Early optical spectra of nova V1369 Cen show presence of Lithium
Abstract
We present early high resolution spectroscopic observations of the nova V1369 Cen. We have detected an absorption feature at 6695.6 \, that we have identified as blue--shifted 7Li I λ6708 . The absorption line, moving at -550 km/s, was observed in five high-resolution spectra of the nova obtained at different epochs. On the basis of the intensity of this absorption line we infer that a single nova outburst can inject in the Galaxy MLi = 0.3 - 4.8 × 10-10 M. Given the current estimates of Galactic nova rate, this amount is sufficient to explain the puzzling origin of the overabundance of Lithium observed in young star populations.
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