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| Paper: |
M31N 2008-12a — The Remarkable Recurrent Nova in M31 |
| Volume: |
509, 20th European Workshop on White Dwarfs (EuroWD16) |
| Page: |
515 |
| Authors: |
Darnley, M. J. |
| Abstract: |
M31N 2008-12a is a remarkable recurrent nova within the Andromeda Galaxy. With eleven eruptions now identified, including eight in the past eight years, the system exhibits a recurrence period of one year, and possibly just six months. This short inter eruption period is driven by the combination of a high mass white dwarf (1.38 M☉) and high mass accretion rate (∼1.6×10–7 M☉ yr–1). Such a high accretion rate appears to be provided by the stellar wind of a red giant companion. Deep Hα observations have revealed the presence of a vastly extended nebula around the system, which could be the ‘super-remnant' of many thousands of past eruptions. With a prediction of the white dwarf reaching the Chandrasekhar mass in less than a mega-year, M31N 2008-12a has become the leading pre-explosion type Ia supernova candidate. The 2016 eruption – to be the twelfth detected eruption – is expected imminently, and a vast array of follow-up observations are already planned. |
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