The distant, galaxy cluster environment of the short GRB 161104A at $z\sim 0.8$ and a comparison to the short GRB host population

Abstract

We present optical observations of the Swift short-duration gamma-ray burst (GRB) GRB 161104A and its host galaxy at $z=0.793\pm 0.003$. We model the multiband photometry and spectroscopy with the stellar population inference code Prospector, and explore the posterior using nested sampling. We find that the mass-weighted age $t_m=2.12_{-0.21}^{+0.23}$~Gyr, stellar mass $\log (M/M_{\odot })=10.21\pm 0.04$, metallicity $\log (Z/Z_{\odot })=0.08_{-0.06}^{+0.05}$, dust extinction $A_V=0.08_{-0.05}^{+0.08}$ mag, and the star formation rate $\text{SFR}=9.9\times 10^{-2}{M}_{\odot }$~yr${}^{-1}$. These properties, along with a prominent 4000 Angstrom break and optical absorption lines classify this host as an early-type, quiescent galaxy. Using Dark Energy Survey galaxy catalogues, we demonstrate that the host of GRB 161104A resides on the outskirts of a galaxy cluster at $z\approx 0.8$, situated $\approx 1$ Mpc from the likely brightest cluster galaxy. We also present new modeling for 20 additional short GRB hosts ($\approx 33\%$ of which are early-type galaxies), finding population medians of $\log (M/M_{\odot })=9.94_{-0.98}^{+0.88}$ and $t_m=1.07_{-0.67}^{+1.98}$~Gyr ($68\%$ confidence). We further find that the host of GRB 161104A is more distant, less massive, and younger than the four other short GRB hosts known to be associated with galaxy clusters. Cluster short GRBs have faint afterglows, in the lower $\approx 11\%$ ($\approx 30\%$) of observed X-ray (optical) luminosities. We place a lower limit on the fraction of short GRBs in galaxy clusters versus those in the field of $\approx 5-13\%$, consistent with the fraction of stellar mass $\approx 10-20\%$ in galaxy clusters at redshifts $0.1\le z\le 0.8$.

arXiv comment20 pages, 9 figures, ApJ: Vol. 904, No. 1

References in corpus (108)

