ZTF SN Ia DR2: Overview

We present the first homogeneous release of several thousand spectroscopically classified type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) with spectroscopic redshifts. This release, named “DR2”, contains 3628 nearby ( z < 0.3) SNe Ia discovered, followed, and classified by the Zwicky Transient Facility survey between March 2018 and December 2020. Of these, 3000 have good-to-excellent sampling and 2667 pass standard cosmology light curve quality cuts. This release is thus the largest SN Ia release to date, increasing by an order of magnitude the number of well-characterized low-redshift objects. With DR2, we also provide a volume-limited ( z < 0.06) sample of nearly a thousand SNe Ia. With such a large, homogeneous, and well-controlled dataset, we are studying key current questions on SN cosmology, such as the linearity SNe Ia standardization, the SN and host dependencies, the diversity of the SN Ia population, and the accuracy of current light curve modeling. These, and more, are studied in detail in a series of articles associated with this release. Alongside the SN Ia parameters, we publish our forced-photometry gri -band light curves, 5138 spectra, local and global host properties, observing logs, and a Python tool to facilitate the use and access of these data. The photometric accuracy of DR2 is not yet suited for cosmological parameter inference, which will follow as the “DR2.5” release. We nonetheless demonstrate that our Hubble diagram of several thousands of SNe Ia has a typical 0.15 mag scatter.