The Link Between RS Ophiuchi and Type Ia Supernovae

RS Ophiuchi (RS Oph) is a symbiotic nova system consisting of a red giant and an accreting white dwarf (WD) which undergoes thermonuclear outbursts every 10-20 years. The WD is thought to be close to the Chandrasekhar mass making the system a likely Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) candidate. In recent years, the RS Oph SN Ia connection has been further strengthened by time-varying circumstellar (CSM) absorption lines observed in high-resolution spectra of both systems. In this paper, we present 3D hydrodynamic simulations of the RS Oph system and preliminary post-processing results for the CSM absorption and hydrogen recombination lines. We find good agreement between the highly-structured, bipolar geometry in our models and the observed morphology. The geometry also naturally explains both the low velocity, narrow absorption and broad emission lines seen in SN 2006X and PTF 11kx. However, we find longer recombination timescales, larger velocity widths and weaker lines suggesting that the shells may be thinner and denser than those in our simulations.