1998/01/14 by Daniel E. Reichart, D. Reichart, Reichart, Daniel E.
Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomy and Astrophysical Research #Astrophysics (astro-ph) #FOS: Physical sciences #Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.astro-ph/9801139
Submitted to the Astrophysical Journal (Letters), 9 pages, LaTeX
arxiv created 1998/01/14 · openalex publication_date 1998/01/14 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
GRB 971214 is the third gamma ray burst for which an optical afterglow has been detected. I show that the spectrum of this afterglow (optical and X-ray) is inconsistent with the relativistic blast-wave model unless a significant source of extinction is introduced. Assuming that a single absorber exists at redshift z, I find that its V-band absorption magnitude at this redshift is AV(z) = 1.00+1.55-0.21 mag where z = 1.89+0.27-0.69. Although this redshift is only bound from below marginally, it is strongly bound from above: z < 2.50 at the 3 sigma confidence level. This range of values for the V-band absorption magnitude is too high to be consistent with absorption by either intergalactic gas or the halo of a galaxy, which implies that GRB 971214 lies either within or behind a galactic disk. Since chance alignments of galactic disks are unlikely, this absorber is probably the host galaxy of GRB 971214.