Classification of AT 2019wlo and AT 2019wvf as M31 novae
ATel #13384; S. C. Williams (Turku), M. J. Darnley (LJMU), M. W. Healy (LJMU), F. J. Murphy-Glaysher (LJMU), C. L. Ransome (LJMU)
on 2 Jan 2020; 15:45 UT
Credential Certification: Steven Williams (steven.williams@utu.fi)
Subjects: Optical, Nova, Transient
We obtained a spectra of the transients AT 2019wlo and AT 2019wvf (ATel #13355) with the SPRAT spectrograph (resolution R ~ 350; Piascik et al. 2014) on the 2-m Liverpool Telescope (LT; Steele et al. 2004) on 2019 Dec 19.92 and 2019 Dec 20.89 UT respectively.
The spectrum of AT 2019wlo shows broad Balmer emission lines (Hα FWHM ~ 3500 km/s), accompanied by emission lines arising from the Fe II 42 multiplet, N II 5679 and O I 7773 Å. An emission line associated with Na I D and/or He 5876 Å is also present. This line, along with Hβ, Hγ, and NII, display clear P-Cygni profiles. We note that AT 2019wlo is 69 arcmin from the centre of M31. At the distance of M31 (780 kpc), this offset translates to a projected distance of 15.7 kpc.
The spectrum of AT 2019wvf shows narrow Balmer emission lines (Hα FWHM ~ 800 km/s), along with several Fe II emission lines, including those of the 42 multiplet. It also shows Na I D with a P-Cygni profile.
We conclude that both AT 2019wlo and AT 2019wvf are novae in M31. AT 2019wlo is a member of the broad-lined Fe II class (Fe IIb) and AT 2019wvf is a member of the Fe II class.
