outburst, provides unique and crucial information about the explosion mechanism. Soft X-rays reveal the hot white dwarf photosphere, whenever hydrogen (H) nuclear burning…
Gamma-ray emission at energies >100MeV has been detected from nine novae using the Fermi-LAT, and it can be explained by particle acceleration at shocks in these systems. Eight out of these nine objects are classical novae in which…
There have been several surprising developments in our understanding of symbiotic binary stars and nova eruptions over the last decade or so based on multiwavelength data. For example, symbiotic stars without shell burning on their white…
Novae are thermonuclear eruptions on accreting white dwarfs in interacting binaries. Although most of the accreted envelope is expelled, the mechanism -- impulsive ejection, multiple outflows or prolonged winds, or a common-envelope…
Classical novae are the product of thermonuclear runaway-initiated explosions occurring on accreting white dwarfs. V339 Del (Nova Delphinus 2013) was one of the brightest classical novae of the last hundred years. Spectroscopy and…
Nova explosions occur on the white dwarf component of a Cataclysmic Variable binary stellar system that is accreting matter lost by its companion. When sufficient material has been accreted by the white dwarf, a thermonuclear runaway occurs…
There is a wide consensus in the astrophysics community that the mechanism underlying the observed Classical Nova eruptions is a surface thermonuclear runaway. We start this short review with the main observational facts that lead to the…