GRB 030329 was a gamma-ray burst (GRB) that was detected on 29 March 2003 at 11:37 UTC. A gamma-ray burst is a highly luminous flash associated with an explosion in a distant galaxy and producing gamma rays, the most energetic form of electromagnetic radiation, and often followed by a longer-lived "afterglow" emitted at longer wavelengths (X-ray, ultraviolet, optical, infrared, and radio). GRB 030329 was the first burst whose afterglow definitively exhibited characteristics of a supernova, confirming the existence of a relationship between the two phenomena.
GRB 030329 was one of three gamma-ray bursts detected on 29 March 2003. The other two were labeled GRB 030329a[1] and GRB 030329b.[2] GRB 030329 was detected by multiple instruments onboard HETE at 11:37 UTC and lasted approximately 25 seconds.[3] The burst's optical afterglow was first observed from Siding Spring Observatory less than two hours after the burst had been detected.[4] The X-ray afterglow was first detected by RXTE approximately five hours after the burst.[5] The radio afterglow was first detected by the Very Large Array and, at the time of its discovery, was the brightest radio afterglow ever observed.[6] The burst was located at a sky position of R.A. = 10h 44m 49.95957s, Dec. = +21°31′17.4375″ and had a redshift of z = 0.1685, corresponding to a distance of 587Mpc.[7]
Supernova relation
GRB 030329's proximity to Earth enabled its afterglow to be studied in great detail. A spectrum taken of the burst's optical afterglow on 6 April 2003 showed peaks at approximately 570nm and 470nm. This spectrum was reproduced by combining a power-law distribution with the spectrum from SN 1998bw.[8] These supernova-like features continued to develop in the weeks after the initial burst.[9] Optical observations taken at Kitt Peak National Observatory on indicated that the burst's optical afterglow was brighter than a power-law decay would have predicted, a deviation that could have been explained by additional light from a supernova.[10] On 10 April 2003, NASA announced that GRB 030329 had provided the definitive link between gamma-ray bursts and supernovae.[11] The supernova was later referred to as SN 2003dh.[12]
↑ "It's a Supernova!" (Press release). NASA Science News. 10 April 2003. Archived from the original on 19 December 2019. Retrieved 12 July 2017.
↑ Stanek, Krzysztof Z.; Matheson, T.; Garnavich, P. M.; Martini, P.; Berlind, P.; Caldwell, N.; Challis, P.; Brown, W. R.; Schild, R.; Krisciunas, K.; Calkins, M. L.; Lee, J. C.; Hathi, N.; Jansen, R. A.; Windhorst, R.; Echevarria, L.; Eisenstein, D. J.; Pindor, B.; Olszewski, E. W.; Harding, P.; Holland, S. T.; Bersier, D. (12 June 2003). "Spectroscopic Discovery of the Supernova 2003dh Associated with GRB0303291". Astrophysical Journal. 591 (1): L17 –L20. arXiv:astro-ph/0304173. Bibcode:2003ApJ...591L..17S. doi:10.1086/376976. S2CID2561943.
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