Relativistic motion in a nearby bright X-ray source

S. J. Tingay, D. L. Jauncey, R. A. Preston, J. E. Reynolds, D. L. Meier, D. W. Murphy, A. K. Tzioumis, D. J. Mc Kay, M. J. Kesteven, J. E.J. Lovell, D. Campbell-Wilson, S. P. Ellingsen, R. Gough, R. W. Hunstead, D. L. Jones, P. M. Mc Culloch, V. Migenes, J. Quick, M. W. Sinclair, D. Smits

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267 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The recent discovery1 of radio components apparently moving away from a Galactic source of transient X-ray emission faster than the speed of light (superluminal motion) has identified a low-energy Galactic counterpart to quasars. Here we report high-resolution radio observations of a second Galactic superluminal radio source GRO J1655–40, which was detected as an X-ray transient2 on 27 July 1994. Our radio images reveal two components moving away from each other at an angular speed of 65 ± 5 mas d−1, corresponding to superluminal motion at the estimated distance of 3–5 kpc. The 12-day delay between the X−ray and radio outbursts suggests that the ejection of material at relativistic speeds occurs during a stable phase of accretion onto a black hole, which follows an unstable phase with a high accretion rate.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)141-143
Number of pages3
JournalNature
Volume374
Issue number6518
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 9 Mar 1995
Externally publishedYes

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