A New Interpretation for the Second Peak of T Coronae Borealis Outbursts: A Tilting Disk around a Very Massive White Dwarf

Abstract

A new interpretation for the second peak of T Coronae Borealis (T CrB) outbursts is proposed based on a thermonuclear runaway (TNR) model. The system consists of a very massive white dwarf (WD) with a tilting accretion disk and a lobe-filling red-giant. The first peak of the visual light curve of T CrB outbursts is well reproduced by the TNR model on a WD close to the Chandrasekhar mass ($M_{\mathrm{WD}}\gtrsim 1.35M_{\odot }$), while the second peak is reproduced by the combination of the irradiated M-giant and the irradiated tilting disk. The derived fitting parameters are the WD mass $M_{\mathrm{WD}}\sim 1.35M_{\odot }$, the M-giant companion mass $M_{\mathrm{RG}}\sim 0.7M_{\odot }$ ($0.6-1.0M_{\odot }$ is acceptable), the inclination angle of the orbit $i \sim 70 \arcdeg$, and the tilting angle of the disk $i_{\rm prec} \sim 35 \arcdeg$. These parameters are consistent with the recently derived binary parameters of T CrB.

6 pages including 2 figures, to be published in ApJ Letters

Cited by in corpus (17)

• A Wide Symbiotic Channel to Type Ia Supernovae
• Recurrent novae as a progenitor system of Type Ia supernovae. I. RS Ophiuchi subclass --- Systems with a red giant companion
• Have the Elusive Progenitors of Supernovae Type Ia Been Discovered?
• A Theoretical Light-Curve Model for the 1999 Outburst of U Scorpii
• HV Virginis and WZ Sge-Type Dwarf Novae
• A Model for the Quiescent Phase of the Recurrent Nova U Scorpii
• Swift Observations of Hard X-ray Emitting White Dwarfs in Symbiotic Stars
• The B & V Light Curves for Recurrent Nova T CrB From 1842--2022, the Unique Pre- and Post-Eruption High-States, the Complex Period Changes, and the Upcoming Eruption in 2025.5$\pm$1.3
• Identification of the companion stars of Type Ia supernovae
• Perturbations of SNe Ia lightcurves, colors and spectral features by circumstellar dust
• Prediction of supersoft X-ray phase, helium enrichment, and turn-off time in recurrent nova CI Aquilae 2000 outburst
• A theoretical light-curve model for the 1985 outburst of RS Ophiuchi
• Chandra observations of the recurrent nova CI Aql after its April 2000 outburst
• Resolving the mass transfer in the symbiotic recurrent nova T Coronae Borealis
• Observational Report on the Classical Nova KT Eridani
• Hydrodynamic simulations of the recurrent nova T Coronae Borealis: Nucleosynthesis predictions
• The secondary maximum of T CrB caused by irradiation of the red giant by a cooling white dwarf