The discovery of GW170817 and GRB 170817A in tandem with AT 2017gfo cemented the connection between neutron star mergers, short gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), and kilonovae. To investigate short GRB observations in the context of diverse kilonova behavior, we present a comprehensive optical and near-IR catalog of 85 bursts discovered over 2005-2020 on timescales of <~12days. The sample includes previously unpublished observations of 23 bursts and encompasses both detections and deep upper limits. We identify 11.8% and 15.3% of short GRBs in our catalog with upper limits that probe luminosities lower than those of AT2017gfo and a fiducial neutron star-black hole kilonova model (for pole-on orientations), respectively. We quantify the ejecta masses allowed by the deepest limits in our catalog, constraining blue and "extremely blue" kilonova components of 14.1% of bursts to M_ej_~2days can play a significant role in constraining more diverse outcomes. We expect future short GRB follow-up efforts, such as from the James Webb Space Telescope, to expand the reach of kilonova detectability to redshifts of z~1.

Cone search capability for table J/ApJ/916/89/tablea1 (Catalog of short GRB kilonovae observations)