A multiwavelength study of the early evolution of the classical nova LMC 1988 #1

LMC 1988 #1 was a moderately fast, CO, dust-forming classical nova. It was observed extensively in many different wavelength regions during its early evolution. The UV, optical and infrared light curves of LMC 1988 #1 are very similar to those of the Galactic Nova V1668 Cyg 1978. As in V1668 Cyg, LMC 1988 #1 showed the presence of an optically thin dust shell ∼ 55 d after visual maximum which lasted for about two months. We successfully fit the UV and optical spectra of LMC 1988 #1 taken within the first two months of its outburst (when the atmosphere was still optically thick) with synthetic spectra computed using PHOENIX nova model atmospheres. The synthetic spectra reproduce most of the features seen in the observations and provide V-band magnitudes consistent with the observed light curve. From the synthetic spectral fits to the observed data, we find that the bolometric luminosity was approximately constant at (3.0 ± 0.3) × 1038 erg s-1 (assuming a distance of 53 kpc to the LMC) during the first 45 d after visual maximum. The fits are improved by increasing the CNO abundances to ∼ 10 times their solar values, implying that the ejecta were enriched in CNO elements.