A unified model for the spectrophotometric development of classical and
  recurrent novae: the role of asphericity of the ejecta
  There is increasing evidence that the geometry, and not only the filling
factors, of nova ejecta is important in the interpretation of their spectral
and photometric developments. Ensembles of spectra and light curves have
provided general typographies. This Letter suggests how these can be
unified.The observed spread in the maximum magnitude - rate of decline (MMRD)
relation is argued to result from the range of opening angles and inclination
of the ejecta, and not only to their masses and velocities. The spectroscopic
classes can be similarly explained and linked to the behavior of the light
curves. The secondary maximum observed in some dust forming novae is a natural
consequence of the asphericity. Neither secondary ejections nor winds are
needed to explain the phenomenology. The spectrophotometric development of
classical novae can be understood within a single phenomenological model with
bipolar, although not jet-like, mass ejecta. High resolution spectropolarimetry
will be an essential analytical tool.
