Abstract.
We summarize the results of a comprehensive survey to measure the location of 20 cosmological gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) in and around galaxies. We find that all well-localized GRBs to-date fall within 1.2 arcsec (10 kpc in projection) from the nearest detected galaxy. We estimate on statistical grounds that most if not all of these nearby “host” galaxies are indeed physically associated with the respective GRB and not a spurious superposition. The observed distribution of GRBs offsets about their hosts are consistent with a progenitor population that burst near the sites of massive star formation (eg. “collapsars”) and inconsistent with the modeled location of degenerate binary systems (eg. neutron-star-neutron-star and neutron-star-black-hole mergers) which travel far from their birthsite.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Rights and permissions
About this paper
Cite this paper
Bloom, J.S., Kulkarni, S.R. The Observed Offset Distribution of GRBs about Their Hosts. In: Costa, E., Frontera, F., Hjorth, J. (eds) Gamma-Ray Bursts in the Afterglow Era. ESO ASTROPHYSICS SYMPOSIA. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/10853853_57
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/10853853_57
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-540-42771-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-540-45505-9
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive