M31N 2017-01e: Discovery of a Previous Eruption in this Enigmatic Recurrent Nova

TL;DR

This paper reports the discovery of a previously unknown eruption of the recurrent nova M31N 2017-01e, revealing its total of four eruptions and the second shortest recurrence time among known novae, along with a variable source exhibiting periodicity.

Contribution

The study uncovers a new eruption of M31N 2017-01e and characterizes its eruption history, recurrence interval, and associated variable source, providing new insights into its behavior.

Findings

Four recorded eruptions of M31N 2017-01e identified

Recurrence time between eruptions is approximately 929.5 days

A blue variable source with 14.3-day periodicity is associated with the nova

Abstract

We report the discovery of a previously unknown eruption of the recurrent nova M31N 2017-01e that took place on 11 January 2012. The earlier eruption was detected by Pan-STARRS and occurred 1847 days (5.06 yr) prior to the eruption on 31 January 2017 (M31N 2017-01e). The nova has now been seen to have had a total of four recorded eruptions (M31N 2012-01c, 2017-01e, 2019-09d, and 2022-03d) with a mean time between outbursts of just $929.5\pm6.8$ days ($2.545\pm0.019$ yr), the second shortest recurrence time known for any nova. We also show that there is a blue variable source ($\langle V \rangle = 20.56\pm0.17$, $B-V\simeq0.045$), apparently coincident with the position of the nova, that exhibits a 14.3 d periodicity. Possible models of the system are proposed, but none are entirely satisfactory.