iPTF confirmation of M31 nova 2014-07a
ATel #6411; Y. Cao (Caltech), A. Miller (Caltech/JPL) on behalf of the intermediate Palomar Transient Factory collaboration
on 22 Aug 2014; 17:05 UT
Credential Certification: Yi Cao (ycao@astro.caltech.edu)
We present pre-discovery observations and spectroscopic confirmation of
M31 nova 2014-07a (ATel#6305). It is internally designated as iPTF14djt.
M31 has been monitored by iPTF every night (weather-permitting) since UT 2014 June 8. iPTF14djt
was first detected on July 1.97 with a r-band magnitude of
19.6+/-0.1. Nothing had been found at the same location down to a 5-sigma
limiting magnitude of ~20.5 in images taken on June 30.98 and before.
This nova reached a r-band peak magnitude of 17.06+\-0.02 on
July 12.97. After the peak it took 26 days to decline by two magnitudes.
Since then it has been staying around 19 mag.
We obtained a spectrum of iPTF14djt with the Double Spectrograph
equipped on the 200-inch Hale telescope at Palomar Observatory. The spectrum
shows very weak continuum superposed by strong emission lines, including
Balmer series, O I 7773, O I 8447, O I 9226, and Fe lines around 5000 Angstrom.
All lines except Halpha show weak P-Cygni profile. Halpha has a FWHM of
about 1300 km/s. This spectrum confirms iPTF14djt to be a FeII nova
in M31.
