Distance and Reddening of the Enigmatic Gamma-ray-Detected Nova V1324 Sco
Abstract
It has recently been discovered that some, if not all, classical novae emit GeV gamma-rays during outburst. Despite using an unreliable method to determine its distance, previous work showed that nova V1324 Sco was the most gamma-ray luminous of all gamma-ray-detected novae. We present here a different, more robust, method to determine the reddening and distance to V1324 Sco using high-resolution optical spectroscopy. Using two independent methods, we derived a reddening of E(B-V)= 1.16+/- 0.12 and a distance limit of {r}{{D}}\gt 6.5 {kpc}. This distance is \gt 40% greater than the value used in the gamma-ray analysis, meaning that V1324 Sco has an even higher gamma-ray luminosity than previously calculated. We also use periodic modulations in the brightness, interpreted as the orbital period, in conjunction with pre-outburst photometric limits to show that a main-sequence companion is strongly favored.
- Publication:
-
The Astrophysical Journal
- Pub Date:
- August 2015
- DOI:
- 10.1088/0004-637X/809/2/160
- arXiv:
- arXiv:1506.04953
- Bibcode:
- 2015ApJ...809..160F
- Keywords:
-
- binaries: general;
- novae;
- cataclysmic variables;
- stars: distances;
- stars: individual: V1324 Sco;
- Astrophysics - Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
- E-Print:
- Submitted to ApJ. 6 pages, 5 figures