A Luminous Nova in Outburst

We propose to continue a program of Target of Opportunity Observations ofclassical and recurrent novae in outburst, triggered when a nova is observedwith Swift as a luminous Xray source. Our aims are: a) to constrain the mass,temperature and chemical composition of the white dwarf by means of the RGSspectrum, b) to correlate temporal and spectral line variability during thenuclear burning phase, and c) if the shell is very Xray bright, to use the RGSto explore also wind mass loss in a recurrent nova. The proposed study isimportant to understand the evolution of accretion and hydrogen burning on whitedwarfs in close binaries, including supernovae Ia progenitors. truncated!, Please see actual data for full text [truncated!, Please see actual data for full text]