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Paper: What Really Is the Relativistic Radio-Jet Distance of the Galactic Microquasar GRO J1655–40?
Volume: 364, The Future of Photometric, Spectrophotometric, and Polarimetric Standardization
Page: 597
Authors: Foellmi, C.
Abstract: GRO J1655–40 is a galactic microquasar, i.e. a short-period binary with relativistic radio-jets and where the companion is a black-hole. A little after its discovery in 1994 by BATSE, a distance of 3.2 #&177; 0.2 kpc has been estimated, and at which the radio jets appeared superluminal. However, recently, Foellmi et al. (2006) used new VLT-UVES and published photometric data to show that GRO J1655–40 must be closer than 1.7 kpc and that the accuracy of the main distance estimators for this source can be questioned. It is the purpose of this article to show that while the upper limit to the distance is rather firm, the lower limit is not, strengthening the possibility that this microquasar is much closer to us.
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