First joint absorption and Te-based metallicity measured in a GRB host galaxy at z=4.28 using JWST/NIRSpec

Anne Inkenhaag; Patricia Schady; Philip Wiseman; Robert M. Yates; Maryam Arabsalmani; Lise Christensen; Valerio D'Elia; Massimiliano De Pasquale; Ruben Garcia-Benito; Dieter H. Hartmann; Páll Jakobsson; Tanmoy Laskar; Andrew J. Levan; Giovanna Pugliese; Andrea Rossi; Ruben Salvaterra; Sandra Savaglio; Boris Sbarufatti; Rhaana L. C. Starling; Nial R. Tanvir; Berk Topcu; Susanna D. Vergani; Klaas Wiersema

doi:10.1093/mnras/staf1103

First joint absorption and Te-based metallicity measured in a GRB host galaxy at z=4.28 using JWST/NIRSpec

Anne Inkenhaag
, Patricia Schady
, Philip Wiseman
, Robert M. Yates
, Maryam Arabsalmani
, Lise Christensen
, Valerio D'Elia
, Massimiliano De Pasquale
, Ruben Garcia-Benito
, Dieter H. Hartmann
, Páll Jakobsson
, Tanmoy Laskar
, Andrew J. Levan
, Giovanna Pugliese
, Andrea Rossi
, Ruben Salvaterra
, Sandra Savaglio
, Boris Sbarufatti
, Rhaana L. C. Starling
, Nial R. Tanvir

Berk Topcu, Susanna D. Vergani, Klaas Wiersema

University of Southampton
University of Hertfordshire
Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich
Excellence Cluster Origins
University of Copenhagen
Space Science Data Center (SSDC) - Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI)
University of Messina
Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia
Clemson University
University of Iceland
University of Utah
Radboud University Nijmegen
University of Warwick
University of Amsterdam
INAF – Osservatorio di Astrofisica e Scienza dello Spazio di Bologna
INAF Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale e Fisica Cosmica, Milan
University of Calabria
INAF-Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali
Laboratori Nazionali dell'INFN di Frascati
INAF - Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera
University of Leicester
Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris
Sorbonne Université

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

1 Citation (SciVal)

Abstract

We present the first gamma-ray burst (GRB) host galaxy with a measured absorption line and electron temperature (T _e) based metallicity, using the temperature sensitive [O III]λ4363 auroral line detected in the JWST/NIRSpec spectrum of the host of GRB 050505 at redshift z = 4.28. We find that the metallicity of the cold interstellar gas, derived from the absorption lines in the GRB afterglow, of 12 + log(O/H) ∼ 7.7 is in reasonable agreement with the temperature-based emission line metallicity in the warm gas of the GRB host galaxy, which has values of 12 + log(O/H) = 7.80±0.19 and 7.96±0.21 for two common indicators. When using strong emission line diagnostics appropriate for high-z galaxies and sensitive to ionization parameter, we find good agreement between the strong emission line metallicity and the other two methods. Our results imply that, for the host of GRB050505, mixing between the warm and the cold interstellar medium along the line of sight to the GRB is efficient, and that GRB afterglow absorption lines can be a reliable tracer of the metallicity of the galaxy. If confirmed with a large sample, this suggest that metallicities determined via GRB afterglow spectroscopy can be used to trace cosmic chemical evolution to the earliest cosmic epochs and in galaxies far too faint for emission line spectroscopy, even for JWST.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	3837-3850
Number of pages	14
Journal	Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Volume	541
Issue number	4
Early online date	8 Jul 2025
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/staf1103
Publication status	Published - 1 Aug 2025

Data Availability Statement

The JWST and HST data are publicly available through the MAST archive (https://stdatu.stsci.edu/datadownloads.html) under program #2344 with PI P. Schady and #15644 with PI D. Perley, respectively. The data described here may also be obtained from the MAST archive at https://dx.doi.org/10.17909/ektj-8179. Code used for this analysis will be made available on reasonable request to the corresponding author.

