2026ApJ...998..156H -
Astrophys. J., 998, 156 (2026/February-2)
Formation of an Optically Thick Shocked Shell in the Very Fast Nova V1674 Herculis: The Origin of Superbrightness.
HACHISU I. and KATO M.
Abstract (from CDS):
V1674 Her is the fastest (t2 ∼ 1 day) classical nova in our Galaxy, and its absolute V peak of ${M}_{V,{\rm{\max }}}\sim -10.2$ is 1 mag brighter than typical very fast novae. Such a nova is sometimes called a superbright nova. Using our fully self-consistent nova outburst model combined with the optically thick winds on a 1.35 M⊙white dwarf (WD) with a mass accretion rate of 1 × 10–11M⊙ yr–1, we have clarified that a strong reverse shock arises 0.3 day after the outburst, which is just after the maximum expansion of the WD photosphere. The shocked shell is optically thick and expanding with a velocity of ∼3500 km s–1. Its V brightness reaches a maximum of ${M}_{V,{\rm{\max }}}=-10.2$ when the shocked shell expands to Rshell ∼ 300 R⊙ on day ∼0.7. After that, the shocked shell turns optically thin and becomes fainter than the brightness of free-free emission from the nova wind. In chronological order, the optical brightness of free-free emission reaches a maximum of MV = -9 on day 0.3. However, it is overtaken on days 0.5-0.7 by the ∼1 mag brighter luminosity of the optically thick shocked shell. The GeV gamma-ray flux reaches a maximum on day 0.4 because the gamma-rays are emitted by the shock that arises on day 0.3. Our model consistently explains both the superbrightness and chronological order that the gamma-ray peak precedes substantially before the optical V peak. We also present a similar light-curve model for another superbright nova, V1500 Cyg.
Abstract Copyright:
© 2026. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society.
Journal keyword(s):
Classical novae - Fast novae - X-ray astronomy - High energy astrophysics - Shocks - Gamma-ray astronomy
Simbad objects:
8
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