Gas and dust properties in the afterglow spectra of GRB 050730

Abstract

We present early WHT ISIS optical spectroscopy of the afterglow of gamma-ray burst GRB 050730. The spectrum shows a DLA system with the highest measured hydrogen column to date: N(HI) = 22.1 +/- 0.1 at the third-highest GRB redshift z = 3.968. Our analysis of the Swift XRT X-ray observations of the early afterglow show X-ray flares accompanied by decreasing X-ray absorption. From both the optical and the X-ray spectra we constrain the dust and gas properties of the host galaxy. We find the host to be a low metallicity galaxy, with low dust content. Much of the X-ray absorbing gas is situated close to the GRB, whilst the HI absorption causing the DLA is most likely located further out.

arXiv comment5 pages, 2 figures. Accepted for A&A Letters

References in corpus (19)

• Maps of Dust IR Emission for Use in Estimation of Reddening and CMBR Foregrounds
• On the Absorption of X-rays in the Interstellar Medium
• The Origin of the Mass--Metallicity Relation: Insights from 53,000 Star-Forming Galaxies in the SDSS
• Metallicities of 0.3<z<1.0 Galaxies in the GOODS-North Field
• The Metallicity-Luminosity Relation, Effective Yields, and Metal Loss in Spiral and Irregular Galaxies
• UV star-formation rates of GRB host galaxies
• The host of GRB 030323 at z=3.372: a very high column density DLA system with a low metallicity
• The Luminosity-Metallicity relation in the local universe from the 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey
• Evidence for Solar Metallicities in Massive Star-forming Galaxies at z>~2
• A Submillimeter and Radio Survey of Gamma-Ray Burst Host Galaxies: A Glimpse into the Future of Star Formation Studies
• Detection of Lyman-alpha emission from a DLA galaxy: Possible implications for a luminosity-metallicity relation at z = 2-3
• The afterglow of the short/intermediate-duration gamma-ray burst GRB 000301C: A jet at z=2.04
• The submm properties of GRB host galaxies
• Very high column density and small reddening towards GRB 020124 at z = 3.20
• Dust-reddening and gravitational lensing of SDSS QSOs due to foreground damped Lyman-alpha systems
• The DEEP Groth Strip Survey VII: The Metallicity of Field Galaxies at 0.26<z<0.82 and the Evolution of the Luminosity-Metallicity Relation
• GRB 021004: a Massive Progenitor Star Surrounded by Shells
• A flash in the dark: UVES/VLT high resolution spectroscopy of GRB afterglows
• Spectroscopy of GRB 021004: a structured jet ploughing through a massive stellar wind

Cited by in corpus (60)

