Data

Spectroscopy is one of the most commonly used observational techniques to study supernova physics, while photometry is one of the most common methods used in Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) cosmological analyses. Spectrophotometry is an optical measurement technique that combines spectroscopy and photometry; it quantifies the intensity of light as a function of wavelength. The result is a flux-calibrated spectrum such that an integral can be applied to calculate synthetic photometry. Thus, for studies concerning both SN Ia physics and cosmology, such as this dissertation, spectrophotometric data are ideal candidates. The Nearby Supernova Factory (SNfactory) dataset is a spectrophotometric dataset consisting of 275 Type Ia Supernovae. This chapter describes spectrophotometry, the SNfactory dataset, and summarizes past results from the SNfactory dataset.