Science case
The determination of the chemical enrichment by the different types of supernovae and on the study of the extremes of the SN population are keys questions in modern astrophysics. Indeed the standard assumptions in galaxy evolution models, i.e. 0.6Msun of Fe from SNIa, 0.1Msun of Fe (plus O/Ca/Mg) from SNII, are far from being reasonable approximations. There are evidences that the ejected Fe mass ranges from 0.1 to 1.0Msun for SNIa, and from 0.002 to 0.4Msun for core collapse SNe, occasionally reaching about 1Msun in SNIb/c. The amounts of other elements are even more variable (and largely unknown). The comparison of optical and IR observations with theoretical models, developed by our group, will permit to derive the chemical abundances and stratfication of the expanding ejecta. This, together with the SN rates and their evolution with redshift, will establish the contribution of SNe to the cosmic chemical evolution. The second goal is to extract invaluable physical parameters also from the study of extreme (in terms of luminosity, progenitor mass and/or mass loss, explosion mechanisms, etc..) objects. The project relay upon the ESO-NTT and TNG long term programs, in the framework of a large international collaboration.

Observing program
PI of the project is S. Benetti.The project was granted:

• 30 nights/year at NTT+EFOSC2+SOFI for 4 years (until period 92, included)
• 110h/semester at TNG+DOLORES+NICS for 2 years (until AOT23, included)

The observing program is completed and a number of papers, listed here , have been published. Further data analysis is ongoing.