The Afterglows and Host Galaxies of Dust-Obscured Gamma-Ray Bursts

Details The Afterglows and Host Galaxies of Dust-Obscured Gamma-Ray Bursts The Afterglows and Host Galaxies of Dust-Obscured Gamma-Ray Bursts

Jan 2011

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2011aas...21710802p&link_type=abstract

American Astronomical Society, AAS Meeting #217, #108.02; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 43, 2011

Other

2

Scientific paper

While gamma-ray bursts and their host galaxies are normally assumed (and observed) to originate from low-extinction sightlines and from blue, low-mass galaxies, both of these conclusions are subject to large selection effects as a result of the need to detect an optical afterglow to locate the host galaxy and measure the redshift. Many GRBs have exceedingly faint optical afterglows, and only since the launch of Swift have follow-up observational capabilities been able to consistently localize their positions. Evidence from observations of a uniform sample of Swift GRBs indicates that the majority of these "dark" bursts are heavily extinguished by dust in their host galaxies. New results from our five-year Keck Observatory GRB Host Survey, along with recent infrared observations from Gemini-North and the Spitzer Space Telescope, identify the host galaxies of many dark bursts to be highly infrared-luminous and dusty sources, contrasting dramatically with the hosts of GRBs selected via optical afterglow positions. This may suggest that GRBs can form at higher metallicites, and trace cosmic star-formation more closely, than previously believed. In other cases, even extremely dust-obscured bursts have hosts that are quite blue, suggesting a large hidden obscured component can exist even in apparently dust-free galaxies.

Affiliated with

Also associated with

No associations

Rating

The Afterglows and Host Galaxies of Dust-Obscured Gamma-Ray Bursts does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with The Afterglows and Host Galaxies of Dust-Obscured Gamma-Ray Bursts, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and The Afterglows and Host Galaxies of Dust-Obscured Gamma-Ray Bursts will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1393268