• Single star progenitors of long gamma-ray bursts I: Model grids and redshift dependent GRB rate
• A Photometric Redshift of z ~ 9.4 for GRB 090429B
• Low-Resolution Spectroscopy of Gamma-ray Burst Optical Afterglows: Biases in the Swift Sample and Characterization of the Absorbers
• 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
• A mean redshift of 2.8 for Swift gamma-ray bursts
• Robust Limits on Lorentz Violation from Gamma-Ray Bursts
• On the Collapsar Model of Long Gamma-Ray Bursts: Constraints from Cosmic Metallicity Evolution
• The optically unbiased GRB host (TOUGH) survey. I. Survey design and catalogs
• Probing Cosmic Chemical Evolution with Gamma-Ray Bursts: GRB060206 at z=4.048
• The host galaxies of core-collapse supernovae and gamma ray bursts
• HI column densities of z > 2 Swift gamma-ray bursts
• The extinction curves of star-forming regions from z=0.1 to 6.7 using GRB afterglow spectroscopy
• A log N(HI) = 22.6 DLA in a dark gamma-ray burst: the environment of GRB 050401
• Dust and Metal Column Densities in Gamma-Ray Burst Host Galaxies
• Rapid-Response Mode VLT/UVES spectroscopy of GRB060418: Conclusive evidence for UV pumping from the time evolution of FeII and NiII excited- and metastable-level populations
• Very different X-ray to optical column density ratios in gamma-ray burst afterglows: ionisation in GRB environments
• The Galactic dust-to-metals ratio and metallicity using gamma-ray bursts
• X-ray Hardness Evolution in GRB Afterglows and Flares: Late Time GRB Activity Without N_H Variations
• The Dust Extinction Curves of Gamma-Ray Burst Host Galaxies
• Spectroscopy of GRB 050505 at z=4.275: A logN(HI)=22.1 DLA Host Galaxy and the Nature of the Progenitor
• Physical conditions in high-redshift GRB-DLA absorbers observed with VLT/UVES: Implications for molecular hydrogen searches
• High-Redshift Starbursting Dwarf Galaxies Revealed by GRB Afterglows
• High-Ion Absorption in Seven GRB Host Galaxies at z=2-4: Evidence for both Circumburst Plasma and Outflowing Interstellar Gas
• The nature of the dwarf starforming galaxy associated with GRB 060218 / SN2006aj
• Gamma-Ray Burst afterglows as probes of environment and blastwave physics I: absorption by host galaxy gas and dust
• The clustering of the luminosities of optical afterglows of long Gamma Ray Bursts
• Phenomenology of Reverse-Shock Emission in the Optical Afterglows of Gamma Ray Bursts
• Gamma-ray burst rate: high-redshift excess and its possible origins
• A very metal poor Damped Lyman-alpha system revealed through the most energetic GRB 090926A
• UVES/VLT high resolution spectroscopy of GRB 050730 afterglow: probing the features of the GRB environment
• X-ray Flares in Early GRB Afterglows
• Outshining the quasars at reionisation: The X-ray spectrum and lightcurve of the redshift 6.29 Gamma-Ray Burst GRB050904
• Multi-wavelength afterglow observations of the high redshift GRB 050730
• The luminosity function of Swift long gamma-ray bursts
• Line Searches in Swift X-ray Spectra
• The Gamma-ray burst 050904 : evidence for a termination shock ?
• The host galaxies of long-duration GRBs in a cosmological hierarchical scenario
• Properties of a Gamma Ray Burst Host Galaxy at z ~ 5
• Constraining the energy budget of GRB 080721
• The host of GRB 060206: kinematics of a distant galaxy
• HST and Spitzer Observations of the Host Galaxy of GRB 050904: A Metal-Enriched, Dusty Starburst at z=6.295
• Spectroscopy of GRB 051111 at z=1.54948: Kinematics and Elemental Abundances of the GRB Environment and Host Galaxy
• Constraining the nature of the most distant Gamma-Ray Burst host galaxies
• Dust extinction bias in the column density distribution of gamma-ray bursts; high column density, low redshift GRBs are more heavily obscured
• Galaxy counterparts of intervening high-z sub-DLAs/DLAs and MgII absorbers towards gamma-ray bursts
• Constraining the star formation histories of GRB Host Galaxies from their observed abundance patterns
• Testing the Possible Intrinsic Origin of the Excess of Very Strong MgII Absorbers Along GRB Lines-of-Sight
• Long Gamma-Ray Bursts and Their Host Galaxies at High Redshift
• Testing a new view of Gamma Ray Burst Afterglows
• Optical afterglow luminosities in the Swift epoch: confirming clustering and bimodality
• The circumburst environment of a FRED GRB: study of the prompt emission and X-ray/optical afterglow of GRB 051111
• The exceptionally extended flaring activity in the X-ray afterglow of GRB 050730 observed with Swift and XMM-Newton
• Gamma Ray Bursts as Probes of the Distant Universe
• Investigating time variability of X-ray absorption in Swift GRBs
• Long Gamma-Ray Burst Host Galaxies and their Environments
• The early and late-time spectral and temporal evolution of GRB 050716
• Examining the evidence for dust destruction in GRB 980703
• The Swift satellite lives up to its name, revealing cosmic explosions as they happen
• First joint absorption and T${}_e$-based metallicity measured in a GRB host galaxy at $z=4.28$ using JWST/NIRSpec