Funding

This work is based on observations made with the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope. The data were obtained from the Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes at the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under NASA contract NAS 5-03127 for JWST. These observations are associated with program #2344. This research is based on observations made with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope obtained from the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under NASA contract NAS 5\u201326555. These observations are associated with program #15644. AI and PS acknowledge support from the UK Science and Technology Facilities Council, grant reference ST/X001067/1. PW acknowledges support from the UK Science and Technology Facilities Council, grant reference ST/Z510269/1. RGB acknowledges financial support from the Severo Ochoa grant CEX2021-001131-S funded by MCIN AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and PID2022-141755NB-I00. RLCS acknowledges support from the Leverhulme Trust grant RPG-2023-240. AR acknowledges support from PRIN-MIUR 2017 (grant 20179ZF5KS). Funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) under Germany\u2019s Excellence Strategy\u2013EXC 2094\u2013390783311. SDV acknowledges the support of the French Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR), under grant ANR-23-CE31-0011 (project PEGaSUS). This work makes use of Python packages numpy (v1.26.4; Harris et al. ), uncertainties (v3.2.2; http://pythonhosted.org/uncertainties/ ), matplotlib (v3.9.1; Hunter ), gdpyc (v.1.1; https://gdpyc.readthedocs.io/en/latest/ ) and lmfit (v1.3.2; Newville et al. ). This work made use of Astropy (v6.1.2; http://www.astropy.org ): a community-developed core Python package and an ecosystem of tools and resources for astronomy (Astropy Collaboration , , ). This work is based on observations made with the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope. The data were obtained from the Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes at the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under NASA contract NAS 5-03127 for JWST. These observations are associated with program #2344. This research is based on observations made with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope obtained from the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under NASA contract NAS 5\u201326555. These observations are associated with program #15644. AI and PS acknowledge support from the UK Science and Technology Facilities Council, grant reference ST/X001067/1. PW acknowledges support from the UK Science and Technology Facilities Council, grant reference ST/Z510269/1. RGB acknowledges financial support from the Severo Ochoa grant CEX2021-001131-S funded by MCIN AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and PID2022-141755NB-I00. RLCS acknowledges support from the Leverhulme Trust grant RPG-2023-240. AR acknowledges support from PRIN-MIUR 2017 (grant 20179ZF5KS). Funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) under Germany\u2019s Excellence Strategy\u2013EXC 2094\u2013390783311. SDV acknowledges the support of the French Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR), under grant ANR-23-CE31-0011 (project PEGaSUS). This work makes use of Python packages NUMPY (v1.26.4; Harris et al. 2020), UNCERTAINTIES (v3.2.2; http://pythonhosted.org/uncertainties/), MATPLOTLIB (v3.9.1; Hunter 2007), GDPYC (v.1.1; https://gdpyc.readthedocs.io /en/latest/) and LMFIT (v1.3.2; Newville et al. 2016). This work made use of Astropy (v6.1.2; http://www.astropy.org): a community-developed core Python package and an ecosystem of tools and resources for astronomy (Astropy Collaboration 2013, 2018, 2022).

Funders	Funder number
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
UNCERTAINTIES
GDPYC
LMFIT
Endocrine Society of Australia
French National Research Agency	2020, ANR-23-CE31-0011
Space Telescope Science Institute	15644, NAS 5–26555
Science and Technology Facilities Council	ST/X001067/1, ST/Z510269/1
Leverhulme Trust	RPG-2023-240, 20179ZF5KS
Severo Ochoa	PID2022-141755NB-I00, MCIN AEI/10.13039/501100011033, CEX2021-001131-S
Canadian Space Agency	NAS 5-03127, 2344
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG)	EXC 2094–390783311

Keywords

galaxies: abundances
gamma-ray burst: general
gamma-ray burst: individual: GRB 050505
gamma-ray bursts

