Unified Model of Radio and X-Ray Emission of Nova CI Cam 1998

TL;DR

This paper presents a unified model explaining the radio and X-ray emissions of nova CI Cam 1998 through shock interactions with a complex circumstellar environment, improving agreement with observations.

Contribution

It introduces a model incorporating nonspherical circumstellar medium with bipolar jets and equatorial wind to better match observed emissions.

Findings

Spherical model describes radio shell kinematics but predicts harder X-ray spectrum.

Nonspherical model with bipolar jets and equatorial wind aligns better with observations.

Estimated shell kinetic energy is approximately 8×10^{43} erg.

Abstract

A unified model is proposed for the radio and X-ray outburst of nova CI Cam 1998 which suggests the shock interaction of nova shell with the circumstellar gas. The spherical model is able to describe kinematics of the radio shell together with the evolution of the radio and X-ray fluxes. However, the X-ray spectrum in this model is harder than the observed one. Better agreement with observations demonstrates the model in which the spherical shell interacts with the nonspherical circumstellar medium. The latter is made up of the broad bipolar jets with the openning angle of $120^{\circ}$ and the dense equatorial wind. In the optimal model the kinetic energy of the nova shell is $\sim8\times10^{43}$ erg, while the shell mass lies in the range of $(1-5)\times10^{-7} M_{\odot}$.