JWST Observations of SN 2024abup: First Detection of CO in a Broad-lined Type Ic Supernova and Constraints on r -process Nucleosynthesis

@article{shrestha2026jwst,
  title = {{JWST Observations of SN 2024abup: First Detection of CO in a Broad-lined Type Ic Supernova and Constraints on r -process Nucleosynthesis}},
  author = {Manisha Shrestha and Lindsey A. Kwok and David J. Sand and Stan Barmentloo and Collin Christy and Anders Jerkstrand and K. Azalee Bostroem and Jennifer E. Andrews and Kate D. Alexander and Yize 一泽 Dong 董 and C. E. Fields and Emily Hoang and Griffin Hosseinzadeh and Brian Hsu and Daryl Janzen and Saurabh W. Jha and Joel Johansson and Jeniveve Pearson and M. J. Lundquist and Darshana Mehta and Aidan Martas and Maryam Modjaz and Bernhard Müller and Conor L. Ransome and Aravind P. Ravi and Mathieu Renzo and Nicolás Meza Retamal and Bhagya Subrayan and Nathan Smith and Stefano Valenti and Sergiy Vasylyev and Giacomo Ricigliano and Peter J. Brown and Moira Andrews and Joseph Farah and D. Andrew Howell and Curtis McCully and Megan Newsome and Kathryn Wynn and Ryan Chornock and Natalie LeBaron and Raffaella Margutti and Melissa Shahbandeh and Chris Ashall and Peter Hoeflich},
  journal = {The Astrophysical Journal Letters},
  year = {2026},
  month = sep,
  doi = {10.3847/2041-8213/aea6bf},
  url = {https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2041-8213/aea6bf},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}

TY  - JOUR
TI  - JWST Observations of SN 2024abup: First Detection of CO in a Broad-lined Type Ic Supernova and Constraints on r -process Nucleosynthesis
AU  - Manisha Shrestha
AU  - Lindsey A. Kwok
AU  - David J. Sand
AU  - Stan Barmentloo
AU  - Collin Christy
AU  - Anders Jerkstrand
AU  - K. Azalee Bostroem
AU  - Jennifer E. Andrews
AU  - Kate D. Alexander
AU  - Yize 一泽 Dong 董
AU  - C. E. Fields
AU  - Emily Hoang
AU  - Griffin Hosseinzadeh
AU  - Brian Hsu
AU  - Daryl Janzen
AU  - Saurabh W. Jha
AU  - Joel Johansson
AU  - Jeniveve Pearson
AU  - M. J. Lundquist
AU  - Darshana Mehta
AU  - Aidan Martas
AU  - Maryam Modjaz
AU  - Bernhard Müller
AU  - Conor L. Ransome
AU  - Aravind P. Ravi
AU  - Mathieu Renzo
AU  - Nicolás Meza Retamal
AU  - Bhagya Subrayan
AU  - Nathan Smith
AU  - Stefano Valenti
AU  - Sergiy Vasylyev
AU  - Giacomo Ricigliano
AU  - Peter J. Brown
AU  - Moira Andrews
AU  - Joseph Farah
AU  - D. Andrew Howell
AU  - Curtis McCully
AU  - Megan Newsome
AU  - Kathryn Wynn
AU  - Ryan Chornock
AU  - Natalie LeBaron
AU  - Raffaella Margutti
AU  - Melissa Shahbandeh
AU  - Chris Ashall
AU  - Peter Hoeflich
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/30
JO  - The Astrophysical Journal Letters
DO  - 10.3847/2041-8213/aea6bf
UR  - https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2041-8213/aea6bf
AB  - SN 2024abup is a nearby broad-lined Type Ic supernova (SN Ic-bl) in NGC 0681 at a distance of 23.3 ± 1.6 Mpc. As energetic explosions of massive stars, SNe Ic-bl are considered a plausible site for rapid-neutron capture nucleosynthesis ( r -process) and chemical enrichment from short-lived progenitors. They may also contribute to dust production in the early Universe. We present JWST near- to mid-infrared (NIR+MIR) observations (1–14 μ m) of SN Ic-bl 2024abup at +41 days after the V -band maximum (+54 days after explosion), the first-ever JWST+MIR observation of an SN Ic-bl along with radio and optical data. Using the spectral synthesis code SUMO , we identify the observed broad IR line features in SN 2024abup and find significant contributions from C, O, Mg, and carbon monoxide (CO)—the earliest detection of molecules in a core-collapse SN so far. The spectrum shows continuum emission at wavelengths greater than 1.5 μ m, which could be explained by dust—preexisting, newly formed, or a combination—heated by the SN. We do not find unambiguous evidence for infrared signatures of r -process elements, though our search is hampered by the presence of many broad and blended features from the non- r -process elements such as [Te iii ] + Mg ii at 2.1 μ m. These new observations indicate that SNe Ic-bl could be a contributor to early-universe dust production and suggest that if r -process elements are produced, revealing their presence from spectra requires very high-quality data and models to disentangle blends.
SN  - 2041-8205
SN  - 2041-8213
ER  -