A detailed spectral study of GRB 041219A and its host galaxy

GRB 041219A is one of the longest and brightest gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) ever observed. It was discovered by the INTEGRAL satellite, and thanks to a precursor happening about 300 s before the bulk of the burst, ground-based telescopes were able to catch the rarely observed prompt emission in the optical and in the near-infrared bands.Here we present the detailed analysis of its prompt gamma-ray emission, as observed with IBIS onboard INTEGRAL, and of the available X-ray afterglow data collected by X-Ray Telescope onboard Swift. We then present the late-time multiband near-infrared imaging data, collected at the Telescopio Nazionale Galileo (TNG) and the Canada–France–Hawaii Telescope (CFHT), that allowed us to identify the host galaxy of the GRB as an underluminous, irregular galaxy of ∼5 × 10
⁹
M
⊙
at best-fitting redshift of z= 0.31
^+0.54
−0.26
.We model the broad-band prompt optical to gamma-ray emission of GRB 041219A within the internal shock model. We were able to reproduce the spectra and light curve invoking the synchrotron emission of relativistic electrons accelerated by a series of propagating shock waves inside a relativistic outflow. On the other hand, it is less easy to simultaneously reproduce the temporal and spectral properties of the infrared data.