• Stellar population synthesis at the resolution of 2003
• GW170817: Observation of Gravitational Waves from a Binary Neutron Star Inspiral
• Galactic Stellar and Substellar Initial Mass Function
• The Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE): Mission Description and Initial On-orbit Performance
• Measuring Reddening with SDSS Stellar Spectra and Recalibrating SFD
• Star Formation in Galaxies Along the Hubble Sequence
• Nine-Year Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) Observations: Cosmological Parameter Results
• Multi-messenger Observations of a Binary Neutron Star Merger
• LSST: from Science Drivers to Reference Design and Anticipated Data Products
• dynesty: A Dynamic Nested Sampling Package for Estimating Bayesian Posteriors and Evidences
• Mass and environment as drivers of galaxy evolution in SDSS and zCOSMOS and the origin of the Schechter function
• The propagation of uncertainties in stellar population synthesis modeling I: The relevance of uncertain aspects of stellar evolution and the IMF to the derived physical properties of galaxies
• Overview of the DESI Legacy Imaging Surveys
• Methods and results of an automatic analysis of a complete sample of Swift-XRT observations of GRBs
• The Cosmic Baryon Budget
• Origin of the heavy elements in binary neutron-star mergers from a gravitational wave event
• The propagation of uncertainties in stellar population synthesis modeling III: model calibration, comparison, and evaluation
• A Cosmology Calculator for the World Wide Web
• Short-Duration Gamma-Ray Bursts
• Astrometry.net: Blind astrometric calibration of arbitrary astronomical images
• The Dark Energy Camera
• The Dark Energy Survey: more than dark energy - an overview
• Spectroscopic identification of r-process nucleosynthesis in a double neutron star merger
• Modeling the Panchromatic Spectral Energy Distributions of Galaxies
• Observational clues to the progenitors of Type-Ia supernovae
• An online repository of Swift/XRT light curves of GRBs
• Light Curves of the Neutron Star Merger GW170817/SSS17a: Implications for R-Process Nucleosynthesis
• redMaPPer I: Algorithm and SDSS DR8 Catalog
• AstroImageJ: Image Processing and Photometric Extraction for Ultra-Precise Astronomical Light Curves (Expanded Edition)
• AstroImageJ: Image Processing and Photometric Extraction for Ultra-Precise Astronomical Light Curves
• The Observed Offset Distribution of Gamma-Ray Bursts from Their Host Galaxies: A Robust Clue to the Nature of the Progenitors
• On the astrophysical robustness of neutron star merger r-process
• The Electromagnetic Counterpart of the Binary Neutron Star Merger LIGO/VIRGO GW170817. IV. Detection of Near-infrared Signatures of r-process Nucleosynthesis with Gemini-South
• Swift detects a remarkable gamma-ray burst, GRB 060614, that introduces a new classification scheme
• R-Process Nucleosynthesis in Dynamically Ejected Matter of Neutron Star Mergers
• Deriving Physical Properties from Broadband Photometry with Prospector: Description of the Model and a Demonstration of its Accuracy Using 129 Galaxies in the Local Universe
• The Gemini Deep Deep Survey. VII. The Redshift Evolution of the Mass-Metallicity Relation
• Kilonovae
• Chandra X-Ray Observatory (CXO):Overview
• The 1% Concordance Hubble Constant
• A fundamental plane for field star-forming galaxies
• The afterglow and elliptical host galaxy of the short gamma-ray burst GRB 050724
• A faint type of supernova from a white dwarf with a helium-rich companion
• Photometric Response Functions of the SDSS Imager
• The Third Swift Burst Alert Telescope Gamma-Ray Burst Catalog
• The redMaPPer Galaxy Cluster Catalog From DES Science Verification Data
• The Locations of Short Gamma-ray Bursts as Evidence for Compact Object Binary Progenitors
• Mergers of neutron star black hole binaries with small mass ratios: nucleosynthesis, gamma-ray bursts and electromagnetic transients
• Closing in on a Short-Hard Burst Progenitor: Constraints from Early-Time Optical Imaging and Spectroscopy of a Possible Host Galaxy of GRB 050509b
• A Study of Compact Object Mergers as Short Gamma-ray Burst Progenitors
• Dark Energy Survey Year 1 Results: Cosmological Constraints from Cluster Abundances and Weak Lensing
• An Older, More Quiescent Universe from Panchromatic SED Fitting of the 3D-HST Survey
• The unusual X-ray emission of the short Swift GRB 090515: Evidence for the formation of a magnetar?
• Hubble Space Telescope Observations of Short GRB Host Galaxies: Morphologies, Offsets, and Local Environments
• Galaxy Groups within 3500 km s${}^{-1}$
• Demographics of the Galaxies Hosting Short-duration Gamma-Ray Bursts
• Dark Energy Survey Year 1 Results: Redshift distributions of the weak lensing source galaxies
• The Local Rate and the Progenitor Lifetimes of Short-Hard Gamma-Ray Bursts: Synthesis and Predictions for LIGO
• A Short GRB "No-Host'' Problem? Investigating Large Progenitor Offsets for Short GRBs with Optical Afterglows
• A New Population of High Redshift Short-Duration Gamma-Ray Bursts
• Short GRB 160821B: a reverse shock, a refreshed shock, and a well-sampled kilonova
• The Offset and Host Light Distributions of Long Gamma-Ray Bursts: A New View from HST Observations of Swift Bursts
• Galaxy Disruption as the Origin of Intracluster Light in the Coma Cluster
• Short gamma-ray bursts from binary neutron star mergers in globular clusters
• On the Rate of Neutron Star Binary Mergers from Globular Clusters
• The Electromagnetic Counterpart of the Binary Neutron Star Merger LIGO/VIRGO GW170817. VII. Properties of the Host Galaxy and Constraints on the Merger Timescale
• The Host Galaxies of Short-Duration Gamma-Ray Bursts: Luminosities, Metallicities, and Star Formation Rates
• The Stellar Ages and Masses of Short GRB Host Galaxies: Investigating the Progenitor Delay Time Distribution and the Role of Mass and Star Formation in the Short GRB Rate
• The Galaxy Hosts and Large-Scale Environments of Short-Hard Gamma-Ray Bursts
• The origin of the first neutron star -- neutron star merger
• An origin in the local Universe for some short gamma-ray bursts
• Dark Energy Survey Year 1 results: Detection of Intra-cluster Light at Redshift $\sim$ 0.25
• Lost but not Forgotten: Intracluster Light in Galaxy Groups and Clusters
• Where are the stars?
• The supernova rate in local galaxy clusters
• The Optical Afterglow of GW170817: An Off-axis Structured Jet and Deep Constraints on a Globular Cluster Origin
• On the Origin of Intracluster Light in Massive Galaxy Clusters
• The Afterglow and Early-Type Host Galaxy of the Short GRB 150101B at z=0.1343
• A Putative Early-Type Host Galaxy for GRB 060502B: Implications for the Progenitors of Short-Duration Hard-Spectrum Bursts
• Two New Calcium-Rich Gap Transients in Group and Cluster Environments
• Evidence for Dynamically Driven Formation of the GW170817 Neutron Star Binary in NGC 4993
• Deducing the Lifetime of Short Gamma-Ray Burst Progenitors from Host Galaxy Demography
• Orbital Motion of HR 8799 b,c, d using Hubble Space Telescope data from 1998: Constraints on Inclination, Eccentricity and Stability
• Exploring the Galaxy Mass-Metallicity Relation at z~3-5
• Turbulent Diffusion in the Photosphere as Derived from Photospheric Bright Point Motion
• The Optical Afterglow and z=0.92 Early-type Host Galaxy of the Short GRB 100117A
• Interpreting Short Gamma Ray Burst Progenitor Kicks and Time Delays Using the Host Galaxy-Dark Matter Halo Connection
• Galaxy Populations in Massive Galaxy Clusters to z=1.1: Color Distribution, Concentration, Halo Occupation Number and Red Sequence Fraction
• The Type Ia Supernova Rate in Redshift 0.5--0.9 Galaxy Clusters
• The rate of Type-Ia supernovae in galaxy clusters and the delay-time distribution out to redshift 1.75
• The Progenitors of Calcium-Strong Transients
• Stellar mass as a galaxy cluster mass proxy: application to the Dark Energy Survey redMaPPer clusters
• A Late-time Radio Survey of Short GRBs at $z<0.5$: New Constraints on the Remnants of Neutron Star Mergers
• The Hubble Space Telescope Cluster Supernova Survey: II. The Type Ia Supernova Rate in High-Redshift Galaxy Clusters
• Star-galaxy classification in the Dark Energy Survey Y1 dataset
• Calcium-rich Gap Transients: Solving the Calcium Conundrum in the Intracluster Medium
• The volumetric rate of calcium-rich transients in the local universe
• Galaxy Clusters Associated with Short GRBs. I. The Fields of GRBs 050709, 050724, 050911 and 051221a
• The short-duration GRB 050724 host galaxy in the context of the long-duration GRB hosts
• Discovery of the optical afterglow and host galaxy of short GRB181123B at $z=1.754$: Implications for Delay Time Distributions
• GRB 050911: a black hole - neutron star merger or a naked GRB
• The population of early-type galaxies: how it evolves with time and how it differs from passive and late-type galaxies
• Exploring the chemical link between local ellipticals and their high-redshift progenitors
• A photometric search for transients in galaxy clusters
• Constraints on an optical afterglow and on supernova light following the short burst GRB 050813
• Star-formation rates of cluster galaxies: nature vs nurture
• On the correlation of Short Gamma--Ray Bursts and Clusters of galaxies
• On Suggestive Correlations Between GRBs and Clusters of Galaxies

