# A Detailed Observational Analysis of V1324 Sco, the Most Gamma-Ray Luminous Classical Nova to Date

## TL;DR

This paper provides a comprehensive multi-wavelength observational analysis of V1324 Sco, the most gamma-ray luminous classical nova, revealing its physical properties, shock interactions, and proposing a model linking ejecta velocity and mass-loss to gamma-ray brightness.

## Contribution

It offers the first detailed multi-wavelength dataset and a shock-based model explaining the high gamma-ray luminosity of V1324 Sco, highlighting the need for larger samples to understand gamma-ray production in novae.

## Key findings

- V1324 Sco is a dusty Fe-II type nova with ejecta velocity of 2600 km/s.
- Evidence of complex shock interactions and a double-peaked radio light curve.
- Higher gamma-ray luminosities are linked to higher ejecta velocities and mass-loss rates.

## Abstract

It has recently been discovered that some, if not all, classical novae emit GeV gamma rays during outburst, but the mechanisms involved in the production of the gamma rays are still not well understood. We present here a comprehensive multi-wavelength dataset---from radio to X-rays---for the most gamma-ray luminous classical nova to-date, V1324 Sco. Using this dataset, we show that V1324 Sco is a canonical dusty Fe-II type nova, with a maximum ejecta velocity of 2600 km s$^{-1}$ and an ejecta mass of few $\times 10^{-5}$ M$_{\odot}$. There is also evidence for complex shock interactions, including a double-peaked radio light curve which shows high brightness temperatures at early times. To explore why V1324~Sco was so gamma-ray luminous, we present a model of the nova ejecta featuring strong internal shocks, and find that higher gamma-ray luminosities result from higher ejecta velocities and/or mass-loss rates. Comparison of V1324~Sco with other gamma-ray detected novae does not show clear signatures of either, and we conclude that a larger sample of similarly well-observed novae is needed to understand the origin and variation of gamma rays in novae.