Resolving The ISM Surrounding GRBs with Afterglow Spectroscopy
Jason X. Prochaska (1), Hsiao-Wen Chen (2), Miroslava, Dessauges-Zavadsky (3), Joshua S. Bloom (4) ((1) UCO/Lick Observatory, UC, Santa Cruz, (2) U. Chicago, (3) Observatoire de Geneve, (4) UC Berkeley)
TL;DR
This paper reviews how spectroscopy of GRB afterglows reveals the physical conditions of host galaxy ISM, providing insights into star formation and GRB progenitors at high redshift.
Contribution
It offers a comprehensive review of current methods and findings in GRB afterglow spectroscopy focusing on the ISM of host galaxies.
Findings
Most sightlines show large HI column densities
Detection of UV pumped fine-structure transitions is common
Metallicities range from 1/100 to nearly solar
Abstract
We review current research related to spectroscopy of gamma-ray burst (GRB) afterglows with particular emphasis on the interstellar medium (ISM) of the galaxies hosting these high redshift events. These studies reveal the physical conditions of star-forming galaxies and yield clues to the nature of the GRB progenitor. We offer a pedagogical review of the experimental design and review current results. The majority of sightlines are characterized by large HI column densities, negligible molecular fraction, the ubiquitous detection of UV pumped fine-structure transitions, and metallicities ranging from 1/100 to nearly solar abundance.
Peer Reviews
No public reviews on file for this paper yet. If you reviewed it on a platform where reviews are public (OpenReview, ICLR, NeurIPS, ICML), you can paste yours below so the community can read it here.
Videos
No videos yet. Explain this paper in a talk, walkthrough, or lecture? Add one.