title: Rapid formation of large dust grains in the luminous supernova 2010jl.
abstract: The origin of dust in galaxies is still a mystery. The majority of the refractory elements are produced in supernova explosions, but it is unclear how and where dust grains condense and grow, and how they avoid destruction in the harsh environments of star-forming galaxies. The recent detection of 0.1 to 0.5 solar masses of dust in nearby supernova remnants suggests in situ dust formation, while other observations reveal very little dust in supernovae in the first few years after explosion. Observations of the spectral evolution of the bright SN 2010jl have been interpreted as pre-existing dust, dust formation or no dust at all. Here we report the rapid (40 to 240 days) formation of dust in its dense circumstellar medium. The wavelength-dependent extinction of this dust reveals the presence of very large (exceeding one micrometre) grains, which resist destruction. At later times (500 to 900 days), the near-infrared thermal emission shows an accelerated growth in dust mass, marking the transition of the dust source from the circumstellar medium to the ejecta. This provides the link between the early and late dust mass evolution in supernovae with dense circumstellar media.
authors.affiliation: 1] Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 120, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark [2] Dark Cosmology Centre, Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Juliane Maries Vej 30, DK-2100 Copenhagen Ø, Denmark [3] Observational Cosmology Lab, Code 665, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771, USA.
authors.forename: Christa
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gall
authors.affiliation: Dark Cosmology Centre, Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Juliane Maries Vej 30, DK-2100 Copenhagen Ø, Denmark.
authors.forename: Jens
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hjorth
authors.affiliation: Dark Cosmology Centre, Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Juliane Maries Vej 30, DK-2100 Copenhagen Ø, Denmark.
authors.forename: Darach
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Watson
authors.affiliation: Observational Cosmology Lab, Code 665, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771, USA.
authors.forename: Eli
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Dwek
authors.affiliation: 1] Dark Cosmology Centre, Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Juliane Maries Vej 30, DK-2100 Copenhagen Ø, Denmark [2] Astrophysics Research Centre School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, UK.
authors.forename: Justyn R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Maund
authors.affiliation: Department of Astronomy, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720-3411, USA.
authors.forename: Ori
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Fox
authors.affiliation: 1] Dark Cosmology Centre, Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Juliane Maries Vej 30, DK-2100 Copenhagen Ø, Denmark [2] The Oskar Klein Centre, Department of Physics, Stockholm University, Albanova University Centre, 10691 Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Giorgos
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Leloudas
authors.affiliation: Dark Cosmology Centre, Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Juliane Maries Vej 30, DK-2100 Copenhagen Ø, Denmark.
authors.forename: Daniele
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Malesani
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Astronomía, Universidad de Chile, Camino del Observatorio 1515, Santiago, Chile.
authors.forename: Avril C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Day-Jones