Near-infrared Spectral Properties of Type Ib/Ic Supernova Progenitors and Implications for JWST and NGRST Observations

Abstract While about 20 type II supernova (SN II) progenitors have been identified using optical data from the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), direct detection of type Ib/Ic supernova (SN Ib/Ic) progenitors remains challenging, due to their faint optical brightness and highly obscured environments. This study aims to investigate the detection limits and advantages of near-infrared (near-IR) observations with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope (NGRST) for the detection of SN Ib/Ic progenitors. The spectral energy distributions of SN Ib/Ic progenitor models with various masses, chemical compositions, and mass-loss rates are calculated with the non-LTE radiative transfer code CMFGEN. We then assess the detectability of SN Ib/Ic progenitors using near-IR filters from JWST and NGRST, comparing the results to the capabilities of HST. Our analysis indicates that near-IR observations significantly outperform HST in detecting SN Ib/Ic progenitors when considering the effect of extinction. Near-IR magnitudes also provide better constraints on the mass-loss rates of progenitors, because of the free–free emission from the wind matter. Additionally, near-IR magnitudes and color–color diagrams are effective in distinguishing SN Ib/Ic progenitors from possible companion and/or background objects. This study suggests that JWST and NGRST can play a crucial role in advancing our understanding of SN Ib/Ic progenitors, by improving detectability and offering better constraints on progenitor properties. We emphasize that observations with exposure times exceeding 1 hr would be needed to detect typical SNe Ib/Ic progenitors at distances greater than 10 Mpc.