What happens to the red dwarf during a classical nova?

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SUMMARY

A red dwarf star donates material to a white dwarf until a nova occurs. During this process, the red dwarf experiences minimal changes, as it is not known to suffer mass loss in a multistar system. The red giant, often confused with the red dwarf, may obscure the early stages of the nova from certain perspectives, but the nova's expansion eventually reveals it. The mass transfer between the stars may be interrupted during the nova, potentially introducing feedback effects on the mass transfer process.

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  • Understanding of stellar evolution, particularly the life cycles of red dwarfs and white dwarfs.
  • Familiarity with nova events and their characteristics.
  • Knowledge of mass transfer processes in binary star systems.
  • Basic concepts of nucleosynthesis in stars.
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  • Research the life cycle of red dwarfs and their interactions in binary systems.
  • Study the mechanisms of nova explosions and their impact on surrounding stars.
  • Explore the effects of mass transfer interruptions during nova events.
  • Investigate the role of magnetic fields in binary star systems and their influence on stellar events.
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Astronomers, astrophysics students, and anyone interested in stellar dynamics and the phenomena associated with nova events.

Tish62
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As a red dwarf star is donating material to a white dwarf until there is a nova.

What happens to the red dwarf during the nova? Is there an increase in nucleosynthesis within the red dwarf due to its close proximity? If so, how would that change the periodicity and type of later novas?

If you were positioned on the other side of the red dwarf would there be a significantly different perspective on the nova event or would the magnetic field of the red dwarf skew that?
 
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Do you mean red giant star?
 
AFAIK red dwarfs are not known to suffer mass loss in a multistar system. They are small enough to be captured in orbits beyond the reach of leeching by more massive compansions.
 
I believe she means red giant, and I think the answer is that essentially nothing happens to the red giant during the nova event. The giant might eclipse the early stages of the nova emission if you are situated behind it, though the nova soon expands to a large size and would be seen around the red giant at some later stage. The mass transfer might be interrupted during the nova, and that might introduce feedback effects on the process.
 

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