Hubble Space Telescope Observations of Short GRB Host Galaxies: Morphologies, Offsets, and Local Environments
Wen-fai Fong (Harvard), Edo Berger (Harvard), Derek B. Fox (PSU)

TL;DR
This study uses HST data to analyze the host galaxies of short GRBs, revealing their morphological properties, larger offsets compared to long GRBs, and their likely origin from neutron star mergers.
Contribution
First comprehensive analysis of HST observations of short GRB hosts, characterizing their morphologies, offsets, and environments to constrain progenitor models.
Findings
Most hosts are late-type galaxies with exponential disk profiles.
Median physical offset of ~5 kpc, larger than long GRBs.
Over 25% have offsets less than 10 kpc, and over 5% exceed 20 kpc.
Abstract
[Abridged] We present the first comprehensive analysis of HST observations of short-duration gamma-ray burst (GRB) host galaxies. These observations allow us to characterize the galactic and local environments of short GRBs as a powerful constraint on the nature of their progenitors. Using the HST data for 10 short GRB hosts we determine the host morphological properties, measure precise physical and host-normalized offsets relative to the galaxy centers, and study the locations of short GRBs relative to their host light distributions. We find that most short GRB hosts have exponential disk profiles, characteristic of late-type galaxies, but with a median size that is twice as large as that of long GRB hosts, commensurate with their higher luminosities. The observed distribution of projected physical offsets, supplemented by ground-based measurements, has a median of ~5 kpc, about 5…
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Taxonomy
TopicsGamma-ray bursts and supernovae
