Description
We have begun a program to search for supernovae and other transients in the fields of galaxy clusters with the 2.3m Bok Telescope on Kitt Peak. We present our automated photometric methods for data reduction, efficiency characterization, and initial spectroscopy. With this program, we aim to ultimately identify ~25-35 cluster Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) (~10 of which will be intracluster, hostless events) and constrain the SN Ia rate associated with old, passive stellar populations. With these measurements we will constrain the relative contribution of hostless and hosted SNe Ia to the metal enrichment of the intracluster medium.
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