Nova explosions alone cannot explain amount of lithium in current
universe

Date:
July 7, 2021
Source:
National Institutes of Natural Sciences
Summary:
A new study of lithium production in a classical nova found a
production rate of only a couple of percent that seen in other
examples. This shows that there is a large diversity within
classical novae and implies that nova explosions alone cannot
explain the amount of lithium seen in the current Universe. This
is an important result for understanding both the explosion
mechanism of classical novae and the overall chemical evolution
of the Universe.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
A new study of lithium production in a classical nova found a production
rate of only a couple of percent that seen in other examples. This shows
that there is a large diversity within classical novae and implies that
nova explosions alone cannot explain the amount of lithium seen in the
current Universe. This is an important result for understanding both
the explosion mechanism of classical novae and the overall chemical
evolution of the Universe.


==========================================================================
In the modern world, lithium is used in the rechargeable batteries
powering smartphones and other devices. It was thought that most of the
lithium found on Earth, and the rest of the Universe, was originally
produced in classical nova explosions. Observations of the classical nova
V339 Del using the Subaru Telescope supported this theory, providing the
first observational evidence of large amounts of lithium being produced
and ejected into space (Classical Nova Explosions are Major Lithium
Factories in the Universe on February 18, 2015).

Now, a team led by Akira Arai, a researcher at Koyama Astronomical
Observatory of Kyoto Sangyo University, used the Subaru Telescope's
open-use observation program to study V5669 Sgr, a classical nova that
appeared in Sagittarius in 2015. This was only the eighth time this
type of study has been successfully conducted. Four of those eight,
including the first, were conducted using the Subaru Telescope. This
time is remarkable because the estimated lithium production is only a few percent of the production seen in the others. This indicates that there
is a large diversity in novae. The fact that some novae produce only a
small amount of lithium suggests that other objects, such as supernovae,
may make important contributions to lithium production in the Universe.

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========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Akira Arai et al. Detection of 7Be II in the Classical Nova
V5669 Sgr
(Nova Sagittarii 2015 No. 3). The Astrophysical Journal, 2021 DOI:
10.3847/1538-4357/ac00bf ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/07/210707112458.htm

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