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Astronomy and Astrophysics
Space and Planetary Science

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10.1093/mnras/staf1103Licence: CC BY

Cite this

Inkenhaag, A., Schady, P., Wiseman, P., Yates, R. M., Arabsalmani, M., Christensen, L., D'Elia, V., De Pasquale, M., Garcia-Benito, R., Hartmann, D. H., Jakobsson, P., Laskar, T., Levan, A. J., Pugliese, G., Rossi, A., Salvaterra, R., Savaglio, S., Sbarufatti, B., Starling, R. L. C., ... Wiersema, K. (2025). First joint absorption and Te-based metallicity measured in a GRB host galaxy at z=4.28 using JWST/NIRSpec. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 541(4), 3837-3850. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/staf1103

Inkenhaag, A, Schady, P, Wiseman, P, Yates, RM, Arabsalmani, M, Christensen, L, D'Elia, V, De Pasquale, M, Garcia-Benito, R, Hartmann, DH, Jakobsson, P, Laskar, T, Levan, AJ, Pugliese, G, Rossi, A, Salvaterra, R, Savaglio, S, Sbarufatti, B, Starling, RLC, Tanvir, NR, Topcu, B, Vergani, SD & Wiersema, K 2025, 'First joint absorption and Te-based metallicity measured in a GRB host galaxy at z=4.28 using JWST/NIRSpec', Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, vol. 541, no. 4, pp. 3837-3850. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/staf1103

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title = "First joint absorption and Te-based metallicity measured in a GRB host galaxy at z=4.28 using JWST/NIRSpec",

abstract = "We present the first gamma-ray burst (GRB) host galaxy with a measured absorption line and electron temperature (T e) based metallicity, using the temperature sensitive [O III]λ4363 auroral line detected in the JWST/NIRSpec spectrum of the host of GRB 050505 at redshift z = 4.28. We find that the metallicity of the cold interstellar gas, derived from the absorption lines in the GRB afterglow, of 12 + log(O/H) ∼ 7.7 is in reasonable agreement with the temperature-based emission line metallicity in the warm gas of the GRB host galaxy, which has values of 12 + log(O/H) = 7.80±0.19 and 7.96±0.21 for two common indicators. When using strong emission line diagnostics appropriate for high-z galaxies and sensitive to ionization parameter, we find good agreement between the strong emission line metallicity and the other two methods. Our results imply that, for the host of GRB050505, mixing between the warm and the cold interstellar medium along the line of sight to the GRB is efficient, and that GRB afterglow absorption lines can be a reliable tracer of the metallicity of the galaxy. If confirmed with a large sample, this suggest that metallicities determined via GRB afterglow spectroscopy can be used to trace cosmic chemical evolution to the earliest cosmic epochs and in galaxies far too faint for emission line spectroscopy, even for JWST.",

keywords = "galaxies: abundances, gamma-ray burst: general, gamma-ray burst: individual: GRB 050505, gamma-ray bursts",

author = "Anne Inkenhaag and Patricia Schady and Philip Wiseman and Yates, \{Robert M.\} and Maryam Arabsalmani and Lise Christensen and Valerio D'Elia and \{De Pasquale\}, Massimiliano and Ruben Garcia-Benito and Hartmann, \{Dieter H.\} and P{\'a}ll Jakobsson and Tanmoy Laskar and Levan, \{Andrew J.\} and Giovanna Pugliese and Andrea Rossi and Ruben Salvaterra and Sandra Savaglio and Boris Sbarufatti and Starling, \{Rhaana L. C.\} and Tanvir, \{Nial R.\} and Berk Topcu and Vergani, \{Susanna D.\} and Klaas Wiersema",

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doi = "10.1093/mnras/staf1103",

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T1 - First joint absorption and Te-based metallicity measured in a GRB host galaxy at z=4.28 using JWST/NIRSpec

AU - Inkenhaag, Anne

AU - Schady, Patricia

AU - Wiseman, Philip

AU - Yates, Robert M.

