Related papers: Massive-Star Nucleosynthesis and INTEGRAL
Cosmic nucleosynthesis co-produces unstable isotopes, which emit characteristic gamma-ray emission lines upon their radioactive decay that can be measured with SPI on INTEGRAL. High spectral resolution allows to derive velocity constraints…
Studies based on the gamma-ray lines from radioactive decay of unstable isotopes produced in massive-star and supernova nucleosynthesis have been among INTEGRAL's prominent science achievements. 26Al has become a tool to study specific…
Gamma-ray telescopes are capable of measuring radioactive trace isotopes from cosmic nucleosynthesis events. Such measurements address new isotope production rather directly for a few key isotopes such as 44Ti, 26Al, 60Fe, and 56Ni, as well…
Measurement and astrophysical interpretation of characteristic gamma-ray lines from nucleosynthesis was one of the prominent science goals of the INTEGRAL mission and in particular its spectrometer SPI. Emission from 26Al and from 60Fe…
With the SPI high-resolution spectrometer on INTEGRAL, new results have been obtained for long-lived radioactive 26Al and 60Fe in our Galaxy: 26Al sources apparently share the pattern of Galactic rotation in the inner Galaxy, and thus allow…
Gamma-ray spectrometers with high spectral resolution have been operated in space since 2002. Major efforts to understand instrumental response and backgrounds are a requird before detailed science interpretations can be derived; by now,…
Since its launch in October 2002, ESA's INTEGRAL observatory has enabled significant advances to be made in the study of Galactic nucleosynthesis. In particular, the imaging Ge spectrometer SPI combines for the first time the diagnostic…
Gamma-ray line emission from radioactive decay of 60Fe provides constraints on nucleosynthesis in massive stars and supernovae. We detect the gamma-ray lines from 60Fe decay at 1173 and 1333 keV using three years of data from the…
Gamma-ray line studies are capable of identifying radioactive tracer isotopes generated in cosmic nucleosynthesis events. Pioneering measurements were made 30 years ago with HEAO-C1, detecting the first interstellar gamma-ray line from…
Gamma-ray line emission from radioactive decay of 60Fe provides constraints on nucleosynthesis in massive stars and supernovae. The spectrometer SPI on board INTEGRAL has accumulated nearly three years of data on gamma-ray emission from the…
Gamma-ray lines from radioactive isotopes, ejected into interstellar space by cosmic nucleosynthesis events, are observed with new space telescopes. The Compton Observatory had provided a sky survey for the isotopes 56Co, 22Na, 44Ti, and…
Al(26) radioactivity traces recent nucleosynthesis throughout the Galaxy, and is known to be produced in massive stars and novae. The map from its decay gamma-ray line suggests massive stars to dominate, but high-resolution line…
Massive stars are a major source of chemical elements in the cosmos, ejecting freshly produced nuclei through winds and core-collapse supernova explosions into the interstellar medium. Among the material ejected, long lived radioisotopes,…
Gamma-ray lines from cosmic sources provide unique isotopic information, since they originate from energy level transitions in the atomic nucleus. Gamma-ray telescopes explored this astronomical window in the past three decades, detecting…
Astrophysical gamma-ray spectroscopy is an invaluable tool for studying nuclear astrophysics, supernova structure, recent star formation in the Milky Way and mixing of nucleosynthesis products in the interstellar medium. After a short,…
The search for gamma-ray line emission from the radioactive decay of 60Fe figures among the prime scientific objectives of the INTEGRAL mission. 60Fe is believed to be primarily produced in core-collapse supernovae, although other sites,…
Hans Bethe contributed in many ways to our understanding of the supernovae that happen in massive stars, but, to this day, a first principles model of how the explosion is energized is lacking. Nevertheless, a quantitative theory of…
The presence of radioactive $^{26}$Al at 1.8 MeV reflects ongoing nucleosynthesis in the Milky Way. Diffuse emission from its decay can be measured with gamma-ray telescopes in space. The intensity, line shape, and spatial distribution of…
After the recent beautiful results on gamma-ray lines obtained with CGRO, the INTEGRAL mission with the imaging-spectrometer SPI will set the next milestone, combining improved sensitivity and angular resolution with a considerable increase…
We review the characteristics of nucleosynthesis and radioactivities in 'Hypernovae', i.e., supernovae with very large explosion energies ($ \gsim 10^{52} $ ergs) and their $\gamma$-ray line signatures. We also discuss the $^{44}$Ti line…