Supernovae and the Origin of Dust in Galaxies: Follow-Up Observations of Six SNe

Details Supernovae and the Origin of Dust in Galaxies: Follow-Up Observations of Six SNe Supernovae and the Origin of Dust in Galaxies: Follow-Up Observations of Six SNe

May 2006

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2006sptz.prop30494s&link_type=abstract

Spitzer Proposal ID #30494

Computer Science

Scientific paper

The role that massive stars play in the dust content of the Universe is extremely uncertain. It has long been hypothesized that dust can condense within the ejecta of supernovae (SNe), however there is a frustrating discrepancy between the amounts of dust found in the early Universe, predicted by nucleation theory, and inferred from SN observations. We are now carrying out a sensitive optical through mid-IR survey for thermal dust emission from recent SNe to address the extent to which they produce dust, and whether they are a primary source of dust in the Universe. We propose a comprehensive set of follow-up IRAC, MIPS, and IRS observations for six recent SNe within 10 Mpc: SNe 2002hh, 2003gd, 2004am, 2004dj, 2004et, and 2005cs. Of these, four have identified progenitors, all but one have already been observed with Spitzer, two are forming dust, and one shows evidence of emission from pre-existing circumstellar material. In short, these six SNe offer our best chance of comparing measurements of condensed dust masses to theoretical predictions and establishing the role of SNe in the formation of dust in the early Universe. In the mid-IR, SNe are known to evolve rapidly, on timescales of 100 days or less, making our observations time-sensitive, and if follow-ups are not made, critical scientific opportunities may be permanently lost. Our proposed observations, combined with ground-based and HST optical observations, provide the ideal dataset through which the condensation and evolution of dust can be monitored, allowing us to use advanced radiative-transfer models to determine the the dust masses, temperature, grain properties, and location with unparalleled accuracy. Not only will be directly test theories of dust formation within supernovae, but these detailed results are crucial for quantifying the contribution of SNe to the dust content of galaxies. Furthermore, SNe within 10 Mpc are rare, so these may be among the best objects we will encounter during Spitzer's lifetime for this study.

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