7Be detection in the 2021 outburst of RS Oph

Abstract

ABSTRACT The recurrent nova RS Oph underwent a new outburst on 2021 August 8, reaching a visible brightness of V = 4.8 mag. Observations of the 2021 outburst made with the high-resolution UVES spectrograph at the Kueyen-UT2 telescope at ESO-VLT in Paranal enabled detection of the possible presence of 7Be newly made in the thermonuclear runaway reactions. The 7Be yields can be estimated at N(7Be)/N(H) = 5.7 × 10−6, which are close to the lowest yields measured in classical novae so far. 7Be is short-lived and decays only into 7Li. By means of a spectrum taken during the nebular phase we estimated an ejected mass of ≈ 1.1 × 10−5 M⊙, providing an amount of ≈ 4.4 × 10−10 M⊙ of 7Li created in the 2021 event. Recurrent novae of the RS Oph type may synthesize slightly lower amounts of 7Li per event than classical novae, but occur 103 times more frequently. The recurrent novae fraction is in the range of 10–30 per cent and they could have contributed to the making of the 7Li that we observe today. The detection of 7Be in RS Oph provides further support to the recent suggestion that novae are the most effective source of 7Li in the Galaxy.