Near-infrared K corrections of Type Ia Supernovae and their errors

Abstract

In this paper we use near-infrared (NIR) spectral observations of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) to study the uncertainties inherent to NIR K corrections. To do so, 75 previously published NIR spectra of 33 SNe Ia are employed to determine K-correction uncertainties in the YJHK_s passbands as a function of temporal phase and redshift. The resultant K corrections are then fed into an interpolation algorithm that provides mean K corrections as a function of temporal phase and robust estimates of the associated errors. These uncertainties are both statistical and intrinsic --- i.e., due to the diversity of spectral features from object to object --- and must be included in the overall error budget of cosmological parameters constrained through the use of NIR observations of SNe Ia. Intrinsic variations are likely the dominant source of error for all four passbands at maximum light. Given the present data, the total Y-band K-correction uncertainties at maximum are smallest, amounting to +/- 0.04 mag at a redshift of z = 0.08. The J-band K-term errors are also reasonably small (+/- 0.06 mag), but intrinsic variations of spectral features and noise introduced by telluric corrections in the H band currently limit the total K-correction errors at maximum to +/- 0.10 mag at z = 0.08. Finally, uncertainties in the K_s-band K terms at maximum amount to +/- 0.07 mag at this same redshift. These results are largely constrained by the small number of published NIR spectra of SNe Ia, which do not yet allow spectral templates to be constructed as a function of the light curve decline rate.

To appear in PASP. 34 pages, including 5 figures and 3 tables

References in corpus (12)

• Observational Constraints on the Nature of the Dark Energy: First Cosmological Results from the ESSENCE Supernova Survey
• Supernova Constraints and Systematic Uncertainties from the First 3 Years of the Supernova Legacy Survey
• CfA3: 185 Type Ia Supernova Light Curves from the CfA
• Determining the Type, Redshift, and Age of a Supernova Spectrum
• Secondary Maximum in the Near-Infrared Lightcurves of Type Ia Supernovae
• SN 2003du: 480 days in the Life of a Normal Type Ia Supernova
• Type Ia Supernovae are Good Standard Candles in the Near Infrared: Evidence from PAIRITEL
• Anomalous extinction behaviour towards the Type Ia SN 2003cg
• Type Ia Supernova Light Curve Inference: Hierarchical Bayesian Analysis in the Near Infrared
• ESC observations of SN 2005cf. I. Photometric Evolution of a Normal Type Ia Supernova
• The Earliest Near-infrared Time-series Spectroscopy of a Type Ia Supernova
• Testing SNe Ia distance measurement methods with SN 2011fe

Cited by in corpus (9)

• Measuring the Hubble constant with Type Ia supernovae as near-infrared standard candles
• Carnegie Supernova Project-II: Extending the Near-Infrared Hubble Diagram for Type Ia Supernovae to $z\sim 0.1$
• Strong near-infrared carbon in the Type Ia supernova iPTF13ebh
• Carnegie Supernova Project-II: The Near-infrared Spectroscopy Program
• CfAIR2: Near Infrared Light Curves of 94 Type Ia Supernovae
• Early Observations and Analysis of the Type Ia SN 2014J in M82
• Type Ia supernova Hubble diagram with near-infrared and optical observations
• Carnegie Supernova Project-II: Near-infrared spectral diversity and template of Type Ia Supernovae
• The Carnegie Supernova Project II. Observations of SN 2014ab possibly revealing a 2010jl-like SN IIn with pre-existing dust