Extensive Spectroscopy and Photometry of the Type IIP Supernova 2013ej

We present extensive optical (UBV RI, g' r' i' z', and open CCD) and near-infrared (ZY JH) photometry for the very nearby Type IIP SN. 2013ej extending from + 1 to + 461 days after shock breakout, estimated to be MJD 56496.9 +/- 0.3. Substantial time series ultraviolet and optical spectroscopy obtained from + 8 to + 135 days are also presented. Considering well-observed SNe IIP from the literature, we derive UBV RIJHK bolometric calibrations from UBV RI and unfiltered measurements that potentially reach 2% precision with a B - V color-dependent correction. We observe moderately strong Si II lambda 6355 as early as + 8 days. The photospheric velocity (vph) is determined by modeling the spectra in the vicinity of Fe II lambda 5169 whenever observed, and interpolating at photometric epochs based on a semianalytic method. This gives vph= 4500. 500 km s(-1) at + 50 days. We also observe spectral homogeneity of ultraviolet spectra at + 10-12 days for SNe IIP, while variations are evident a week after explosion. Using the expanding photosphere method, from combined analysis of SN 2013ej and SN 2002ap, we estimate the distance to the host galaxy to be 9.0(-0.6)(+0.4) Mpc, consistent with distance estimates from other methods. Photometric and spectroscopic analysis during the plateau phase, which we estimated to be 94 +/- 7 days long, yields an explosion energy of 0.9 +/- 0.3 x 10(51) erg, a final pre-explosion progenitor mass of 15.2 +/- 4.2 M-circle dot and a radius of 250 +/- 70 R-circle dot. We observe a broken exponential profile beyond + 120 days, with a break point at + 183 +/- 16 days. Measurements beyond this break time yield a Ni-56 mass of 0.013 +/- 0.001. M-circle dot.