CfAIR2: Near Infrared Light Curves of 94 Type Ia Supernovae
  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.
