The Masses and Accretion Rates of White Dwarfs in Classical and Recurrent Novae

TL;DR

This study combines simulations and observational data to determine white dwarf masses in novae, revealing lower long-term accretion rates than previously thought, and providing insights into nova recurrence times and evolution.

Contribution

It provides the first comprehensive mass and accretion rate measurements for a large sample of novae, testing theoretical predictions and improving understanding of nova evolution.

Findings

Mean white dwarf mass in classical novae is ~1.06 Msun.

Recurrent novae have higher mean mass (~1.31 Msun).

Long-term mass accretion rate is about 1.3 x 10^{-10} Msun/yr.

Abstract

Models have long predicted that the frequency-averaged masses of white dwarfs in Galactic classical novae are twice as large as those of field white dwarfs. Only a handful of dynamically well-determined nova white dwarf masses have been published, leaving the theoretical predictions poorly tested. The recurrence time distributions and mass accretion rate distributions of novae are even more poorly known. To address these deficiencies, we have combined our extensive simulations of nova eruptions with the Strope et al (2010) and Schaefer et al (2010) databases of outburst characteristics of Galactic classical and recurrent novae to determine the masses of 92 white dwarfs in novae. We find that the mean mass (frequency averaged mean mass) of 82 Galactic classical novae is 1.06 (1.13) Msun, while the mean mass of 10 recurrent novae is 1.31 Msun. These masses, and the observed nova outburst amplitude and decline time distributions allow us to determine the long-term mass accretion rate distribution of classical novae. Remarkably, that value is just 1.3 x 10^{-10} Msun/yr, which is an order of magnitude smaller than that of cataclysmic binaries in the decades before and after classical nova eruptions. This predicts that old novae become low mass transfer rate systems, and hence dwarf novae, for most of the time between nova eruptions. We determine the mass accretion rates of each of the 10 known Galactic RN, finding them to be in the range 10^{-7} - 10^{-8} $ Msun/yr. We are able to predict the recurrence time distribution of novae and compare it with the predictions of population synthesis models.