J/AJ/140/34 Classification of nova light curves (Strope+, 2010)
Catalog of 93 nova light curves: classification and properties.
Strope R.J., Schaefer B.E., Henden A.A.
<Astron. J., 140, 34-62 (2010)>
=2010AJ....140...34S 2010AJ....140...34S
ADC_Keywords: Novae ; Photometry
Keywords: novae, cataclysmic variables
Abstract:
We present a catalog of 93 very-well-observed nova light curves. The
light curves were constructed from 229,796 individual measured
magnitudes, with the median coverage extending to 8.0mag below peak
and 26% of the light curves following the eruption all the way to
quiescence. Our time-binned light curves are presented in figures and
as complete tabulations. We also calculate and tabulate many
properties about the light curves, including peak magnitudes and
dates, times to decline by 2, 3, 6, and 9mag from maximum, the time
until the brightness returns to quiescence, the quiescent magnitude,
power-law indices of the decline rates throughout the eruption, the
break times in this decline, plus many more properties specific to
each nova class. We present a classification system for nova light
curves based on the shape and the time to decline by 3mag from the
peak (t3).
The designations are "S" for smooth light curves (38% of the novae),
"P" for plateaus (21%), "D" for dust dips (18%), "C" for cusp-shaped
secondary maxima (1%), "O" for quasi-sinusoidal oscillations
superposed on an otherwise smooth decline (4%), "F" for flat-topped
light curves (2%), and "J" for jitters or flares superposed on the
decline (16%). Our classification consists of this single letter
followed by the t3 value in parentheses; so, for example, V1500 Cyg is
S(4), GK Per is O(13), DQ Her is D(100), and U Sco is P(3).
Description:
The data we used for this catalog come from the AAVSO, with only a few
exceptions.
File Summary:
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FileName Lrecl Records Explanations
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ReadMe 80 . This file
table1.dat 73 93 Catalogued novae and their primary light curve
properties
table2.dat 46 11843 Binned light curves for 92 novae
table3.dat 136 7 Definitions and examples of light curve classes
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Byte-by-byte Description of file: table1.dat
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Bytes Format Units Label Explanations
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1- 9 A9 --- Nova Nova name
11- 14 I4 yr Year Year of discovery
16- 22 I7 d T0 Fiducial time (JD)
24- 30 I7 d Tpeak Peak time (JD)
32- 35 F4.1 mag Vpeak Peak magnitude
37- 39 I3 d t2 Time to decline by 2mag from maximum
41- 43 I3 d t3 Time to decline by 3mag from maximum
45- 48 I4 d t6 ?=- Time to decline by 6mag from maximum
50- 53 I4 d t9 ?=- Time to decline by 9mag from maximum
55 A1 --- l_VQ [~>] Limit flag on VQ
56- 59 F4.1 mag VQ Magnitude in quiescence
61- 65 I5 d tQ ?=- Time of quiescence
66 A1 --- n_tQ [a] bright quiescence (1)
68- 73 A6 --- Class Class (2)
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Note (1): a: This time of quiescence is when the light curve becomes essentially
flat, although the brightness after the end of the eruption is much brighter
than that known for the time before eruption; see Schaefer & Collazzi
(2010AJ....139.1831S 2010AJ....139.1831S) for full details.
Note (2): Classification, with a letter for the shape (defined in table3),
followed by the t3 value in parentheses.
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Byte-by-byte Description of file: table2.dat
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Bytes Format Units Label Explanations
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1- 9 A9 --- Nova Nova name
11- 21 F11.3 d JD Julian date of time bin middle
23- 30 F8.2 d T Middle bin time minus the fiducial time (1)
32- 36 F5.2 mag Vmag Binned and average V band magnitude
38- 41 F4.2 mag e_Vmag ? The 1σ error in Vmag
43- 46 I4 --- o_Vmag Number of observations in Vmag
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Note (1): These fiducial times are intended to be the time of the explosion,
that is when the light curve starts to rise from its quiescent
level an are tabulated in Table 1. See text for further details.
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Byte-by-byte Description of file: table3.dat
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Bytes Format Units Label Explanations
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1 A1 --- Class [SPDCOFJ] Class code
3-104 A102 --- Def Definition
106-136 A31 --- Ex Examples
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History:
From electronic version of the journal
(End) Greg Schwarz [AAS], Patricia Vannier [CDS] 08-Jun-2012