M31N 2008-12a - The REMARKABLE RECURRENT NOVA in M31: PANCHROMATIC OBSERVATIONS of the 2015 ERUPTION

Abstract

Facilities: Liverpool:2 m, FTN, OO:0.65, MLO:1 m, BAT, OAO:0.5 m, Swift, Mayall. Software: IRAF (v2.16.1; Tody 1993), Starlink (v2015B; Disney & Wallace 1982), APHOT (Pravec et al. 1994), HEASOFT (v6.16), XIMAGE (v4.5.1), XSPEC (v12.8.2; Arnaud 1996), XSELECT (v2.4c), R (R Development Core Team 2011). ; The Andromeda Galaxy recurrent nova M31N 2008-12a had been observed in eruption 10 times, including yearly eruptions from 2008 to 2014. With a measured recurrence period of Prec = 351 ± 13 days (we believe the true value to be half of this) and a white dwarf very close to the Chandrasekhar limit, M31N 2008-12a has become the leading pre-explosion supernova type Ia progenitor candidate. Following multi-wavelength follow-up observations of the 2013 and 2014 eruptions, we initiated a campaign to ensure early detection of the predicted 2015 eruption, which triggered ambitious ground- and space-based follow-up programs. In this paper we present the 2015 detection, visible to near-infrared photometry and visible spectroscopy, and ultraviolet and X-ray observations from the Swift observatory. The LCOGT 2 m (Hawaii) discovered the 2015 eruption, estimated to have commenced at August 28.28 ± 0.12 UT. The 2013–2015 eruptions are remarkably similar at all wavelengths. New early spectroscopic observations reveal short-lived emission from material with velocities ∼13,000 km s^−1, possibly collimated outflows. Photometric and spectroscopic observations of the eruption provide strong evidence supporting a red giant donor. An apparently stochastic variability during the early supersoft X-ray phase was comparable in amplitude and duration to past eruptions, but the 2013 and 2015 eruptions show evidence of a brief flux dip during this phase. The multi-eruption Swift/XRT spectra show tentative evidence of high-ionization emission lines above a high-temperature continuum. Following Henze et al. (2015a), the updated recurrence period based on all known eruptions is Prec = 174 ± 10 days, and we expect the next eruption of M31N 2008-12a to occur around 2016 mid-September. ; A.F.V., and V.P.G. acknowledge support from RFBR Grant No. 16 February 00758. J.F., J.J., and G.S. acknowledge support from Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) grant AYA2014-59084-P, the E.U. FEDER funds, and AGAUR/Generalitat de Catalunya grant SGR0038/2014. S.F. acknowledges support from the Russian Scientific Foundation (grant N 14-50-00043) and the Russian Government Program of Competitive Growth of Kazan Federal University. M. Henze acknowledges the support of the Spanish MINECO under grant FDPI-2013-16933. M. Hernanz acknowledges MINECO support under grant ESP2014-56003-R.K.H. was supported by the project RVO:67985815. J.P.O. and K.L.P. acknowledge funding from the UK Space Agency. VARMR acknowledges financial support from the Radboud Excellence Initiative. S.C.W. acknowledges a visiting research fellowship at LJMU. This work has been supported in part by NSF grant AST-1009566 and NASA grant HST-Go-14125.012. ; Peer-reviewed ; Post-print