The physical properties of T Pyx as measured by MUSE

I. The geometrical distribution of the ejecta and the distance to the remnant^⋆

¹ INAF – Osservatorio Astronomico di Capodimonte, Salita Moiariello 16, 80131 Napoli, Italy
e-mail: luca.izzo@inaf.it
² DARK, Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Jagtvej 128, 2200 Copenhagen, Denmark
³ European Southern Observatory, Karl Schwarzschild-Str. 2, 85748 Garching, Germany
⁴ Center for Data Intensive and Time Domain Astronomy, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
⁵ UK Astronomy Technology Centre, Royal Observatory Edinburgh, EH9 3HJ Edinburgh, UK
⁶ INAF – Osservatorio Astronomico di Trieste, Via G. B. Tiepolo 11, 34143 Trieste, Italy
⁷ Institute of Fundamental Physics of the Universe, Via Beirut 2, Miramare, 34151 Trieste, Italy
⁸ Astronomical Observatory Institute, Faculty of Physics, Adam Mickiewicz University, Słoneczna 36, 60-286 Poznań, Poland
⁹ Astronomical Institute, Czech Academy of Sciences, Fričova 298, Ondřejov, Czech Republic
¹⁰ Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California, 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA
¹¹ Space Telescope Science Institute, 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA

Received: 7 December 2023
Accepted: 10 February 2024

Abstract

Context. T Pyx is one of the most enigmatic recurrent novae, and it has been proposed as a potential Galactic type-Ia supernova progenitor.

Aims. Using spatially resolved data obtained with MUSE, we characterized the geometrical distribution of the material expelled in previous outbursts surrounding the white dwarf progenitor.

Methods. We used a 3D model for the ejecta to determine the geometric distribution of the extended remnant. We also calculated the nebular parallax distance (d = 3.55 ± 0.77 kpc) based on the measured velocity and spatial shift of the 2011 bipolar ejecta. Our findings confirm previous results, including the data from the Gaia mission.

Results. The remnant of T Pyx can be described by a two-component model consisting of a tilted ring at i = 63.7 relative to its normal vector and fast bipolar ejecta perpendicular to the plane of the equatorial ring.

Conclusions. We found an upper limit for the bipolar outflow ejected mass in 2011 of the bipolar outflow of M_ej, b < (3.0 ± 1.0)×10⁻⁶ M_⊙, which is lower than previous estimates given in the literature. However, only a detailed physical study of the equatorial component can provide an accurate estimate of the total ejecta of the last outburst, a fundamental step to understanding if T Pyx will end its life as a type-Ia supernova.