A deep survey of short GRB host galaxies over $z\sim0-2$: implications for offsets, redshifts, and environments

Understand

A significant fraction (30\%) of well-localized short gamma-ray bursts (sGRBs) lack a coincident host galaxy.

• This leads to two main scenarios: \textit{i}) that the progenitor system merged outside of the visible light of its host, or \textit{ii}) that the sGRB resided within a faint and distant galaxy that was not detected by follow-up observations.
• Discriminating between these scenarios has important implications for constraining the formation channels of neutron star mergers, the rate and environments of gravitational wave sources, and the production of heavy elements in the Universe.
• In this work, we present the results of our observing campaign targeted at 31 sGRBs that lack a putative host galaxy.