The First Data Release from SweetSpot: 74 Supernovae in 36 Nights on WIYN+WHIRC

Journal Article · Tue May 01 04:00:00 EDT 2018 · The Astronomical Journal (Online)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/AAB901· OSTI ID:22897474

Weyant, Anja; Wood-Vasey, W. M.; Kroboth, Jessica R.; Ponder, Kara A. ^[1]; Joyce, Richard; Allen, Lori; Matheson, Thomas ^[2]; Garnavich, Peter ^[3]

---

1. Pittsburgh Particle Physics, Astrophysics, and Cosmology Center (PITT PACC), Physics and Astronomy Department, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260 (United States)
2. National Optical Astronomy Observatory, 950 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85719 (United States)
3. Physics Department, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556 (United States)

SweetSpot is a 3 yr National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) survey program to observe Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) in the smooth Hubble flow with the WIYN High-resolution Infrared Camera (WHIRC) on the WIYN 3.5 m telescope. We present data from the first half of this survey, covering the 2011B–2013B NOAO semesters and consisting of 493 calibrated images of 74 SNe Ia observed in the rest-frame near-infrared (NIR) in the range 0.02 < z < 0.09. Because many observed supernovae require host-galaxy subtraction from templates taken in later semesters, this release contains only the 186 NIR (JHK {sub s}) data points for the 33 SNe Ia that do not require host-galaxy subtraction. The sample includes four objects with coverage beginning before the epoch of B-band maximum and 27 beginning within 20 days of B-band maximum. We also provide photometric calibration between the WIYN+WHIRC and Two Micron All-Sky Survey (2MASS) systems, along with light curves for 786 2MASS stars observed alongside the SNe Ia. This work is the first in a planned series of three SweetSpot Data Releases. Future releases will include the full set of images from all 3 yr of the survey, including host-galaxy reference images and updated data processing with host-galaxy reference subtraction. SweetSpot will provide a well-calibrated sample that will help improve our ability to standardize distance measurements to SNe Ia, examine the intrinsic optical–NIR colors of SNe Ia at different epochs, explore the nature of dust in other galaxies, and act as a stepping-stone for more distant, potentially space-based surveys.

• OSTI ID: 22897474
• Journal Information: The Astronomical Journal (Online), Journal Name: The Astronomical Journal (Online) Journal Issue: 5 Vol. 155; ISSN 1538-3881
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS
ASTRONOMY
CALIBRATION
COSMIC DUST
DATA PROCESSING
DISTANCE
GALAXIES
SPACE
SUPERNOVAE
TELESCOPES