TY - JOUR
T1 - The Rate and Spatial Distribution of Novae in M31 as Determined by a 20 Year Survey
AU - Rector, Travis A.
AU - Shafter, Allen W.
AU - Burris, William A.
AU - Walentosky, Matthew J.
AU - Viafore, Kendall D.
AU - Strom, Allison L.
AU - Cool, Richard J.
AU - Sola, Nicole A.
AU - Crayton, Hannah
AU - Pilachowski, Catherine A.
AU - Jacoby, George H.
AU - Corbett, Danielle L.
AU - Rene, Michelle
AU - Hernandez, Denise
N1 - Funding Information:
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under grant Nos. ESIE-9619028, ESIE-0101982, DUE-0618441, DUE-0618849, and DUE-0920293. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
Funding Information:
D.L. Corbett, M. Rene, and D. Hernandez were supported through a NASA grant awarded to the Arizona/NASA Space Grant Consortium. The material contained in this document is based upon work supported by a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) grant or cooperative agreement. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of NASA.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society.
PY - 2022/9/1
Y1 - 2022/9/1
N2 - A long-term (1995-2016) survey for novae in the nearby Andromeda galaxy (M31) was conducted as part of the Research-Based Science Education initiative. During the course of the survey 180 nights of observation were completed at Kitt Peak, Arizona. A total of 262 novae were either discovered or confirmed, 40 of which have not been previously reported. Of these, 203 novae form a spatially complete sample detected by the KPNO/WIYN 0.9 m telescope within a 20 ′ × 20 ′ field centered on the nucleus of M31. An additional 50 novae are part of a spatially complete sample detected by the KPNO 4 m telescope within a larger 36 ′ × 36 ′ field. Consistent with previous studies, it is found that the spatial distribution of novae in both surveys follows the bulge light of M31 somewhat more closely than the overall background light of the galaxy. After correcting for the limiting magnitude and the spatial and temporal coverage of the surveys, a final nova rate in M31 is found to be R = 40 − 4 + 5 yr−1, which is considerably lower than recent estimates. When normalized to the K-band luminosity of M31, this value yields a luminosity-specific nova rate, ν K = 3.3 ± 0.4 yr − 1 [ 10 10 L ⊙ , K ] − 1 . By scaling the M31 nova rate using the relative infrared luminosities of M31 and our Galaxy, a nova rate of R G = 28 − 4 + 5 yr−1 is found for the Milky Way.
AB - A long-term (1995-2016) survey for novae in the nearby Andromeda galaxy (M31) was conducted as part of the Research-Based Science Education initiative. During the course of the survey 180 nights of observation were completed at Kitt Peak, Arizona. A total of 262 novae were either discovered or confirmed, 40 of which have not been previously reported. Of these, 203 novae form a spatially complete sample detected by the KPNO/WIYN 0.9 m telescope within a 20 ′ × 20 ′ field centered on the nucleus of M31. An additional 50 novae are part of a spatially complete sample detected by the KPNO 4 m telescope within a larger 36 ′ × 36 ′ field. Consistent with previous studies, it is found that the spatial distribution of novae in both surveys follows the bulge light of M31 somewhat more closely than the overall background light of the galaxy. After correcting for the limiting magnitude and the spatial and temporal coverage of the surveys, a final nova rate in M31 is found to be R = 40 − 4 + 5 yr−1, which is considerably lower than recent estimates. When normalized to the K-band luminosity of M31, this value yields a luminosity-specific nova rate, ν K = 3.3 ± 0.4 yr − 1 [ 10 10 L ⊙ , K ] − 1 . By scaling the M31 nova rate using the relative infrared luminosities of M31 and our Galaxy, a nova rate of R G = 28 − 4 + 5 yr−1 is found for the Milky Way.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85138154359&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85138154359&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3847/1538-4357/ac87ad
DO - 10.3847/1538-4357/ac87ad
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85138154359
VL - 936
JO - Astrophysical Journal
JF - Astrophysical Journal
SN - 0004-637X
IS - 2
M1 - 117
ER -