Detection of three Gamma-Ray Burst host galaxies at $z\sim 6$

Abstract

Long-duration Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) allow us to pinpoint and study star-forming galaxies in the early universe, thanks to their orders of magnitude brighter peak luminosities compared to other astrophysical sources, and their association with deaths of massive stars. We present Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3 detections of three Swift GRB host galaxies lying at redshifts $z=5.913$ (GRB 130606A), $z=6.295$ (GRB 050904), and $z=6.327$ (GRB 140515A) in the F140W (wide-$JH$ band, ${\lambda }_{\mathrm{obs}}\sim 1.4\mu m$) filter. The hosts have magnitudes (corrected for Galactic extinction) of $m_{{\lambda }_{\mathrm{obs}},\mathrm{AB}}=26.34_{-0.16}^{+0.14},27.56_{-0.22}^{+0.18},$ and $28.30_{-0.33}^{+0.25}$ respectively. In all three cases the probability of chance coincidence of lower redshift galaxies is $\lesssim 2\%$, indicating that the detected galaxies are most likely the GRB hosts. These are the first detections of high redshift ($z>5$) GRB host galaxies in emission. The galaxies have luminosities in the range $0.1-0.6L_{z=6}^{\ast }$ (with $M_{1600}^{\ast }=-20.95\pm 0.12$), and half-light radii in the range $0.6-0.9\mathrm{kpc}$. Both their half-light radii and luminosities are consistent with existing samples of Lyman-break galaxies at $z\sim 6$. Spectroscopic analysis of the GRB afterglows indicate low metallicities ($[M/H]\lesssim -1$) and low dust extinction ($A_{\mathrm{V}}\lesssim 0.1$) along the line of sight. Using stellar population synthesis models, we explore the implications of each galaxy's luminosity for its possible star formation history, and consider the potential for emission-line metallicity determination with the upcoming James Webb Space Telescope.

arXiv commentPublished in ApJ

References in corpus (69)

