GRB 160410A: The first chemical study of the interstellar medium of a short GRB. Issue 1 (16th January 2023)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Agüí Fernández, J F; Thöne, C C; Kann, D A; de Ugarte Postigo, A; Selsing, J; Schady, P; Yates, R M; Greiner, J; Oates, S R; Malesani, D B; Xu, D; Klotz, A; Campana, S; Rossi, A; Perley, D A; Blažek, M; D'Avanzo, P; Giunta, A; Hartmann, D; Heintz, K E; Jakobsson, P; Kirkpatrick IV, C C; Kouveliotou, C; Melandri, A; Pugliese, G; Salvaterra, R; Starling, R L C; Tanvir, N R; Vergani, S D; Wiersema, K
• Is Part Of: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. Volume 520:Issue 1(2023)
• Page Start: 613
• Page End: 636
• Publication Date: 2023-01-16
• Subjects: gamma-ray burst: individual: GRB 160410A -- gamma-ray burst: individual: GRB 201221D -- galaxies: ISM -- neutron star mergers; Astronomy -- Periodicals; Periodicals; 520.5
• DOI: 10.1093/mnras/stad099
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0035-8711

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Short gamma-ray bursts (SGRBs) are produced by the coalescence of compact binary systems which are remnants of massive stars. GRB 160410A is classified as a short-duration GRB with extended emission and is currently the farthest SGRB with a redshift determined from an afterglow spectrum and also one of the brightest SGRBs to date. The fast reaction to the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory alert allowed us to obtain a spectrum of the afterglow using the X-shooter spectrograph at the Very Large Telescope (VLT). The spectrum shows several absorption features at a redshift of z = 1.7177, in addition, we detect two intervening systems at z = 1.581 and z = 1.444. The spectrum shows Ly α in absorption with a column density of log ( N (H i )/cm 2 ) = 21.2 ± 0.2 which, together with Fe ii, C ii, Si ii, Al ii, and O i, allow us to perform the first study of chemical abundances in a SGRB host galaxy. We determine a metallicity of [X/H] = −2.3 ± 0.2 for Fe ii and −2.5 ± 0.2 for Si ii and no dust depletion. We also find no evidence for extinction in the afterglow spectral energy distribution modelling. The environment has a low degree of ionization and the C iv and Si iv lines are completely absent. We do not detect an underlying host galaxy down to deep limits. Additionally, we compare GRB 160410A to GRB 201221D, another high- z short GRB that shows absorption lines at z = 1.045 and an underlying massive host galaxy.