THE HOT COMPONENT OF RS OPHIUCHI

We analyze optical and ultraviolet spectrophotometry of the quiescent recurrent nova RS Ophiuchi, Our preferred model for this binary consis ts of an M-type giant and a B-type shell star with a luminosity of L(h ) similar to 100-600 L.. The ejecta from the recent outburst are sligh tly enhanced in helium relative to the solar abundance, which agrees w ith previous estimates from model fits to the optical and ultraviolet light curve. These results indicate that the hot component has a mass close to the Chandrasekhar limit. Although the hot component luminosit y is consistent with the high accretion rate needed for recurrent nova eruptions in this system, our effective temperature estimate is not c onsistent with predicted cooling curves for massive white dwarfs. (C) 1996 American Astronomical Society.