Open AccessSpectroscopy of the Host Galaxy of the Gamma-Ray Burst 980703
Author(s) -
S. G. Djorgovski,
S. R. Kulkarni,
J. S. Bloom,
Robert W. Goodrich,
D. A. Frail,
L. Piro,
E. Palazzi
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
the astrophysical journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.376
H-Index - 489
eISSN - 1538-4357
pISSN - 0004-637X
DOI - 10.1086/311729
Subject(s) - gamma ray burst , astrophysics , physics , galaxy , redshift , star formation , extinction (optical mineralogy) , balmer series , star (game theory) , astronomy , emission spectrum , spectral line , optics
We present spectroscopic observations of the host galaxy of the gamma-rayburst (GRB) 980703. Several emission and absorption features are detected,making the redshift, z = 0.966, completely unambiguous. This is only the thirdknown redshift for a GRB host. The implied isotropic gamma-ray energy releasefrom the burst is in excess of 10^{53} erg, for a reasonable choice ofcosmological parameters. The spectroscopic properties of the host galaxy aretypical for a star formation powered object. Using the observed value of theBalmer decrement, we derived the extinction in the galaxy's restframe, A_V =0.3 +- 0.3 mag. Using three different star formation rate indicators, weestimate SFR ~ 10 Msun/yr, or higher, depending on the extinction, with a lowerlimit of SFR > 7 Msun/yr. This is the highest value of the star formation ratemeasured for a GRB galaxy so far, and it gives some support to the idea thatGRBs are closely related to massive star formation.Comment: Submitted to the Astrophysical Journal Letters; 8 pages, including 2 tables and 3 embedded postscript figures; style files include
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