On the Frequency of Occurrence of Recurrent Novae and Their Role as Type Ia Supernova Progenitors

Abstract

We have determined the frequency of occurrence of recurrent novae (RNe) for the Galaxy, M31, and the LMC. We find that the ratio between the rate of outbursts of recurrent and classical novae (CNe) is in the range n_out_(RNe)/n_out_(CNe) ~ 0.1-0.3. The implications of this result for the realization frequency of RNe as potential progenitors of Type Ia supernovae are also discussed. RNe are not the major class of progenitors of Type Ia supernovae.