Multiwavelength Photometry and Progenitor Analysis of the Nova V906 Car

We present optical and infrared photometry of the classical nova V906 Car, also known as Nova Car 2018 and ASASSN-18fv, which was discovered by the All-Sky Automated Survey for SuperNovae (ASAS-SN) on 2018 March 16.32 UT (MJD 58193.0). The nova reached its maximum on MJD 58222.56 at V max = 5.84 ± 0.09 mag, and had decline times of t2, v = 26.2 days and t3, v = 33.0 days. The data from Evryscope shows that the nova had already brightened to g' ≈ 13 mag five days before discovery, as compared with its quiescent magnitude of g = 20.13 ± 0.03. The extinction toward the nova, as derived from high-resolution spectroscopy, shows an estimate consistent with foreground extinction to the Carina Nebula of Av=1.11+0.54-0.39. The light curve resembles a rare C (cusp) class nova with a steep decline slope of α =-3.94 post-cusp flare. From the light-curve decline rate, we estimate the mass of the white dwarf to be M WD = <0.8M o˙, consistent with MWD = 0.71+0.23-0.19 derived from modeling the accretion disk of the system in quiescence. The donor star is likely a K-M dwarf of 0.23-0.43 Mo˙, which is heated by its companion