The early X-ray emission from V382 Velorum (=Nova Vel 1999): An internal shock model

We present the results of ASCA and RXTE observations of the early X-ray emission from the classical nova V382 Velorum. Its ASCA spectrum was hard (kT~10 keV) with a strong (10**23 cm**-2) intrinsic absorption. In the subsequent RXTE data, the spectra became softer both due to a declining temperature and a diminishing column. We argue that this places the X-ray emission interior to the outermost ejecta produced by V382 Vel in 1999, and therefore must have been the result of a shock internal to the nova ejecta. The weakness of the Fe K alpha lines probably indicates that the X-ray emitting plasmas are not in ionization equilibrium.