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Gas phase SiO in the circumstellar environment of the recurrent nova T Coronae Borealis

Gas phase SiO in the circumstellar environment of the recurrent nova T Coronae Borealis Thumbnail


Abstract

We report the discovery of the diatomic molecule SiO in the gas phase in the environment of the recurrent nova T Coronae Borealis. While some of the SiO is photospheric, a substantial portion must arise in the wind from the red giant component of T CrB. A simple fit to the SiO feature, assuming local thermodynamic equilibrium, suggests a SiO column density of 2.8x10^17 /cm2 and temperature ~1000K; the SiO column density is similar to that present in the winds of field red giants. A search for SiO maser emission is encouraged both before and after the next anticipated eruption. We find that the 12C/13C ratio in the red giant is <9, with a best fit value of ~5, a factor ~18 times lower than the solar value of 89. We find no convincing evidence for the presence of dust in the environment of T CrB, which we attribute to the destructive effects on nucleation sites of hard X-ray emission. When the next eruption of T CrB occurs, the ejected material will shock the wind, producing X-ray and coronal line emission, as is the case for the recurrent nova RS Oph. T CrB is also a good candidate for very high energy gamma-ray emission, as first observed during the 2010 outburst of V407 Cyg. We include in the paper a wide variety of infrared spectroscopic and photometric data.

Acceptance Date Apr 9, 2019
Publication Date Jul 1, 2019
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Print ISSN 0035-8711
Publisher Oxford University Press
Pages 3498-3505
DOI https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stz1071
Keywords stars, AGB and post-AGB, circumstellar matter, T CrB, novae, cataclysmic variables, infrared
Publisher URL https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stz1071

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