A micronova burst in the intermediate polar IGR J17014-4306
Abstract
We report the detection of a short optical burst in TESS data of IGR J17014-4306, the eclipsing intermediate polar with the longest known orbital period. The burst lasts 1.56 d and shows multiple peaks, reaching (9.3 ± 0.2) × 1033 erg s−1, and releases a total energy of (3.25 ± 0.01) × 1038 erg. The burst parameters are consistent with those of a micronova eruption, currently understood as a thermonuclear runaway in the magnetically-confined accretion column. From its energy, we infer a burned column mass of ∼ 1.6 × 10−11 M⊙, which implies a recurrence time of ∼ 20 d. Our search for similar events in long-term Gaia, ASAS-SN, and AAVSO light curves reveals 16 possible fast brightenings over ∼ 11 yr, suggesting that micronova events may be frequent in IGR J17014-4306. Timing analysis of the TESS data shows that the white-dwarf spin period remains stable before and after the burst. During the burst, however, the power spectrum becomes more complex and exhibits multiple peaks. The classification of IGR J17014-4306 as a micronova brings the total number of confirmed systems to eight. Its extreme orbital period and eclipsing nature make it an ideal test-bed for further studies of magnetically confined thermonuclear burning on white dwarfs.
Versions
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BibTeX
@misc{oliveira2026micronova,
title = {{A micronova burst in the intermediate polar IGR J17014-4306}},
author = {Alexandre S. Oliveira and D. C. Souza and G. J. M. Luna and C. V. Rodrigues},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = jun,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2606.06305},
eprint = {2606.06305},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2606.06305},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - A micronova burst in the intermediate polar IGR J17014-4306
AU - Alexandre S. Oliveira
AU - D. C. Souza
AU - G. J. M. Luna
AU - C. V. Rodrigues
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/06/04
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2606.06305
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2606.06305
AB - We report the detection of a short optical burst in TESS data of IGR J17014-4306, the eclipsing intermediate polar with the longest known orbital period. The burst lasts 1.56 d and shows multiple peaks, reaching (9.3 ± 0.2) × 10^33 erg s^−1, and releases a total energy of (3.25 ± 0.01) × 10^38 erg. The burst parameters are consistent with those of a micronova eruption, currently understood as a thermonuclear runaway in the magnetically-confined accretion column. From its energy, we infer a burned column mass of ∼ 1.6 × 10^−11 M_⊙, which implies a recurrence time of ∼ 20 d. Our search for similar events in long-term Gaia, ASAS-SN, and AAVSO light curves reveals 16 possible fast brightenings over ∼ 11 yr, suggesting that micronova events may be frequent in IGR J17014-4306. Timing analysis of the TESS data shows that the white-dwarf spin period remains stable before and after the burst. During the burst, however, the power spectrum becomes more complex and exhibits multiple peaks. The classification of IGR J17014-4306 as a micronova brings the total number of confirmed systems to eight. Its extreme orbital period and eclipsing nature make it an ideal test-bed for further studies of magnetically confined thermonuclear burning on white dwarfs.
ER -