The First Multi-Messenger Nova: External Shocks, TeV Photons, and Neutrinos in the Next Eruption of T CrB
11 affiliations
- 1Texas Tech University Department of Physics and Astronomy, , Lubbock, TX 79409 ,
- 2Michigan State University Center for Data Intensive and Time Domain Astronomy, Department of Physics and Astronomy, , East Lansing, MI 48824 ,
- 3National Radio Astronomy Observatory , P.O. Box O, Socorro, NM 87801 ,
- 4Space Science Division, Naval Research Laboratory , Washington, DC 20375 ,
- 5INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Capodimonte , Salita Moiariello 16, 80131, Napoli ,
- 6Columbia University Department of Physics and Columbia Astrophysics Laboratory, , New York, NY 10027 ,
- 7Center for Computational Astrophysics, Flatiron Institute , 162 5th Ave, New York, NY 10010 ,
- 8Virginia Institute for Theoretical Astronomy, University of Virginia , Charlottesville, VA 22904 ,
- 9CRESST and X-ray Astrophysics Laboratory , NASA/GSFC, Greenbelt, MD 20771 ,
- 10University of Maryland Department of Physics, , Baltimore County, 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, MD 21250 ,
- 11University of California Department of Astronomy and Theoretical Astrophysics Center, , Berkeley, CA 94720 ,
Abstract
T Coronae Borealis is the most compelling anticipated Galactic recurrent nova and one of the best opportunities to test whether nova eruptions can become genuine multi-messenger transients. Recent observational work on classical novae has shown that the GeV γ-ray luminosity correlates strongly with the differential velocity between interacting outflows, suggesting that shock power depends strongly on velocity contrast. We apply this empirical framework to T CrB and compare it with the 2021 eruption of RS Ophiuchi, the only nova securely detected at TeV energies. We argue that T CrB may lie at the extreme high-Δv end of the nova population and that its strongest shock should arise at the external interaction between the nova ejecta and the slow circumbinary medium. This makes the external shock the most likely site of any TeV emission, while the GeV signal may contain contributions from both internal, if present, and external shocks. Because T CrB is substantially closer than RS Oph, it is an especially favorable target for TeV detection. The neutrino case is promising but more uncertain because it depends sensitively on the density and structure of the circumbinary material. We also revisit the recurrence time of T CrB. Using the observed scatter of better-sampled recurrent novae, we infer a representative population-scale recurrence of Trec ≃ 80 ± 12 yr. Taken together, its proximity and potentially extreme shock velocities make T CrB perhaps the best opportunity for a nova to become the first securely established multi-messenger nova.
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BibTeX
@article{aydi2026first,
title = {{The First Multi-Messenger Nova: External Shocks, TeV Photons, and Neutrinos in the Next Eruption of T CrB}},
author = {E Aydi and P Craig and K V Sokolovsky and L Chomiuk and C C Cheung and L Izzo and J D Linford and B D Metzger and S Mohamed and I Molina and K Mukai and K J Shen and J L Sokoloski},
journal = {Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1093/mnras/stag1929},
url = {https://academic.oup.com/mnras/advance-article/doi/10.1093/mnras/stag1929/8907351},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - The First Multi-Messenger Nova: External Shocks, TeV Photons, and Neutrinos in the Next Eruption of T CrB
AU - E Aydi
AU - P Craig
AU - K V Sokolovsky
AU - L Chomiuk
AU - C C Cheung
AU - L Izzo
AU - J D Linford
AU - B D Metzger
AU - S Mohamed
AU - I Molina
AU - K Mukai
AU - K J Shen
AU - J L Sokoloski
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/10
JO - Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
DO - 10.1093/mnras/stag1929
UR - https://academic.oup.com/mnras/advance-article/doi/10.1093/mnras/stag1929/8907351
AB - T Coronae Borealis is the most compelling anticipated Galactic recurrent nova and one of the best opportunities to test whether nova eruptions can become genuine multi-messenger transients. Recent observational work on classical novae has shown that the GeV γ-ray luminosity correlates strongly with the differential velocity between interacting outflows, suggesting that shock power depends strongly on velocity contrast. We apply this empirical framework to T CrB and compare it with the 2021 eruption of RS Ophiuchi, the only nova securely detected at TeV energies. We argue that T CrB may lie at the extreme high-Δv end of the nova population and that its strongest shock should arise at the external interaction between the nova ejecta and the slow circumbinary medium. This makes the external shock the most likely site of any TeV emission, while the GeV signal may contain contributions from both internal, if present, and external shocks. Because T CrB is substantially closer than RS Oph, it is an especially favorable target for TeV detection. The neutrino case is promising but more uncertain because it depends sensitively on the density and structure of the circumbinary material. We also revisit the recurrence time of T CrB. Using the observed scatter of better-sampled recurrent novae, we infer a representative population-scale recurrence of Trec ≃ 80 ± 12 yr. Taken together, its proximity and potentially extreme shock velocities make T CrB perhaps the best opportunity for a nova to become the first securely established multi-messenger nova.
SN - 0035-8711
SN - 1365-2966
ER -