Long Gamma-Ray Burst Host Galaxies and their Environments

TL;DR

This chapter reviews the observational characteristics, early studies, and current understanding of long gamma-ray burst host galaxies and their environments, emphasizing sample completeness and recent Swift-era data.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of the evolution of research on long GRB host galaxies, highlighting progress from initial detections to current efforts for complete sampling.

Findings

Early statistical studies of GRB hosts.

First host detections post-BeppoSAX.

Current Swift-based host galaxy samples.

Abstract

In this book-chapter we first briefly discuss some basic observational issues related to what a GRB host galaxy is (whether they are operationally well defined as a class) and sample completeness. We then describe some of the early studies of GRB hosts starting with statistical studies of upper limits done prior to the first detections, the first host detection after the BeppoSAX breakthrough and leading up to the current Swift era. Finally, we discuss the status of efforts to construct a more complete sample of GRBs based on Swift and end with an outlook. We only consider the host galaxies of long-duration GRBs.