Observations of the afterglows of long gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) allow the study of star-forming galaxies across most of cosmic history. Here we present observations of GRB 111008A, from which we can measure metallicity, chemical abundance patterns, dust-to-metals ratio (DTM), and extinction of the GRB host galaxy at z = 5.0. The host absorption system is a damped Lyα absorber with a very large neutral hydrogen column density of and a metallicity of [S/H] = -1.70 ± 0.10. It is the highest-redshift GRB with such a precise metallicity measurement. The presence of fine-structure lines confirms the z = 5.0 system as the GRB host galaxy and makes this the highest redshift where Fe II fine-structure lines have been detected. The afterglow is mildly reddened with A V = 0.11 ± 0.04 mag, and the host galaxy has a DTM that is consistent with being equal to or lower than typical values in the Local Group. © 2014. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved..
CITATION STYLE
Sparre, M., Hartoog, O. E., Krühler, T., Fynbo, J. P. U., Watson, D. J., Wiersema, K., … Wijers, R. A. M. J. (2014). The metallicity and dust content of a redshift 5 gamma-ray burst host galaxy. Astrophysical Journal, 785(2). https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/785/2/150
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