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Paper: Spectroscopy and Near-Infrared Photometry of the Helium Nova V445 Puppis
Volume: 330, The Astrophysics of Cataclysmic Variables and Related Objects
Page: 451
Authors: Woudt, P.A.; Steeghs, D.
Abstract: Nova Puppis 2000 (V445 Pup) has been proposed as the first example of a helium nova. Recent optical spectroscopy of V445 Pup at V = 19.91 mag obtained with IMACS on the 6.5-m Magellan telescope, shows that the spectrum consists of He I, [O I], [O II] and [O III] emission lines and no hydrogen is present. The spectroscopy shows an expanding nova shell with blue- and redshifted velocity components around ±850 km s−1 and ±1600 km s−1. Images taken with Magellan under very good seeing conditions (FWHM ~ 0.6″) shows V445 Pup to be extended (full width at zero intensity ~ 1.9″) and elongated (position angle ~ 150°). We have followed the secular evolution of V445 Pup since the decline from (optical) maximum, at near-infrared wavelengths (J, H and Ks) using the Infrared Survey Facility (IRSF) at the Sutherland site of the South African Astronomical Observatory. We find that V445 Pup is still covered by a dense dust shell more than three years after its outburst.
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