Abstract
RS Ophiuchi is a symbiotic variable and a recurrent nova. We have monitored it with the Nordic Optical Telescope and obtained 30 high resolution (R=46 000) optical spectra over one orbital cycle during quiescence. To our knowledge this is the best-sampled high resolution spectroscopic dataset of RS Oph over one orbital period. We do not detect any direct signatures of an accretion disc such as double peaked emission lines, but many line profiles are complex consisting of superimposed emission and absorption components. We measure the spin of the red giant and conclude that it is tidally locked to the binary orbit. We observe Na I absorption features, probably arising from the circumbinary medium, that has been shaped by previous recurrent nova outbursts. We do not detect any intrinsic polarisation in the optical wavelengths.
Highlights
RS Ophiuchi (RS Oph) is a symbiotic binary and a recurrent nova (RN) composed of a white dwarf (WD) that accretes matter from an M type giant companion star (Dobrzycka & Kenyon 1994; Kenyon 1986)
King & Pringle (2009) and Alexander et al (2011) suggest that the outbursts of RS Oph could be due to an accretion disc instability, analogous to dwarf nova outbursts
In a recurrent nova outburst the ejecta sweeps through the circumbinary matter (CBM) pushing the matter originated from the red giant stellar wind away changing the density structure in the surrounding medium
Summary
RS Ophiuchi (RS Oph) is a symbiotic binary and a recurrent nova (RN) composed of a white dwarf (WD) that accretes matter from an M type giant companion star (Dobrzycka & Kenyon 1994; Kenyon 1986). King & Pringle (2009) and Alexander et al (2011) suggest that the outbursts of RS Oph could be due to an accretion disc instability, analogous to dwarf nova outbursts. It is unclear whether the accretion process in RS Oph occurs via Roche lobe overflow or from the stellar wind capture. The previously published observations obtained during quiescence often consist of sparse data points or data obtained over several orbital periods (e.g. Zamanov et al 2005; Brandi et al 2009; Patat et al 2011).
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