Mid-Infrared Spectroscopy of Transient Novae Eruptions

新星爆炸的原因是轨道上的伙伴突然将新鲜氢气“燃烧”到一颗白矮星上。新星抛射物的成分主要是重元素，反映了演化中的白矮星的质量损失。新星观测缺失的一个领域是红外线。首席调查员(PI)将利用怀俄明州2.3米红外望远镜的现代红外探测器进行为期三年的明亮新星研究。随着新星喷出气体变得稀薄，以及几种中等质量元素(Al、Ne、Si、Mg)的原子选择性地凝聚在尘埃颗粒上，这些光谱将使研究精细结构的“日冕”线成为可能。PI的观测应该为这一过程提供直接证据，并提供对星际空间中这一重要尘埃颗粒的化学丰度的理解。

Novae explosions result from the sudden "burning" of fresh hydrogen dumped onto a white dwarf by an orbiting companion. The composition of the nova ejecta is dominated by heavy elements, reflecting the mass lost by the evolved white dwarf star. One area in which nova observations has been lacking has been that of the infrared. The Principal Investigator (PI) will conduct a three year study of bright nova with a modern detector in the infrared using the Uni- versity of Wyoming's 2.3-meter infrared telescope. These spectra will permit the study of fine-structure "coronal" lines as the nova ejecta gas becomes rarefied and as atoms of several intermediate-mass elements (Al, Ne, Si, Mg) selectively condense onto dust grains. The PI's observations should provide direct evidence of this process and provide an understanding of the chemical abundances of this one important constituent of the dust grains in interstellar space.