Program: GN-2020A-Q-211

We propose to conduct near-infrared Standard Target of Opportunity (SToO) observations of core-collapse supernovae (using GNIRS and Flamingos-2) in nearby galaxies that occur during the Gemini 2020A cycle. We will target supernovae in galaxies closer than ~20 Mpc. Our central aim will be to study the production and evolution of carbon monoxide and dust in supernovae in these galaxies and the inter-relationship between CO and dust. These observations will address a long-standing question: Are core-collapse supernovae (ccSNe) a source of dust in the very early universe? The large quantities of dust observed in high-redshift galaxies cannot have been produced by AGB stars, because their progenitor stars could not have evolved to the AGB dust-producing phase in high-redshift galaxies. In contrast, ccSNe occur within several millions of years after their massive stellar progenitors form. Several ccSNe, including 1987A, are now known to have produced copious amounts of dust - up to one solar mass each, but very few have been tracked in detail during the production phase. As a precursor to this proposal, we have made extensive Gemini observations of the Type IIP SN 2017eaw and detected the onset of CO and dust formation in it and measured the continued production of both. We aim to extend this to other potential CO and dust forming SNe. Our proposed observations will be crucial for advancing understanding of molecule formation/destruction and dust evolution in core-collapse SNe, which will be investigated in greater detail and to later (fainter) stages of evolution during the era of JWST.