IR-bright gamma-ray burst host galaxies

We report a candidate host for GRB 061002, previously unidentified as such. The remainder of the galaxies have already been noted as potential hosts. Comparing the IR-bright population properties including redshift z, stellar mass M*, star formation rate SFR, and V-band attenuation A_V_ to GRB host catalogues in the literature, we find that the infrared-bright population is biased towards low z, high M*, and high A_V_.

This naturally arises from their initial selection - local and dusty galaxies are more likely to have the required IR flux to be detected in WISE. We conclude that while IR-bright GRB hosts are not a physically distinct class, they are useful for constraining existing GRB host populations, particularly for long GRBs.