Interferometric Observations of RS Ophiuchi and the Origin of the Near-IR Emission

Abstract

We report observations of the recurrent nova RS Oph using long-baseline near-IR interferometry. We are able to resolve emission from the nova for several weeks after the February 2006 outburst. The near-IR source initially expands to a size of approximately 5 milli-arcseconds. However, beginning around day 10 the IR source appears to begin to shrink, reaching approximately 2 milli-arcseconds by day 100. We combine our measured angular diameters with previously available interferometric and photometric data to derive an emission measure for the source, and hence are able to determine the mass-loss rate of the nova in the days following the outburst.

arXiv comment17 pages, 4 figures. Accepted for publication in ApJ

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• An Expanding Shell and Synchrotron Jet in RS Ophiuchi
• X-ray Spectroscopy of the 2006 Outburst of RS Oph
• Orbital Periods for Three Recurrent Novae
• VLTI monitoring of the dust formation event of the Nova V1280 Sco
• Chandra detection of extended X-ray emission from the recurrent nova RS Ophiuchi
• Milliarcsecond N-Band Observations of the Nova RS Ophiuchi: First Science with the Keck Interferometer Nuller
• Interferometric Observations of V1663 Aquilae (Nova Aql 2005)
• Multiwavelength modelling the SED of supersoft X-ray sources. II. RS Ophiuchi: From the explosion to the SSS phase
• Spectro-interferometric observations of classical nova V458 Vul 2007
• Nova Eruptions with Infrared Interferometric Observations