Radio Imaging of Grb Jets in Nearby Supernovae

We calculate the time evolution of the flux, apparent size, and image centroid motion of gamma-ray burst (GRB) jets in the radio, and show that they can be resolved by the VLBA at distances of hundreds of Mpc. We find that GRB 030329 which showed spectroscopic evidence for an associated supernova (SN) Type Ib/c at a distance of ≈ 800 Mpc might just be resolvable by VLBA after several months. The prospects are much better for jets that are oriented sideways in similar SNe with no GRB counterpart; in particular, the motion of the flux centroid in such jets can be detected by VLBA up to z ∼ 1 even when the jet cannot be resolved. If most GRBs are accompanied by a SN Ib/c, then there should be a few SN/GRB jets per year within a distance . 200 Mpc and most of them would be oriented sideways with no γ-ray or X-ray precursor. Detection of these jets can be used to calibrate the fraction of all core collapse SNe that produce relativistic outflows and determine the local GRB rate. Overall, the rate of SNe Ib/c which do not produce a GRB at all, but rather make relativistic radio jets with an initial Lorentz factor of a few, may be larger by up to two orders of magnitude than the rate of those that produce GRBs. Subject headings: gamma rays: bursts — supernovae: general — ISM: jets and outflows