SCUBA observations of the host galaxies of four dark gamma-ray bursts
Barnard, V. E., Blain, A. W., Tanvir, N. R., Natarajan, P.,
Smith, I. A., Wijers, R. A. M. J., Kouveliotou, C., Rol, E.,
Tilanus, R. P. J., & Vreeswijk, P.
We present the results of a search for submillimetre-luminous host
galaxies of optically dark gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) using the
Submillimetre Common-User Bolometer Array (SCUBA) on the James Clerk
Maxwell Telescope (JCMT). We made photometry measurements of the 850
micron flux at the location of four `dark bursts', which are those
with no detected optical afterglow despite rapid deep searches, and
which may therefore be within galaxies containing substantial amounts
of dust. We were unable to detect any individual source significantly.
Our results are consistent with predictions for the host galaxy population
as a whole, rather than for a subset of dusty hosts. This indicates that
optically dark GRBs are not especially associated with very
submillimetre-luminous galaxies and so cannot be used as reliable
indicators of dust-enshrouded massive star formation activity. Further
observations are required to establish the relationship between the
wider GRB host galaxy population and SCUBA galaxies.
Status:
2003, MNRAS, 338, 1.
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