Keck Observations of 160 Gamma-Ray Burst Host Galaxies

¹ Department of Astronomy, California Institute of Technology, MC 249-17, 1200 East California Boulevard, Pasadena CA 91125, USA
² Department of Astronomy, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
³ Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, UCO/Lick Observatory, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA

Abstract

We present a preliminary data release from our multi-year campaign at Keck Observatory to study the host galaxies of a large sample of Swift-era gamma-ray bursts via multi-color ground-based optical imaging and spectroscopy. With over 160 targets observed to date (and almost 100 host detections, most of which have not previously been reported in the literature) our effort represents the broadest GRB host survey to date. While targeting was heterogeneous, our observations span the known diversity of GRBs including short bursts, long bursts, spectrally soft GRBs (XRFs), ultra-energetic GRBs, X-ray faint GRBs, dark GRBs, SN-GRBs, and other sub-classes. We also present a preview of our database (currently available online via a convenient web interface) including a catalog of multi-color photometry, redshifts and line ID’s. Final photometry and reduced imaging and spectra will be available in the near future.