Related papers: Gamma-Ray Line Observations with RHESSI
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…
Observations of the central radian of the Galaxy by the Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopy Imager (RHESSI) have yielded a high-resolution measurement of the 1809 keV line from 26Al, detected at 11 sigma significance in nine months…
This paper describes the X-ray and gamma-ray imaging spectroscopy capabilities of the Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI). It also outlines RHESSI's major scientific accomplishments during the 16 years of operations from…
The Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopy Imager (RHESSI) has obtained the first high-resolution measurements of nuclear de-excitation lines produced by energetic ions accelerated in a solar flare, a GOES X4.8 event occurring on 23…
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 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,…
Hard X-rays and gamma-rays are the most direct signatures of energetic electrons and ions in the sun's atmosphere which is optically thin at these energies and their radiation involves no coherent processes. Being collisional they are…
The Reuven Ramaty High Energy Spectroscopic Solar Imager (RHESSI) uses the rotational modulation principle to observe temporally, spatially, and spectrally resolved hard X ray and gamma ray images of solar flares. In order to track the…
We present a new method, fan-beam modulation, for observing weak extended x-ray sources with the Reuven Ramaty High-Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI). This space-based solar x-ray and gamma-ray telescope has much greater…
We have performed the first polarimetry of solar flare emission at gamma-ray energies (0.2-1 MeV). These observations were performed with the Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI) for two large flares: the GOES…
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…
We recently reported the first detection of an astrophysical gamma-ray polarization from GRB021206 using the Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI) spacecraft. Our analysis suggested gamma-ray polarization at an…
In the summer of the year 2000, a NASA Small Explorer satellite, the High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (HESSI), will be launched. It will consist of nine large, coaxial germanium detectors viewing the Sun through a set of Rotation…
The measurement of gamma rays at MeV energies from cosmic radioactivities is one of the key tools for nuclear astrophysics, in its study of nuclear reactions and how they shape objects such as massive stars and supernova explosions.…
Polarization measurements of hard X-rays from solar flares can provide a direct handle on the extent to which the accelerated electrons are beamed, which, in turn, has important implications for particle acceleration models. Past efforts to…
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,…
High-energy X-rays and gamma-rays from solar flares were discovered just over fifty years ago. Since that time, the standard for the interpretation of spatially integrated flare X-ray spectra at energies above several tens of keV has been…
Gamma-ray line observations provide a versatile tool for studies of nucleosynthesis processes and supernova physics. In particular, the observation of radioactive species in the interstellar medium probes recent nucleosynthesis activity on…
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…
The degree of linear polarization in solar flares has not yet been precisely determined despite multiple attempts to measure it with different missions. The high energy range in particular has very rarely been explored, due to its greater…