Optical and Infrared Spectral Features of the Galactic Nova ASASSN-16ma (PNV J18205200-2822100)
ATel #9849; R. J. Rudy (Aerospace Corp.), K. B. Crawford (Aerospace Corp.), R. W. Russell (Aerospace Corp.)
on 12 Dec 2016; 16:10 UT
Credential Certification: Richard Rudy (richard.j.rudy@aero.org)
Subjects: Infra-Red, Optical, Nova
Optical and IR spectra from 0.47-2.5 microns (resolution: 5-30 angstroms) of the Galactic nova ASASSN-16ma (ATEL #9669), also known as PNV J18205200-2822100 (CBAT 4344), were obtained 2016 November 23.08 (UT) with the Aerospace Corporation's 1.0 m telescope using its Visible and Infrared Imaging Spectrograph (VNIRIS). The spectrum confirms the Fe II nature of the nova (ATEL #9678) and displays other low excitation emission lines. In addition to Fe II, there are features of C I, N I, O I, Na I, and Ca II. A few forbidden lines are present including the [O I] lines at 0.5577, 0.6300, 0.6363 microns and the [N I] line at 1.040 microns. Despite the fact that ASASSN-16ma was an active gamma ray source around the time of these observations (ATEL #9771), no high or moderate excitation features were observed. In fact the He I lines at 1.0830 and 2.0581 microns were just beginning to emerge. The P-Cygni profiles reported in ATEL #9678 have disappeared with the exception of the O I line at 0.7774 microns. Line widths at full width at half maximum were ~1400 km/sec for the H I lines from the Balmer, Paschen, and Brackett series. There was no evidence of thermal emission from dust although dust formation in this object is a possibility.
