T Pyxidis: Death by a Thousand Novae
Joseph Patterson (1), Arto Oksanen (2), Jonathan Kemp (3), Berto, Monard (2), Robert Rea (2), Franz-Josef Hambsch (2), Jennie McCormick (2),, Peter Nelson (2), William Allen (2), Thomas Krajci (2), Simon Lowther (2),, Shawn Dvorak (2), Jordan Borgman (1), Thomas Richards (2)

TL;DR
This study tracks the 1.8-hour orbital wave of the recurrent nova T Pyxidis over 20 years, revealing mass transfer rates, eruption effects, and suggesting the white dwarf is eroding rather than gaining mass, impacting its future evolution.
Contribution
It provides a detailed 20-year observational campaign of T Pyxidis's orbital wave, analyzing eruption impacts and mass transfer, indicating white dwarf erosion contrary to previous assumptions.
Findings
Orbital period increases over time, indicating high mass transfer rate.
Eruption causes temporary weakening and period increase of the orbital signal.
White dwarf likely erodes more mass than it accretes, challenging growth assumptions.
Abstract
We report a 20-year campaign to track the 1.8 hour photometric wave in the recurrent nova T Pyxidis, using the global telescope network of the Center for Backyard Astrophysics. During 1996-2011, that wave was highly stable in amplitude and waveform, resembling the orbital wave commonly seen in supersoft binaries. The period, however, was found to increase on a timescale P/P-dot=3x10^5 years. This suggests a mass transfer rate in quiescence of ~10^-7 M_sol/yr, in substantial agreement with the accretion rate based on the star's luminosity. This is ~2000x greater than is typical for cataclysmic variables of that orbital period. During the post-eruption quiescence (2012-2016), the star continued on its merry but mysterious way - similar luminosity, similar P/P-dot (2.4x10^5 years). The orbital signal became vanishingly weak (<0.003 mag) near maximum light of the 2011 eruption. By day 170…
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