Life after eruption - II. The eclipsing old nova V728 Scorpii
Scritto
il 26 Feb 2013 alle 01:39
in Pubblicazioni
The old nova V728 Sco has been recently recovered via photometric and
spectroscopic observations, 150 years after the nova eruption. The
spectral properties pointed to a high-inclination system with a
comparatively low mass-transfer rate. In this paper we show that the
object is an eclipsing system with an orbital period of 3.32 h. It has
enhanced long-term variability that can be interpreted as ‘stunted’
dwarf-nova-type outbursts. Using the ingress and egress times of the
eclipsed components we calculate the radius of the central object. The
latter turns out to be significantly larger than a white dwarf and we
identify it with a hot inner disc. The implications for models on the
behaviour of post-novae are discussed.