Comprehensive Listing of 208 Nova White Dwarf Masses As the Primary Determinant of Spectral-Class and Light-Curve-Class

TL;DR

This paper compiles a comprehensive catalog of 208 white dwarf masses and 232 quiescent magnitudes for 402 Galactic novae, revealing that WD mass primarily determines nova spectral and light-curve classes, with specific mass thresholds correlating to these classifications.

Contribution

It provides the first extensive catalog linking white dwarf masses to nova spectral and light-curve classes, establishing clear mass thresholds and correlations with observable properties.

Findings

Nova spectral class is Fe II below 1.15 M_sun and He/N above 1.15 M_sun.

Most Neon novae have WD masses below their formation minimum of 1.2 M_sun.

Recurrent novae all have WD masses greater than 1.2 M_sun.

Abstract

For Galactic novae, I calculate and collect a comprehensive catalog of 208 measures of white dwarf (WD) masses ($M_{\rm WD}$) and 232 measures of average $V$ magnitudes in quiescence ($V_q$). These are collected into a comprehensive catalog of most fundamental properties of all 402 known Galactic novae. The nova light curve and spectral classes are determined primarily by $M_{\rm WD}$. With an apparently clean cutoff, nova with light curve shapes in the S, P, O, and C classes have $>$0.95 $M_{\odot}$, while the J, D, and F class novae have $<$0.95 $M_{\odot}$. The speed class of the light curves is $t_3$=$10^{(-1.73M_{\rm WD})}$$\times$1900 days. The spectral class of novae is Fe II below 1.15 $M_{\odot}$, is He/N above 1.15 $M_{\odot}$, and the Hybrid novae are spread around this division. Neon novae have WD masses ranging from 0.53--1.37 $M_{\odot}$, with 76\% being measured to be below their minimum formation mass of 1.2 $M_{\odot}$, demonstrating that most are losing mass over each eruption cycle. The FWHM velocity of the Balmer line profiles is close to 0.23 times the WD escape velocity, or roughly $10^{(M_{\rm WD}/2)}$$\times$500 km s$^{-1}$ for $<$1.3 $M_{\odot}$. And all the known Galactic recurrent novae are $>$1.2 $M_{\odot}$. For issues involving the late expansion of the ejecta, I find that the visibility of shells is strongly biased towards novae with orbital periods $<$0.33 days, and that the visibility of $\gamma$-rays from the shells are strongly biased towards novae with fast declines, with $t_3$ a proxy for the $\gamma$-ray luminosity.