TITLE:   GCN CIRCULAR
NUMBER:  22659
SUBJECT: GRB 180418A: Gemini-North imaging and spectroscopy 
DATE:    18/04/18 22:46:13 GMT
FROM:    Wen-fai Fong at Northwestern U  <wfong@northwestern.edu>

W. Fong (Northwestern Univ.), N. R. Tanvir (U. Leicester), A. J. Levan (U. Warwick), and R. Chornock (Ohio Univ.) report on behalf of a larger collaboration:

"We observed the location of the short-duration GRB 180418A (D'Elia et al., GCN 22646) with the Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph (GMOS) mounted on the Gemini-North 8-meter telescope. We obtained 4x120-sec each in the griz-bands at a mid-time of 2018 April 18.451 UT (4.09 hr post-burst) in 0.7-1" seeing over an airmass range of 1.2-1.5. We detect the optical afterglow (Zheng et al., GCN 22647, Guidorzi et al., GCN 22648, Troja et al., GCN 22652) in all bands with the following preliminary magnitudes:

g = 22.0 +/- 0.1
r = 21.6 +/- 0.2
i = 21.2 +/- 0.2
z = 21.9 +/- 0.4

All magnitudes are reported in the AB system, calibrated to SDSS, and not corrected for Galactic extinction. Notably, the most nearby source in projection is 13.3" from the optical afterglow position, although it is difficult to tell whether the source is point-like or extended in our images. There are otherwise no clearly-extended sources within 30" of the optical afterglow position (corresponding to 185 kpc at z~0.5) to 3-sigma limits of g>23.4 AB mag, r>22.5 AB mag.

In addition, we obtained 4x900-sec of GMOS spectroscopy of the optical afterglow at a mid-time of 2018 April 18.382 UT (2.44 hr post-burst) at an airmass of 1.1. No prominent features can be identified, beyond a blue continuum. Analysis is ongoing.

Further observations are planned. We thank the Gemini staff, and in particular observers Jason Chu and Michael Hoenig, for their assistance with these observations."