The First Resolved and Detected Classical Nova Shell in X-rays in Comparison with the ROSAT Detections of Hard X-ray Emission from Classical Nova in Outburst
Abstract
We present the ROSAT High Resolution Imager (HRI) data of the first resolved and detected classical nova shell in the X-ray wavelengths: The shell of Nova Persei (1901). We find that the shell is composed of knots and has an elliptical shape. The surface brightness is about 703.4+/-54.5 counts arcmin-2. We estimate that the spectrum is of thermal origin with a luminosity of ~ 8.0×1031 erg s-1 and an X-ray temperature of ~ 2.0×106 K in the 0.1-2.4 keV energy range. The knots are most likely a result of fragmentation and condensation in the post-shock region. This detection sheds some light into one of the most poorly understood stages of classical nova evolution
- Publication:
-
Advances in Space Research
- Pub Date:
- 2000
- DOI:
- 10.1016/S0273-1177(99)00759-0
- Bibcode:
- 2000AdSpR..25..363B