Spectroscopy of the Classical Nova ROTSE3 J004548.3+430222 in M31
ATel #1708; R. Chornock, J. M. Silverman, M. R. George, and A. V. Filippenko (University of California, Berkeley)
on 9 Sep 2008; 02:34 UT
Credential Certification: Alexei V. Filippenko (alex@astro.berkeley.edu)
Subjects: Optical, Nova, Transient
Referred to by ATel #: 8622
We obtained optical spectra (range 330-1000 nm) of the transient ROTSE3
J004548.3+430222 (ATel #1702) using the Kast spectrograph on the Lick 3-m
telescope on 2008 Sep. 8.48 UT. The object exhibits the spectrum of an Fe II
nova shortly after maximum light. The peak of the strong H-alpha emission line
is blueshifted by about 300 km/s, indicating that the object has a radial
velocity consistent with being located in M31. While H-alpha has a pure
emission profile (FWHM ~ 1080 km/s, equivalent width ~54 nm), the
higher-order Balmer lines show blueshifted P-Cygni absorption components. The
strongest non-hydrogen emission lines, due to O I (777.3 nm and 844.6 nm) and
Fe II (e.g., multiplets 42, 48, and 49), also show P-Cygni absorption
components. In the Tololo classification scheme (Williams et al., 1991, ApJ,
376, 721), this object is an Fe II nova in the permitted-line dominated phase.
