Could GRB 060614 and Its Presumed Host Galaxy Be a Chance Superposition?

The lack of an observed supernova associated with GRB 060614 appears torequire a new paradigm for the formation of (a subset of) long-duration GRBs.This requirement is based on the presumed low redshift of the burst, which wasinferred from the spatial coincidence of the afterglow with a z=0.125 galaxy.We explore the possibility that this low-redshift galaxy is a chancesuperposition along the line of sight to GRB 060614. We examine the galaxydistribution of the field of GRB 060614 and find that the probability of achance association with a galaxy at least as bright as the putative host isonly ~ 0.5 - 1.9%. However, for the current ensemble of ~180 Swift GRBs it islikely that several such coincidences have occurred, and given the"non-standard" nature of GRB 060614 it is not implausible that this is one suchoccurrence. Thus the conclusion that GRB 060614 requires a revision to theformation paradigm for long-duration GRBs should be approached with caution.Comment: Accepted by ApJ Letter