• Measuring Reddening with SDSS Stellar Spectra and Recalibrating SFD
• The Dust Content and Opacity of Actively Star-Forming Galaxies
• UV Luminosity Functions at redshifts z~4 to z~10: 10000 Galaxies from HST Legacy Fields
• Astrometric Calibration of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey
• Long gamma-ray bursts and core-collapse supernovae have different environments
• The Observed Offset Distribution of Gamma-Ray Bursts from Their Host Galaxies: A Robust Clue to the Nature of the Progenitors
• A glimpse of the end of the dark ages: the gamma-ray burst of 23 April 2009 at redshift 8.3
• A Steep Faint-End Slope of the UV Luminosity Function at z~2-3: Implications for the Global Stellar Mass Density and Star Formation in Low Mass Halos
• An optical supernova associated with the X-ray flash XRF 060218
• GRB 090423 at a redshift of z~8.1
• A Photometric Redshift of z ~ 9.4 for GRB 090429B
• The Interstellar Medium In Galaxies Seen A Billion Years After The Big Bang
• Low-Resolution Spectroscopy of Gamma-ray Burst Optical Afterglows: Biases in the Swift Sample and Characterization of the Absorbers
• Stellar Population Effects on the Inferred Photon Density at Reionization
• The Afterglows of Swift-era Gamma-Ray Bursts. I. Comparing pre-Swift and Swift era Long/Soft (Type II) GRB Optical Afterglows
• Implications for the Cosmic Reionization from the Optical Afterglow Spectrum of the Gamma-Ray Burst 050904 at z = 6.3
• Spectral synthesis including massive binaries
• The Most Luminous z~9-10 Galaxy Candidates yet Found: The Luminosity Function, Cosmic Star-Formation Rate, and the First Mass Density Estimate at 500 Myr
• The Connection Between Galaxies and Intergalactic Absorption Lines at Redshift 2<z<3
• A mean redshift of 2.8 for Swift gamma-ray bursts
• The impact of nebular emission on the ages of z~6 galaxies
• A Spectroscopic Redshift Measurement for a Luminous Lyman Break Galaxy at z=7.730 using Keck/MOSFIRE
• Very blue UV-continuum slopes of low luminosity z~7 galaxies from WFC3/IR: Evidence for extremely low metallicities?
• A Population of Massive, Luminous Galaxies Hosting Heavily Dust-Obscured Gamma-Ray Bursts: Implications for the Use of GRBs as Tracers of Cosmic Star Formation
• Demographics of the Galaxies Hosting Short-duration Gamma-Ray Bursts
• CANDELS: The Contribution of the Observed Galaxy Population to Cosmic Reionization
• Spectroscopic detections of CIII]1909 at z~6-7: A new probe of early star forming galaxies and cosmic reionisation
• The optically unbiased GRB host (TOUGH) survey. I. Survey design and catalogs
• The Swift GRB Host Galaxy Legacy Survey - II. Rest-Frame NIR Luminosity Distribution and Evidence for a Near-Solar Metallicity Threshold
• The host galaxies of core-collapse supernovae and gamma ray bursts
• A critical analysis of the UV-continuum slopes of high-redshift galaxies; no evidence (yet) for extreme stellar populations at z > 6
• Observations of the Naked-Eye GRB 080319B: Implications of Nature's Brightest Explosion
• The Host Galaxies of Gamma-Ray Bursts II: A Mass-Metallicity Relation for Long-Duration Gamma-Ray Burst Host Galaxies
• The Brightest of Reionizing Galaxies Survey: Constraints on the Bright End of the z~8 Luminosity Function
• Reconciling the Metallicity Distributions of Gamma-ray Burst, Damped Lyman-alpha, and Lyman-break Galaxies at z=3
• The Metal Aversion of LGRBs
• First Frontier Field Constraints on the Cosmic Star-Formation Rate Density at z~10 - The Impact of Lensing Shear on Completeness of High-Redshift Galaxy Samples
• Are LGRBs biased tracers of star formation? Clues from the host galaxies of the Swift/BAT6 complete sample of LGRBs. I: Stellar mass at z<1
• The Evolution of the UV Luminosity Function from z ~ 0.75 to z ~ 2.5 using HST ERS WFC3/UVIS Observations
• The line-of-sight towards GRB 030429 at z = 2.66: Probing the matter at stellar, galactic and intergalactic scales
• Star formation in the early universe: beyond the tip of the iceberg
• The Luminosity Function at z~8 from 97 Y-band dropouts: Inferences About Reionization
• The optically unbiased GRB host (TOUGH) survey. III. Redshift distribution
• Slow Evolution of the Specific Star Formation Rate at z>2: The Impact of Dust, Emission Lines, and A Rising Star Formation History
• The Dust Extinction Curves of Gamma-Ray Burst Host Galaxies
• GRB 100219A with X-shooter - abundances in a galaxy at z = 4.7
• GRB 130606A as a Probe of the Intergalactic Medium and the Interstellar Medium in a Star-forming Galaxy in the First Gyr After the Big Bang
• Non-parametric analysis of the rest-frame UV sizes and morphological disturbance amongst L* galaxies at 4<z<8
• Sizing up Lyman-alpha and Lyman Break Galaxies
• X-ray absorption evolution in Gamma-Ray Bursts: intergalactic medium or evolutionary signature of their host galaxies?
• The colour distribution of galaxies at redshift five
• Spitzer Observations of Gamma-Ray Burst Host Galaxies: A Unique Window into High Redshift Chemical Evolution and Star-formation
• The Optically Unbiased Gamma-Ray Burst Host (TOUGH) Survey. VII. The Host Galaxy Luminosity Function: Probing the Relationship Between GRBs and Star Formation to Redshift $\sim 6$
• Gamma-Ray-Burst Host Galaxy Surveys at Redshift z>4: Probes of Star Formation Rate and Cosmic Reionization
• The GALEX-SDSS NUV & FUV Flux Density and Local Star-Formation Rate
• Interpreting the observed UV continuum slopes of high-redshift galaxies
• The distribution of equivalent widths in long GRB afterglow spectra
• Unveiling the Secrets of Metallicity and Massive Star Formation Using DLAs along Gamma-ray Bursts
• The Rest Frame UV to Optical Colors and SEDs of z~4-7 Galaxies
• Probing Intergalactic Neutral Hydrogen by the Lyman Alpha Red Damping Wing of Gamma-Ray Burst 130606A Afterglow Spectrum at z = 5.913
• Gamma-Ray Bursts Trace UV Metrics of Star Formation over 3 < z < 5
• The luminosity and stellar mass functions of GRB host galaxies: Insight into the metallicity bias
• An H-band survey of the Herschel Deep Field
• No evidence for dust extinction in GRB 050904 at z ~ 6.3
• HST and Spitzer Observations of the Host Galaxy of GRB 050904: A Metal-Enriched, Dusty Starburst at z=6.295
• Missing cosmic metals revealed by X-ray absorption towards distant sources
• The high-redshift gamma-ray burst GRB140515A
• Constraining the nature of the most distant Gamma-Ray Burst host galaxies
• Exploring dust extinction at the edge of reionization

