Calorimetry of GRB 030329: Simultaneous model fitting to the broadband radio afterglow and the observed image expansion rate

Abstract

We perform calorimetry on the bright gamma-ray burst GRB 030329 by fitting simultaneously the broadband radio afterglow and the observed afterglow image size to a semi-analytic MHD and afterglow emission model. Our semi-analytic method is valid in both the relativistic and non-relativistic regimes, and incorporates a model of the interstellar scintillation that substantially effects the broadband afterglow below 10 GHz. The model is fitted to archival measurements of the afterglow flux from 1 day to 8.3 yr after the burst. Values for the initial burst parameters are determined and the nature of the circumburst medium is explored. Additionally, direct measurements of the lateral expansion rate of the radio afterglow image size allow us to estimate the initial Lorentz factor of the jet. © 2013. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.