Abstract
A nova in the Local Group irregular dwarf galaxy IC 1613 was discovered on 2015 September 10 and is the first nova in that galaxy to be spectroscopically confirmed. We conducted a detailed multiwavelength observing campaign of the eruption with the Liverpool Telescope, the LCO 2 m telescope at Siding Spring Observatory, and Swift, the results of which we present here. The nova peaked at MV = −7.93 ± 0.08 and was fast-fading, with decline times of t2(V) = 13 ± 2 and t3(V) = 26 ± 2 d. The overall light-curve decline was relatively smooth, as often seen in fast-fading novae. Swift observations spanned 40–332 d post-discovery, but no X-ray source was detected. Optical spectra show the nova to be a member of the hybrid spectroscopic class, simultaneously showing Fe ii and N ii lines of similar strength during the early decline phase. The spectra cover the eruption from the early optically thick phase, through the early decline and into the nebular phase. The Hγ absorption minimum from the optically thick spectrum indicates an expansion velocity of 1200 ± 200 km s−1. The full width at half-maximum of the Hα emission line between 10.54 and 57.51 d post-discovery shows no significant evolution and remains at ∼1750 km s−1, although the morphology of this line does show some evolution. The nova appears close to a faint stellar source in archival imaging; however, we find the most likely explanation for this is simply a chance alignment.
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