The Enigma of the Strong MgII Absorbers along the GRB Sightlines

Details The Enigma of the Strong MgII Absorbers along the GRB Sightlines The Enigma of the Strong MgII Absorbers along the GRB Sightlines

Jan 2009

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2009aas...21335202c&link_type=abstract

American Astronomical Society, AAS Meeting #213, #352.02; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 41, p.492

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Scientific paper

The startling result of Prochter & Prochaska (2006) that the incidence of strong MgII absorbers (equivalent width EW(2796Å) > 1 Å) along
gamma-ray burst (GRB) sightlines is four times larger (dN/dzGR=0.90) than for quasar sightlines (dN/dzQSO=0.24) has yet to be understood.
In particular, explanations relating to dust bias in quasar samples, partial covering of quasars, and lensing amplification of the GRB beam all fail to satisfy basic observational constraints. We are currently engaged in an effort to explore this mystery using archival VLT/UVES (R=45,000) quasar and afterglow spectra. Identifying strong MgII absorbers in a uniform and statistically complete manner, we have compiled a sample of 28 absorbers toward 81 quasars and 9 absorbers toward 6 GRB afterglows. We explore the kinematics of the absorbers, the abundances of other metal species, and the strength of dust depletion in the GRB and QSO samples. We fail to identify any respects in which 75% of the GRB line-of-sight absorbers can be distinguished from the other members of the GRB and QSO absorber populations. We consider whether this finding rules out the possibility of an intrinsic high-velocity (v 0.2 c) GRB or GRB host-related origin for the excess absorbers, and conclude that it does not.

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