Modelling the circumstellar medium in RS Ophiuchi and its link to Type Ia supernovae
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Abstract
Recent interpretations of narrow, variable absorption lines detected in some
Type Ia supernovae suggest that their progenitors are surrounded by dense,
circumstellar material. Similar variations detected in the symbiotic recurrent
nova system RS Oph, which undergoes thermonuclear outbursts every ~20 years,
making it an ideal candidate to investigate the origin of these lines. To this
end, we present simulations of multiple mass transfer-nova cycles in RS Oph. We
find that the quiescent mass transfer produces a dense, equatorial outflow,
i.e., concentrated towards the binary orbital plane, and an accretion disc
forms around the white dwarf. The interaction of a spherical nova outburst with
these aspherical circumstellar structures produces a bipolar outflow, similar
to that seen in HST imaging of the 2006 outburst. In order to produce an
ionization structure that is consistent with observations, a mass-loss rate of
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1365-2966