EXTINCTION

Low-resolution Spectroscopy of Gamma-ray Burst Optical Afterglows: Biases in the Swift Sample and Characterization of the Absorbers

We present a sample of 77 optical afterglows (OAs) of Swift detected gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) for which spectroscopic follow-up observations have been secured. Our first objective is to measure the redshifts of the bursts. For the majority (90%) of …

The Host Galaxies of Swift Dark Gamma-ray Bursts: Observational Constraints on Highly Obscured and Very High Redshift GRBs

In this work, we present the first results of our imaging campaign at Keck Observatory to identify the host galaxies of ``dark'' gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), events with no detected optical afterglow or with detected optical flux significantly fainter …

Improved Standardization of Type II-P Supernovae: Application to an Expanded Sample

In the epoch of precise and accurate cosmology, cross-confirmation using a variety of cosmographic methods is paramount to circumvent systematic uncertainties. Owing to progenitor histories and explosion physics differing from those of Type Ia …

The Faint Optical Afterglow and Host Galaxy of GRB 020124: Implications for the Nature of Dark Gamma-Ray Bursts

We present ground-based optical observations of GRB 020124 starting 1.6 hr after the burst, as well as subsequent Very Large Array and Hubble Space Telescope (HST) observations. The optical afterglow of GRB 020124 is one of the faintest afterglows …

A Search for Optical Afterglow from GRB 970828

We report on the results of R-band observations of the error box of the γ-ray burst of 1997 August 28 made between 4 hr and 8 days after this burst occurred. No counterpart was found varying by more than 0.2 mag down to R=23.8. We discuss the …

A Search for Optical Afterglow from GRB 970828

We report on the results of R-band observations of the error box of the γ-ray burst of 1997 August 28 made between 4 hr and 8 days after this burst occurred. No counterpart was found varying by more than 0.2 mag down to R=23.8. We discuss the …