Tramp Classical Novae as Tracers of Intergalactic Stars

Abstract

Simulations predict that collisions between galaxies must liberate stars into intergalactic space. The stripping of a galaxy's stars by the potential of a cluster in which it resides must also occur. This prediction is verified by the detections of classical novae, red giants, and planetary nebulae between the galaxies of the Virgo and Fornax Clusters. These tracers suggest a tramp stellar component of 10%-40% of the cluster baryonic mass. I point out that classical novae can usefully extend these results to the 250,000 Mpc3 of intergalactic space outside of galaxy clusters surrounding the Local Group. This is because individual novae are well-understood standard candles, with light curves and spectra that are distinct from all other astrophysical phenomena. In addition, the frequency of nova outbursts in any given galaxy is measured to be directly proportional to that galaxy's K-band luminosity (and independent of its Hubble type). Thus, intergalactic novae should be excellent tracers of the fraction of stars liberated from galaxies over the past 13 Gyr. Pan-STARRS, the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST), and other large-area synoptic survey telescopes will begin to regularly discover tramp classical novae out to 20-40 Mpc in the coming decade. I estimate the expected discovery rates with LSST-like surveys to be hundreds of intergalactic tramp novae per year, and suggest survey parameters to optimize detections of these tramps.