CAREER: Understanding Novae as Shock-Powered Explosions

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Novae explosions are responsible for the sudden appearance and gradual fading of light from a previously unknown star. They are known to be produced by binary systems (two stars orbiting each other) in which one of the stars is a "white dwarf". These stars are extremely dense, with a mass similar to the Sun's compressed into an object the size of the Earth. When material is stripped from the companion star and transferred to the surface of the white dwarf, a powerful explosion can occur. This team will use a modern survey to find novae and to follow up with detailed measurements using radio, optical/IR, and space based telescopes. This will result in a deeper understanding of novae and the processes that cause them. An educational program will be developed for rural 5-19 year olds in astronomy and physical sciences working with the Michigan 4H. The MSU Observatory will host an Astronomy Club with monthly meetings and sponsor members to develop independent projects for the County Fair. This program will review the present data and obtain a complete and unbiased sample of nova using a modern sky survey. They will also monitor this sample with gamma-ray through radio observations. High-resolution radio measurements will trace the evolution of the ejecta, leading to further insight about the conditions and phenomena that produce novae. This research will 1) Establish the first comprehensive and well-defined sample of Galactic novae, 2) Determine which novae are shock-powered by observing them with the gamma-ray telescope Fermi/LAT and HWAC, 3) Image novae ejecta with high resolution capable radio arrays to map distribution of thermal ejecta and pinpoint the location of synchrotron-emitting shocks in order to determine if nova morphology is set by a universal mechanism or if variations in ejecta geometry are linked to variations in shock powering shaping.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.