Evidence for Universality of Near Infrared Color Evolution of Type Ia Supernovae, and Implications for Host Galaxy Extinction Determination

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  • 20 December 1999
Abstract
From an analysis of SNe 1972E, 1980N, 1981B, 1981D, 1983R, and 1999cp we find that the intrinsic V-K colors of Type Ia SNe with multi-color light curve shape (MLCS) parameter -0.38 < Delta < +0.20 exhibit a universal color curve. V-K colors become bluer linearly with time from 9 days before B-band maximum until 6 days after maximum, after which they redden linearly until 27 days after maximum. V-H colors exhibit very similar color evolution. V-J colors exhibit slightly more complex evolution, with greater scatter. The existence of V minus near infrared color relations allows the construction of near infrared light curve templates that are an improvement on those of Elias et al. (1985). We provide optical BVRI and infrared JHK photometry of the Type Ia supernovae 1999aa, 1999cl, and 1999cp. SN 1999aa is an overluminous ``slow decliner'' (with Delta = -0.47). SN 1999cl is extremely reddened in its host galaxy, with E(B-V) ~ 1.14; this reddening is most likely local to its environment and is anomalous compared to Galactic reddening. SN 1999cp is a moderately bright SN unreddened in its host. A comparison of V minus near infrared colors of unreddened SNe with the moderately reddened SN 1998bu gives A_V = 1.14 +/- 0.07 for this object, in excellent agreement with the results based solely on optical photometry. For SN 1999cl prior to 7 days after B-band maximum the V minus near infrared colors yield A_V = 1.83 +/- 0.20. This leads to a distance for its host galaxy (M 88) in agreement with other distance measurements for members of the Virgo cluster.

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