The optical afterglow and host galaxy of GRB 000926

Abstract

In this paper we illustrate with the case of GRB 000926 how Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs) can be used as cosmological lighthouses to identify and study star forming galaxies at high redshifts. The optical afterglow of the burst was located with optical imaging at the Nordic Optical Telescope 20.7 hours after the burst. Rapid follow-up spectroscopy allowed the determination of the redshift of the burst and a measurement of the host galaxy HI-column density in front of the burst. With late-time narrow band Ly-alpha as well as broad band imaging, we have studied the emission from the host galaxy and found that it is a strong Ly-alpha emitter in a state of active star formation.

arXiv comment4 pages, 3 figures, contribution to the procedings of the conference ``Lighthouses of the Universe'' held in Garching (Germany), August 2001

Cited by in corpus (5)

• GRBs as Cosmological Probes - Cosmic Chemical Evolution
• Dust Extinction in High-z Galaxies with GRB Afterglow Spectroscopy - The 2175Å Feature at z=2.45
• The line-of-sight towards GRB 030429 at z = 2.66: Probing the matter at stellar, galactic and intergalactic scales
• The fraction of ionizing radiation from massive stars that escapes to the intergalactic medium
• A Large Catalogue of Multi-wavelength GRB Afterglows I: Color Evolution And Its Physical Implication