Cited by in corpus (28)

• The THESEUS space mission concept: science case, design and expected performances
• The Brightest $z\gtrsim 8$ Galaxies over the COSMOS UltraVISTA Field
• The fraction of ionizing radiation from massive stars that escapes to the intergalactic medium
• The properties of GRB 120923A at a spectroscopic redshift of z=7.8
• Highly-ionized metals as probes of the circumburst gas in the natal regions of gamma-ray bursts
• The Lyman Continuum Escape Fraction of Galaxies and AGN in the GOODS Fields
• Dissecting the interstellar medium of a z=6.3 galaxy: X-shooter spectroscopy and HST imaging of the afterglow and environment of the Swift GRB 210905A
• Dust reddening and extinction curves towards gamma-ray bursts at z > 4
• Long-Duration Gamma-Ray Burst Host Galaxies in Emission and Absorption
• X-shooting GRBs at high redshift: probing dust production history
• Accounting for Selection Bias and Redshift Evolution in GRB Radio Afterglow Data
• The Cosmic Microwave Background and the Stellar Initial Mass Function
• A blast from the infant Universe: the very high-z GRB 210905A
• Investigating a population of infrared-bright gamma-ray burst host galaxies
• New constraints on the physical conditions in H${}_2$-bearing GRB-host damped Lyman-$\alpha$ absorbers
• Fires in the deep: The luminosity distribution of early-time gamma-ray-burst afterglows in light of the Gamow Explorer sensitivity requirements
• Synergies of THESEUS with the large facilities of the 2030s and guest observer opportunities
• Statistical properties of fast radio bursts elucidate their origins: magnetars are favoured over gamma-ray bursts
• Exploring Damped Lyman-$\alpha$ System Host Galaxies using Gamma-ray Bursts
• CAGIRE: a wide-field NIR imager for the COLIBRI 1.3 meter robotic telescope
• The Case for a High-Redshift Origin of GRB100205A
• Modelling of long gamma-ray burst host galaxies at cosmic noon from damped Lyman-α absorption statistics
• The THESEUS space mission: science goals, requirements and mission concept
• JWST reveals a supernova following a gamma-ray burst at z $\simeq$ 7.3
• GRB 180728A and SN 2018fip: the nearest high-energy cosmological gamma-ray burst with an associated supernova
• The metallicity dependence of long-duration gamma-ray bursts
• First joint absorption and T${}_e$-based metallicity measured in a GRB host galaxy at $z=4.28$ using JWST/NIRSpec
• Exploration of the high-redshift universe enabled by THESEUS