AU - Arabsalmani, Maryam

AU - Christensen, Lise

AU - D'Elia, Valerio

AU - De Pasquale, Massimiliano

AU - Garcia-Benito, Ruben

AU - Hartmann, Dieter H.

AU - Jakobsson, Páll

AU - Laskar, Tanmoy

AU - Levan, Andrew J.

AU - Pugliese, Giovanna

AU - Rossi, Andrea

AU - Salvaterra, Ruben

AU - Savaglio, Sandra

AU - Sbarufatti, Boris

AU - Starling, Rhaana L. C.

AU - Tanvir, Nial R.

AU - Topcu, Berk

AU - Vergani, Susanna D.

AU - Wiersema, Klaas

PY - 2025/8/1

Y1 - 2025/8/1

N2 - We present the first gamma-ray burst (GRB) host galaxy with a measured absorption line and electron temperature (T e) based metallicity, using the temperature sensitive [O III]λ4363 auroral line detected in the JWST/NIRSpec spectrum of the host of GRB 050505 at redshift z = 4.28. We find that the metallicity of the cold interstellar gas, derived from the absorption lines in the GRB afterglow, of 12 + log(O/H) ∼ 7.7 is in reasonable agreement with the temperature-based emission line metallicity in the warm gas of the GRB host galaxy, which has values of 12 + log(O/H) = 7.80±0.19 and 7.96±0.21 for two common indicators. When using strong emission line diagnostics appropriate for high-z galaxies and sensitive to ionization parameter, we find good agreement between the strong emission line metallicity and the other two methods. Our results imply that, for the host of GRB050505, mixing between the warm and the cold interstellar medium along the line of sight to the GRB is efficient, and that GRB afterglow absorption lines can be a reliable tracer of the metallicity of the galaxy. If confirmed with a large sample, this suggest that metallicities determined via GRB afterglow spectroscopy can be used to trace cosmic chemical evolution to the earliest cosmic epochs and in galaxies far too faint for emission line spectroscopy, even for JWST.

AB - We present the first gamma-ray burst (GRB) host galaxy with a measured absorption line and electron temperature (T e) based metallicity, using the temperature sensitive [O III]λ4363 auroral line detected in the JWST/NIRSpec spectrum of the host of GRB 050505 at redshift z = 4.28. We find that the metallicity of the cold interstellar gas, derived from the absorption lines in the GRB afterglow, of 12 + log(O/H) ∼ 7.7 is in reasonable agreement with the temperature-based emission line metallicity in the warm gas of the GRB host galaxy, which has values of 12 + log(O/H) = 7.80±0.19 and 7.96±0.21 for two common indicators. When using strong emission line diagnostics appropriate for high-z galaxies and sensitive to ionization parameter, we find good agreement between the strong emission line metallicity and the other two methods. Our results imply that, for the host of GRB050505, mixing between the warm and the cold interstellar medium along the line of sight to the GRB is efficient, and that GRB afterglow absorption lines can be a reliable tracer of the metallicity of the galaxy. If confirmed with a large sample, this suggest that metallicities determined via GRB afterglow spectroscopy can be used to trace cosmic chemical evolution to the earliest cosmic epochs and in galaxies far too faint for emission line spectroscopy, even for JWST.

KW - galaxies: abundances

KW - gamma-ray burst: general

KW - gamma-ray burst: individual: GRB 050505

KW - gamma-ray bursts

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105013089283

U2 - 10.1093/mnras/staf1103

DO - 10.1093/mnras/staf1103

M3 - Article

SN - 0035-8711

VL - 541

SP - 3837

EP - 3850

JO - Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

JF - Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

IS - 4

ER -

First joint absorption and Te-based metallicity measured in a GRB host galaxy at z=4.28 using JWST/NIRSpec

Abstract

Data Availability Statement

Funding

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

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