Life after eruption - IV. Spectroscopy of 13 old novae

TL;DR

This study provides spectroscopic and photometric data on 13 old novae, offering insights into their accretion states, system inclinations, and potential orbital periods, thereby enhancing understanding of post-nova evolution.

Contribution

The paper presents new spectroscopic and photometric observations of 13 old novae, including first-time data and improved measurements, advancing knowledge of their physical properties.

Findings

Spectroscopic confirmation of five post-novae.

Predictions of orbital periods for X Cir and V697 Sco.

Potential for discovering outburst-like behavior through long-term monitoring.

Abstract

We present data on 13 post-nova systems. This includes the recovery via UBVR photometry of the five post-novae X Cir, V2104 Oph, V363 Sgr, V928 Sgr and V1274 Sgr and their spectroscopic confirmation. We provide accurate coordinates and finding charts for those objects. Additional first-time or improved spectroscopic data are presented for V356 Aql, V500 Aql, V604 Aql, V1370 Aql, MT Cen, V693 CrA, V697 Sco and MU Ser. Investigating the behaviour of a few easily accessible parameters yields (limited) information on the accretion state and the system inclination. We predict that X Cir and V697 Sco are likely to reveal their orbital period via time series photometry and that long-term photometric monitoring of V356 Aql, V500 Aql, V1370 Aql and X Cir has a good chance of discovering outburst-like behaviour in these systems.