OGLE-2018-NOVA-01 (N LMC 1996) is a He-N Nova

ATel #11390; Frederick M Walter (Stony Brook University)
on 9 Mar 2018; 18:50 UT
Distributed as an Instant Email Notice Novae
Credential Certification: Fred Walter (frederick.walter@stonybrook.edu)

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This nova was reported on 2018 March 8 by P. Mroz for the OGLE team in ATel #11384. They identified it as probably a second eruption on N LMC 1996, which would make this a recurrent nova.

We obtained a spectrum starting at 01:58 UT on 2018 March 9 (JD 2458186.582) with the Chiron echelle spectrograph on the SMARTS 1.5m at CTIO. The 900 second integration was taken in fiber mode (R=27,800; 4080-8900A).

The spectrum is that of an optically-thin He-N nova. The Hα line has a tripartite shape, with FWZI ~ ±3500 km/s. The shoulders terminate at velocities of ±2700 km/s. The central emission core is 2800 km/s wide, with narrow peaks at 0 and ±750 km/s (all velocities in the rest frame of the LMC).

The spectrum is noisy due to the rapid fading of the nova. Other emission lines include Hβ, He I λλ5876, 6678, and the Bowen line complex. There may be a narrow He II λ4686 emission line (FWHM ~ 300 km/s).

I thank Rodrigo Hinojosa, Leonardo Parades, and Todd Henry for their yeoman efforts in scheduling the observation, and taking and delivering the data in a timely fashion. Studies of novae at Stony Brook University are supported in part by an NSF grant, and in part by research support from Stony Brook University. Data will eventually be posted to the Stony Brook/SMARTS Nova Atlas.