Authors

Bradley E. Schaefer, Louisiana State University
Ashley Pagnotta, Louisiana State University
Aaron P. Lacluyze, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Daniel E. Reichart, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Kevin M. Ivarsen, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Joshua B. Haislip, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Melissa C. Nysewander, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Justin P. Moore, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Arto Oksanen, Caisey Harlingten Observatory
Hannah L. Worters, South African Astronomical Observatory
Ramotholo R. Sefako, South African Astronomical Observatory
Jaco Mentz, North-West University
Shawn Dvorak, American Association of Variable Star Observers
Tomas Gomez, American Association of Variable Star Observers
Barbara G. Harris, American Association of Variable Star Observers
Arne A. Henden, American Association of Variable Star Observers
Thiam Guan Tan, American Association of Variable Star Observers
Matthew Templeton, American Association of Variable Star Observers
W. H. Allen, Center for Backyard Astrophysics
Berto Monard, Center for Backyard Astrophysics
Robert D. Rea, Center for Backyard Astrophysics
George Roberts, Center for Backyard Astrophysics
William Stein, Center for Backyard Astrophysics
Hiroyuki Maehara, Kyoto University
Thomas Richards, CBA
Chris Stockdale, AAVSO
Tom Krajci, AAVSO and CBA
George Sjoberg, AAVSO
Jennie McCormick, Farm Cove Observatory
Mikhail Revnivtsev, Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Sergei Molkov, Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Valery Suleimanov, Kazan Federal University
Matthew J. Darnley, Liverpool John Moores University

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

12-1-2011

Abstract

The eruption of the recurrent nova U Scorpii on 2010 January 28 is now the all-time best observed nova event. We report 36,776 magnitudes throughout its 67 day eruption, for an average of one measure every 2.6 minutes. This unique and unprecedented coverage is the first time that a nova has had any substantial amount of fast photometry. With this, two new phenomena have been discovered: the fast flares in the early light curve seen from days 9-15 (which have no proposed explanation) and the optical dips seen out of eclipse from days 41-61 (likely caused by raised rims of the accretion disk occulting the bright inner regions of the disk as seen over specific orbital phases). The expanding shell and wind cleared enough from days 12-15 so that the inner binary system became visible, resulting in the sudden onset of eclipses and the turn-on of the supersoft X-ray source. On day15, a strong asymmetry in the out-of-eclipse light points to the existence of the accretion stream. The normal optical flickering restarts on day 24.5. For days 15-26, eclipse mapping shows that the optical source is spherically symmetric with a radius of 4.1 R⊙. For days 26-41, the optical light is coming from a rim-bright disk of radius 3.4 R ⊙. For days 41-67, the optical source is a center-bright disk of radius 2.2 R⊙. Throughout the eruption, the colors remain essentially constant. We present 12 eclipse times during eruption plus five just after the eruption. © 2011. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.

Publication Source (Journal or Book title)

Astrophysical Journal

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