Nova (astronomy)

Nova, or “new star” (from the Latin) is a star that increases rapidly in brightness. There are a number of theoretical causes for this and there are different types of novae. Novae are produced when stellar material detonates and eject some of its material, forming a cloud and in the process become more luminous.

Evolution of a star

Stars have limited amounts of fuel. As each type of their fuel is consumed, the star must burn successively different types of fuel. In the beginning a star burns hydrogen in a process that synthesises helium. When the hydrogen is consumed, the helium is then burned and that in turn synthesises carbon. To continue to burn fuel produced at each stage, the star must be hot enough to convert progressively heavier elements. Smaller stars cannot generate sufficient heat to do so and eventually lose energy.

Eventually, as the fuel is consumed, stars less than 5 solar masses swell into red giants which eventually eject their outer layers forming planetary nebula, leaving only the inner core, a white dwarf.

Classical nova

A classic nova, the most common, is the result of the accumulation of matter on the surface of a white dwarf in a binary system. White dwarfs are the remnants of old stars that have burned most of their fuel and have lost much of their outer layers, leaving them small and very hot.

If the white dwarf is close enough to another star, it can draw material from its binary partner. Most of the material is hydrogen. When the hydrogen reaches the surface of the white dwarf, it ignites, creating a nuclear explosion on the surface of the white dwarf.

Supernova

Unlike stars with less mass, stars with more than 5 times the mass of our sun can continue to burn each element synthesised in turn, hydrogen, helium, then carbon, oxygen, silicon and so forth until they are left with iron.

Iron will not release energy and draws thermal energy from the core leaving the star without energy to resist the force of gravity. This results in a collapse. The star can collapse in about 15 seconds, which is extremely fast. During the collapse of the star, the density of the materials increases and elements heavier than iron are produced.

Stars between 5 and 8 times that of our sun will collapse until they detonate in a catastrophic supernova explosion forming a neutron star.

What actually takes place is unclear. One explanation is that after having consumed their fuel, their overall energy level declines with the end of exothermic nuclear burning and they are unable to resist the forces of gravity. Their iron core collapses under gravitational forces until it is so dense it reaches nuclear densities and rebounds. As it rebounds it generates an outwardly propagating shock wave and a burst of neutrinos on the order of 10⁵³ ergs. The resultant explosion ejects the stellar envelope with a kinetic energy of 10⁵¹ ergs at a velocity of 10⁴ km s⁻¹.

In the process of the explosion elements heavier than nickel and iron are synthesised. The radioactive decay of ⁵⁶Ni and ⁵⁶Co create the energy to produce long-term optical light, reaching a luminosity in the range of 10⁴² to 10⁴³ erg s^-1 about 10-20 days after the explosion.

Stars with masses that exceed 10 times that of our sun collapse with such force that even a neutron star cannot resist the pressure of the collapsing star and the supernova creates a black hole.