Supernovae and the Origin of Dust in Galaxies: Follow-Up Observations of SNe 1999bw, 2002hh, and 2004et.

Details Supernovae and the Origin of Dust in Galaxies: Follow-Up Observations of SNe 1999bw, 2002hh, and 2004et. Supernovae and the Origin of Dust in Galaxies: Follow-Up Observations of SNe 1999bw, 2002hh, and 2004et.

Jun 2005

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2005sptz.prop20320s&link_type=abstract

Spitzer Proposal ID #20320

Computer Science

Scientific paper

The role that massive stars play in the dust content of the Universe is extremely uncertain. While these stars may create considerable amounts of circumstellar dust in their stellar winds, the actual amount formed, and how much of it survives the eventual impact with the star's supernova (SN) blast, are not well known. It has long been hypothesized that dust can condense within the ejecta of 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. The main problem is that dust emission is best observed in the mid-IR, but before the launch of Spitzer, instruments lacked the necessary sensitivity. We are now carrying out a sensitive 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 the first three SNe discovered by our project: 2002hh and 2004et in NGC 6946 (d=6 Mpc), and 1999bw in NGC 3198 (d=14.5 Mpc). SN 1999bw is enigmatic, as its IR excess is that predicted for a SN half its age. SN 2002hh has a mid-IR excess from circumstellar dust, but has yet to show any signs of dust condensation. SN 2004et is very young and IR luminous, allowing us to carefully monitor its IR evolution from the earliest times. The rapid evolution of mid-IR emission make our observations time-sensitive, and if follow-ups are not made, critical scientific opportunities may be permanently lost. We will use these and archival observations with radiative-transfer models to determine the mass, temperature, grain properties, and location of dust in each SN. These detailed results are crucial for quantifying the contribution of SNe to the dust content of galaxies. Furthermore, SNe within 6 Mpc are rare, so SNe 2002hh and 2004et may be among the best objects we will encounter during Spitzer's lifetime for this study.

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