A Mid-infrared Study of Superluminous Supernovae

TL;DR

This study analyzes mid-infrared light curves of superluminous supernovae, revealing dust formation and heating mechanisms, with implications for understanding their energy output and dust production efficiency.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed MIR analysis of SLSNe, showing evidence of newly formed dust heated by circumstellar interaction, and suggests higher dust formation efficiency than normal supernovae.

Findings

Detection of dust emission in 4 out of 7 SLSNe studied.

Dust temperatures of 600–1100 K and masses >10^{-2} M_ ext{sun}.

Dust masses are ten times greater than in normal supernovae.

Abstract

We present the mid-infrared (MIR) light curves (LC) of 10 superluminous supernovae (SLSNe) at $z<0.12$ based on WISE data at 3.4 and 4.6 $\mu$m. Three of them, including PS15br, SN 2017ens, and SN 2017err show rebrightening which started at 200--400 days and ended at 600--1000 days, indicating the presence of dust. In four of the left seven SLSNe, dust emission was detected with monochromatic luminosities of $10^7\sim10^8\ L_\odot$ at epochs of 100--500 days based on MIR colors $W1-W2\sim1$. Among the three SLSNe which show rebrightening, we further analysed PS15br and SN 2017ens. We modeled the SEDs at 500--700 days, which gives dust temperatures of 600--1100 K, dust masses of $\gtrsim 10^{-2}\ M_\odot$, and luminosities of $10^8\sim10^9$ $L_\odot$. Considering the time delay and the huge amount of energy released, the emitting dust can hardly be pre-existing dust heated whether collisionally by shocks or radiatively by peak SLSN luminosity or shock emission. Instead, it can be newly formed dust additionally heated by the interaction of circum-stellar medium, indicated by features in their spectra and slowly declining bolometric LCs. The dust masses appear to be ten times greater than those formed in normal core-collapse supernovae at similar epochs. Combining with the analysis of SN 2018bsz by Chen et al. (2022), we suggest that SLSNe have higher dust formation efficiency, although future observations are required to reach a final conclusion.