Origin of the 5 March 1979 γ-ray transient: A vibrating neutron star

An unusual γ-ray transient was observed on 5 March 1979, with 12 different instruments on 9 different spacecraft^1-4. Most of these instruments are incorporated into an interplanetary γ-ray burst network. The source position of the 5 March transient, determined by this network to an accuracy⁴ of ∼1 × 2 arc min, is consistent with the direction of the supernova remnant N49 in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). Subsequent analysis⁵ of the data, by narrowing the source error box to an area of about 6 by 30 arc s inside the supernova remnant, considerably strengthens this identification. We propose that a vibrating neutron star in the LMC is the source of the 5 March transient. This may be both the first detection of a vibrating neutron star and indirect evidence for gravitation radiation.