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The superluminal motion of Gamma-Ray-Burst sources and the complex afterglow of GRB 030329

Shlomo Dado·Arnon Dar·A. De Rujula
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Abstract

The source of the very bright Gamma-Ray Burst GRB 030329 is close enough to us for there to be a hope to measure or significantly constrain its putative superluminal motion. Such a phenomenon is expected in the ``Cannonball'' (CB) model of GRBs. Recent precise data on the optical and radio afterglow of this GRB --which demonstrated its very complex structure-- allow us to pin down the CB-model's prediction for the afterglow-source position as a function of time. It has been stated that (the unpublished part of) the new radio data ``unequivocably disprove'' the CB model. We show how greatly exaggerated that obituary announcement was, and how precise a refined analysis of the data would have to be, to be still of interest.

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Shlomo Dado, Arnon Dar, A. De Rujula. 2004-02-16. The superluminal motion of Gamma-Ray-Burst sources and the complex afterglow of GRB 030329. https://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0402374

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