[vsnet-chat 782] Re: nova color index

[Taichi Kato <tkato@kusastro.kyoto-u.ac.jp>]

(re: vsnet-chat 777)

   Sorry, I have overlooked one point.  The exploding nova light doesn't
represent the hot accretion disk, but the hot thermonuclear flash no the
white dwarf (the duration of this fireball stage is very short -- this
is why early nova alerts are extremely important), and the resulting expanding
(pseudo)photosphere (later receding).  At least during the early optically
thick stage, the accretion disk (and most of the binary) is believed to be
engulfed in the strong nova wind.  How long this stage lasts depends on
the speed of the nova; the fastest nova V838 Her (=Nova Her 1991) showed
the termination of this stage (appearance of eclipses) within a month
(possibly half a month) of the explosion.  For more recent examples,
Dr. Retter probably has an answer.

Regards,
Taichi Kato

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