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Compact radio emission indicates a structured jet was produced by a binary neutron star merger.
- Source :
-
Science . 3/1/2019, Vol. 363 Issue 6430, p968-971. 4p. 4 Graphs. - Publication Year :
- 2019
-
Abstract
- The binary neutron star merger event GW170817 was detected through both electromagnetic radiation and gravitational waves. Its afterglow emission may have been produced by either a narrow relativistic jet or an isotropic outflow. High-spatial-resolution measurements of the source size and displacement can discriminate between these scenarios. We present very-long-baseline interferometry observations, performed 207.4 days after the merger by using a global network of 32 radio telescopes. The apparent source size is constrained to be smaller than 2.5 milli-arc seconds at the 90% confidence level. This excludes the isotropic outflow scenario, which would have produced a larger apparent size, indicating that GW170817 produced a structured relativistic jet. Our rate calculations show that at least 10% of neutron star mergers produce such a jet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 00368075
- Volume :
- 363
- Issue :
- 6430
- Database :
- Academic Search Index
- Journal :
- Science
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 135071571
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aau8815