Peter Challis

CfAIR2 is a large homogeneously reduced set of near-infrared (NIR) light curves for Type Ia supernovae (SN Ia) obtained with the 1.3m Peters Automated InfraRed Imaging TELescope (PAIRITEL). This data set includes 4607 measurements of 94 SN Ia and 4 additional SN Iax observed from 2005-2011 at the Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory on Mount Hopkins, Arizona. CfAIR2 includes JHKs photometric measurements for 88 normal and 6 spectroscopically peculiar SN Ia in the nearby universe, with a median redshift of z~0.021 for the normal SN Ia. CfAIR2 data span the range from -13 days to +127 days from B-band maximum. More than half of the light curves begin before the time of maximum and the coverage typically contains ~13-18 epochs of observation, depending on the filter. We present extensive tests that verify the fidelity of the CfAIR2 data pipeline, including comparison to the excellent data of the Carnegie Supernova Project. CfAIR2 contributes to a firm local anchor for supernova cosmology studies in the NIR. Because SN Ia are more nearly standard candles in the NIR and are less vulnerable to the vexing problems of extinction by dust, CfAIR2 will help the supernova cosmology community develop more precise and accurate extragalactic distance probes to improve our knowledge of cosmological parameters, including dark energy and its potential time variation.

CfAIR2 is a large, homogeneously reduced set of near-infrared (NIR) light curves (LCs) for Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) obtained with the 1.3 m Peters Automated InfraRed Imaging TELescope. This data set includes 4637 measurements of 94 SNe Ia and 4 additional SNe Iax observed from 2005 to 2011 at the Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory on Mount Hopkins, Arizona. CfAIR2 includes photometric measurements for 88 normal and 6 spectroscopically peculiar SN Ia in the nearby universe, with a median redshift of z ~ 0.021 for the normal SN Ia. CfAIR2 data span the range from −13 days to +127 days from B-band maximum. More than half of the LCs begin before the time of maximum, and the coverage typically contains ~13–18 epochs of observation, depending on the filter. We present extensive tests that verify the fidelity of the CfAIR2 data pipeline, including comparison to the excellent data of the Carnegie Supernova Project. CfAIR2 contributes to a firm local anchor for SN cosmology studies in the NIR. Because SN Ia are more nearly standard candles in the NIR and are less vulnerable to the vexing problems of extinction by dust, CfAIR2 will help the SN cosmology community develop more precise and accurate extragalactic distance probes to improve our knowledge of cosmological parameters, including dark energy and its potential time variation.

We present optical and near-infrared photometry, as well as ground-based optical spectra and Hubble Space Telescope ultraviolet spectra, of the Type Ia supernova (SN) 2001ay. At maximum light the Si II and Mg II lines indicated expansion velocities of 14,000 km s^–1, while Si III and S II showed velocities of 9000 km s^–1. There is also evidence for some unburned carbon at 12,000 km s^–1. SN 2001ay exhibited a decline-rate parameter of Δm ₁₅(B) = 0.68 ± 0.05 mag; this and the B-band photometry at t +25 day past maximum make it the most slowly declining Type Ia SN yet discovered. Three of the four super-Chandrasekhar-mass candidates have decline rates almost as slow as this. After correction for Galactic and host-galaxy extinction, SN 2001ay had M_B = –19.19 and M_V = –19.17 mag at maximum light; thus, it was not overluminous in optical bands. In near-infrared bands it was overluminous only at the 2σ level at most. For a rise time of 18 days (explosion to bolometric maximum) the implied ⁵⁶Ni yield was (0.58 ± 0.15)/α M _☉, with α = L _max/E _Ni probably in the range 1.0-1.2. The ⁵⁶Ni yield is comparable to that of many Type Ia SNe. The "normal" ⁵⁶Ni yield and the typical peak optical brightness suggest that the very broad optical light curve is explained by the trapping of γ rays in the inner regions.

We have obtained 1087 NIR (JHKs) measurements of 21 SNe Ia using PAIRITEL, nearly doubling the number of well-sampled NIR SN Ia light curves. These data strengthen the evidence that SNe Ia are excellent standard candles in the NIR, even without correction for optical light-curve shape. We construct fiducial NIR templates for normal SNe Ia from our sample, excluding only the three known peculiar SNe Ia: SN 2005bl, SN 2005hk, and SN 2005ke. The H-band absolute magnitudes in this sample of 18 SNe Ia have an intrinsic rms of only 0.15 mag with no correction for light-curve shape. We found a relationship between the H-band extinction and optical color excess of AH=0.2E(B-V). This variation is as small as the scatter in distance modulus measurements currently used for cosmology based on optical light curves after corrections for light-curve shape. Combining the homogeneous PAIRITEL measurements with 23 SNe Ia from the literature, these 41 SNe Ia have standard H-band magnitudes with an rms scatter of 0.16 mag. The good match of our sample with the literature sample suggests there are few systematic problems with the photometry. We present a nearby NIR Hubble diagram that shows no correlation of the residuals from the Hubble line with light-curve properties. Future samples that account for optical and NIR light-curve shapes, absorption, spectroscopic variation, or host-galaxy properties may reveal effective ways to improve the use of SNe Ia as distance indicators. Since systematic errors due to dust absorption in optical bands remain the leading difficulty in the cosmological use of supernovae, the good behavior of SN Ia NIR light curves and their relative insensitivity to reddening make these objects attractive candidates for future cosmological work.

Double-peaked oxygen lines in the nebular spectra of two peculiar Type Ib/c Supernovae (SN Ib/c) have been interpreted as off-axis views of a GRB-jet or unipolar blob ejections. Here we present late-time spectra of 8 SN IIb, Ib and Ic and show that this phenomenon is common and should not be so firmly linked to extraordinary explosion physics. The line profiles are most likely caused by ejecta expanding with a torus- or disk-like geometry. Double-peaked oxygen profiles are not necessarily the indicator of a mis-directed GRB jet.

We report the discovery and orbital determination of 14 trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) from the ESSENCE Supernova Survey difference imaging data set. Two additional objects discovered in a similar search of the SDSS-II Supernova Survey database were recovered in this effort. ESSENCE repeatedly observed fields far from the solar system ecliptic (–21° < β < –5°), reaching limiting magnitudes per observation of I ≈ 23.1 and R ≈ 23.7. We examine several of the newly detected objects in detail, including 2003 UC₄₁₄, which orbits entirely between Uranus and Neptune and lies very close to a dynamical region that would make it stable for the lifetime of the solar system. 2003 SS₄₂₂ and 2007 TA₄₁₈ have high eccentricities and large perihelia, making them candidate members of an outer class of TNOs. We also report a new member of the "extended" or "detached" scattered disk, 2004 VN₁₁₂, and verify the stability of its orbit using numerical simulations. This object would have been visible to ESSENCE for only ~2% of its orbit, suggesting a vast number of similar objects across the sky. We emphasize that off-ecliptic surveys are optimal for uncovering the diversity of such objects, which in turn will constrain the history of gravitational influences that shaped our early solar system.

We present 432 low-dispersion optical spectra of 32 Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) that also have well-calibrated light curves. The coverage ranges from 6 epochs to 36 epochs of spectroscopy. Most of the data were obtained with the 1.5m Tillinghast telescope at the F. L. Whipple Observatory with typical wavelength coverage of 3700-7400A and a resolution of ~7A. The earliest spectra are thirteen days before B-band maximum; two-thirds of the SNe were observed before maximum brightness. Coverage for some SNe continues almost to the nebular phase. The consistency of the method of observation and the technique of reduction makes this an ideal data set for studying the spectroscopic diversity of SNe Ia.