Models for the remnants of recurrent novae - II. Dynamical effect of radiative heat loss

Abstract

A simple model for the remnant of a recurrent nova was proposed in Paper I (Bode and Kahn, 1985) of this series. One of the conclusions of that paper was that cooling seriously affects the dynamics of such objects at an early stage, some two months in the case of RS Ophiuchi (1985). However, Paper I did not explicitly include the effects of radiative cooling in its treatment of the dynamics. In this paper the authors develop a set of linearized equations, with the cooling parameter q as a first order quantity. The effects of heat loss produce their most pronounced changes in the centre of the remnant so that eventually the hot material is confined to a shell behind the outer shock.