Cited by in corpus (16)

• A Kilonova Following a Long-Duration Gamma-Ray Burst at 350 Mpc
• Discovery and confirmation of the shortest gamma ray burst from a collapsar
• First Multimessenger Observations of a Neutron Star Merger
• Short GRB Host Galaxies I: Photometric and Spectroscopic Catalogs, Host Associations, and Galactocentric Offsets
• Short GRB Host Galaxies. II. A Legacy Sample of Redshifts, Stellar Population Properties, and Implications for their Neutron Star Merger Origins
• The Broad-band Counterpart of the Short GRB 200522A at $z=0.5536$: A Luminous Kilonova or a Collimated Outflow with a Reverse Shock?
• Chronicling the Host Galaxy Properties of the Remarkable Repeating FRB 20201124A
• Formation and Evolution of Binary Neutron Stars: Mergers and Their Host Galaxies
• Probing Kilonova Ejecta Properties Using a Catalog of Short Gamma-Ray Burst Observations
• Probing gravity and growth of structure with gravitational waves and galaxies' peculiar velocity
• No velocity-kicks are required to explain large-distance offsets of Ca-rich supernovae and short-GRBs
• Photometric studies on the host galaxies of gamma-ray bursts using 3.6m Devasthal Optical Telescope
• Physical Properties of the Host Galaxies of Ca-rich Transients
• Binary neutron star merger offsets from their host galaxies II. Short-duration gamma-ray bursts
• GRB 160410A: the first Chemical Study of the Interstellar Medium of a Short GRB
• A Radio-selected Population of Dark, Long Gamma-ray Bursts: Comparison to the Long Gamma-ray Burst Population and Implications for Host Dust Distributions