Related papers: Al(26) Studies with INTEGRAL's Spectrometer SPI
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…
Gamma-ray line emission from the radioactive decay of 26Al reflects nucleosynthesis in massive stars and supernovae. We use INTEGRAL 26Al measurements to characterize the distribution and characteristics of 26Al source regions throughout…
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…
The precision measurement of the 1809 keV gamma-ray line from Galactic $^{26}$Al is one of the goals of the SPI spectrometer on INTEGRAL with its Ge detector camera. We aim for determination of the detailed shape of this gamma-ray line, and…
Diffuse emission is often challenging since it is undetectable by most instruments, which are generally dedicated to point-source studies. The $^{26}$Al emission is a good illustration: the only available $^{26}$Al map to date has been…
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…
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…
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…
We performed a spectroscopic study of the 1809 keV gamma-ray line from 26Al decay in the Galaxy using the SPI imaging spectrometer with its high-resolution Ge detector camera on the INTEGRAL observatory. We analyzed observations of the…
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…
Products from massive-star nucleosynthesis have been measured with SPI on INTEGRAL: Characteristic gamma-ray lines from radioactive decays of long-lived 26Al and 60Fe isotopes, and from 44Ti decay (decay time 89y). Detections of both these…
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 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…
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,…
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…
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,…
Context. The 1.8 MeV gamma-rays corresponding to the decay of the radioactive isotope Al-26 (with a half-life of 0.72 Myr) have been observed by the SPI detector on the INTEGRAL spacecraft and extensively used as a tracer of star formation…
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-rays from radioactive 26Al (half life ~7.2 10^5 yr) provide a 'snapshot' view of ongoing nucleosynthesis in the Galaxy. The Galaxy is relatively transparent to such gamma-rays, and emission has been found concentrated along the plane…
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…