The nova rate in the elliptical component of NGC 5128

The results are presented of a five year nova survey of NGC 5128 performed with an H-alpha filter at the prime focus of the CTIO 4 m telescope. In all, 16 novae were detected, of which 12 are members of a statistically complete and homogeneous sample unaffected by the absorption lane of the galaxy....

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Astronomical journal 1990-04, Vol.99, p.1079
Main Authors: Ciardullo, Robin, Tamblyn, Peter, Jacoby, George H., Ford, Holland C., Williams, R. E.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
ABSORPTION SPECTRA
Astrophysics
BALMER LINES
BINARY STARS
CHARGE-COUPLED DEVICES
CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSICS
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
CONFIGURATION
DETECTION
DISTRIBUTION
ELLIPTICAL CONFIGURATION
ERUPTIVE VARIABLE STARS
GALAXIES
MAGELLANIC CLOUDS
MILKY WAY
NOVAE
SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES
SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION
SPECTRA
STAR CLUSTERS
STAR EVOLUTION
STARS
TELESCOPES
VARIABLE STARS 640102 > Astrophysics & Cosmology-- Stars & Quasi-Stellar, Radio & X-Ray Sources
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Summary:The results are presented of a five year nova survey of NGC 5128 performed with an H-alpha filter at the prime focus of the CTIO 4 m telescope. In all, 16 novae were detected, of which 12 are members of a statistically complete and homogeneous sample unaffected by the absorption lane of the galaxy. When normalized to B luminosity, the nova rate in the elliptical component of NGC 5128 is 2.7 + or - 1.0 times less than that observed in the bulge of M31. However, when normalized in the infrared K bandpass, the two nova rates are identical, and comparable to that measured in the Large Magellanic Cloud. These data suggest that (1) the percentage of binary stars is approximately constant over a large range of star-forming environments, (2) the nova rate in our own galaxy is between 11 and 46/yr, and (3) nova rates are not strongly affected by tidal captures in bright globular clusters.
ISSN:0004-6256
1538-3881
DOI:10.1086/115397