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The Discovery of a Hyperluminal Source in the Radio Afterglow of GRB 030329

Shlomo Dado·Arnon Dar·A. De Rujula
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Abstract

Taylor, Frail, Berger and Kulkarni have made precise VLBI measurements of the size and position of the source of the radio afterglow of GRB 030329. They report a size evolution compatible with standard fireball models, proper motion limits inconsistent with the cannonball model, and a double source, i.e. "an additional compact component" on day 51 after the GRB, totally unexpected in the standard models. We outline a consistent interpretation of the ensemble of the data in the realm of the cannonball model. The observed double source is a radio image of the two cannonballs required in this model to explain the gamma-ray and optical light curves of this GRB; their separation agrees with the expectation. Thus interpreted, the observation of the two sources --separated by a "hyperluminal" distance-- is a major discovery in astrophysics: it pins down the origin of GRBs.

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Shlomo Dado, Arnon Dar, A. De Rujula. 2004-06-24. The Discovery of a Hyperluminal Source in the Radio Afterglow of GRB 030329. https://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0406325

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