Archival Gravitational-Wave Optical Transient Observer Photometry and Zwicky Transient Facility Localization of Galactic Novae: Quiescent Constraints and Improved Coordinates

We present archival photometry from the Gravitational-wave Optical Transient Observer (GOTO) for four Galactic novae discovered between 2017 and 2024, spanning some of the faintest ZTF24aaomlxy and PGIR22akgylf (at a marginal near-limit level consistent with the practical limiting magnitude of calibrated L to the brightest V1405 Cas and V1674 Her recent eruptions. For each object, we extract GOTO measurements obtained at or near the pre-eruption state, excluding data points with observational uncertainties exceeding 0.5 mag (except for the faintest PGIR22akgylf). The resulting light curves show that GOTO can detect nova progenitors close to its observable limiting depth at calibrated L magnitudes approaching the survey’s practical limiting magnitude, providing meaningful constraints on quiescent brightness, possibly for systems that were only sparsely monitored using surveys such as ZTF and PGIR. These detections demonstrate that wide-field imaging originally designed for gravitational-wave follow-up can yield meaningful limits on both faint and fast-evolving nova progenitors. Simultaneously, we improve the sky positions of five Galactic novae—ZTF24aaomlxy, V3732 Oph, V2000 Aql, V3666 Oph, and V659 Sct—whose published coordinates are affected by crowding or limited precision. Using high-cadence photometry from ZTF and AAVSO, we identify the actual eruption source in each field and obtain revised coordinates that differ by several arcseconds. These findings highlight the importance of time-domain archives for identifying faint nova progenitors and improving astrometric accuracy across the Galactic nova population.

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Journal
Universe
Published
2026-02-16
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/universe12020053
Primary Topic
Astrophysical Phenomena and Observations
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Archival Gravitational-Wave Optical Transient Observer Photometry and Zwicky Transient Facility Localization of Galactic Novae: Quiescent Constraints and Improved Coordinates

Vik. S. Dhillon, Rob AJ Eyles-Ferris, K. Noysena, S Khamrat et al.
Universe
Astrophysical Phenomena and Observations
article

Archival Gravitational-Wave Optical Transient Observer Photometry and Zwicky Transient Facility Localization of Galactic Novae: Quiescent Constraints and Improved Coordinates

Vik. S. Dhillon, Rob AJ Eyles-Ferris, K. Noysena, S Khamrat, S. Belkin, A. Sahu, K. Ackley, D. L. Coppejans, R. Kotak, L Kelsey, J. Casares, G. Ramsay, F. Surina, E. R. Stanway, Soheb Mandhai, J. A. Garbutt, Joe Lyman, Ben Gompertz, Paul Robin Brian Chote, Seppo Mattila, P. O’Brien, L. K. Nuttall, M J Dyer, Dan Jarvis, Mark Kennedy, Rene P. Breton, Krzysztof Ulaczyk, Yuzhu Sun, Andrew Levan, Kangming Pu, Rhaana Starling, Ashley Chrimes, Tom Killestein, Ben Godson
article en

Abstract

We present archival photometry from the Gravitational-wave Optical Transient Observer (GOTO) for four Galactic novae discovered between 2017 and 2024, spanning some of the faintest ZTF24aaomlxy and PGIR22akgylf (at a marginal near-limit level consistent with the practical limiting magnitude of calibrated L to the brightest V1405 Cas and V1674 Her recent eruptions. For each object, we extract GOTO measurements obtained at or near the pre-eruption state, excluding data points with observational uncertainties exceeding 0.5 mag (except for the faintest PGIR22akgylf). The resulting light curves show that GOTO can detect nova progenitors close to its observable limiting depth at calibrated L magnitudes approaching the survey’s practical limiting magnitude, providing meaningful constraints on quiescent brightness, possibly for systems that were only sparsely monitored using surveys such as ZTF and PGIR. These detections demonstrate that wide-field imaging originally designed for gravitational-wave follow-up can yield meaningful limits on both faint and fast-evolving nova progenitors. Simultaneously, we improve the sky positions of five Galactic novae—ZTF24aaomlxy, V3732 Oph, V2000 Aql, V3666 Oph, and V659 Sct—whose published coordinates are affected by crowding or limited precision. Using high-cadence photometry from ZTF and AAVSO, we identify the actual eruption source in each field and obtain revised coordinates that differ by several arcseconds. These findings highlight the importance of time-domain archives for identifying faint nova progenitors and improving astrometric accuracy across the Galactic nova population.

UniverseVol. 12(2)
Radboud University Nijmegen (NL), University of Leicester (GB), University of Turku (FI), Universidad de La Laguna (ES), University of Cambridge (GB), University College Cork (IE), Armagh Observatory & Planetarium (GB), University of Manchester (GB), University of Warwick (GB), Chiang Rai Rajabhat University (TH), Chiangrai College (TH), Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (ES), Monash University (AU), University of Portsmouth (GB), University of Birmingham (GB), National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand (TH), University of Sheffield (GB)
National Science Foundation, California Institute of Technology, Northwestern University, University of Washington, University of Portsmouth, National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand, University of Leicester, University of Warwick, Trinity College Dublin, Monash University, Turun Yliopisto, Stockholms Universitet, Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, Science and Technology Facilities Council, Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron, Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules
Openalex Percentile: Top 52%
Astrophysical Phenomena and Observations
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